Reader Horsejock writes in to say that he’s counting on his Patek watches as an emergency source of cash. Maybe so, but I’m reminded of the scene in Trading Places, when Winthorpe attempts to pawn his own timepiece.
Pawnbroker: Burnt my fingers, man.
Louis Winthorpe III: I beg your pardon?
Pawnbroker: Man, that watch is so hot, it’s smokin’.
Louis Winthorpe III: Hot? Do you mean to imply stolen?
Pawnbroker: I’ll give you 50 bucks for it.
Louis Winthorpe III: Fifty bucks? No, no, no. This is a Rouchefoucauld. The thinnest water-resistant watch in the world. Singularly unique, sculptured in design, hand-crafted in Switzerland, and water resistant to three atmospheres. This is *the* sports watch of the ’80s. Six thousand, nine hundred and fifty five dollars retail!
Pawnbroker: You got a receipt?
Louis Winthorpe III: Look, it tells time simultaneously in Monte Carlo, Beverly Hills, London, Paris, Rome, and Gstaad.
Pawnbroker: In Philadelphia, it’s worth 50 bucks.
Louis Winthorpe III: Just give me the money.
Louis Winthorpe III: [looking in display case] How much for the gun?
(And there’s also this): Louis Winthorpe III: I had the most absurd nightmare. I was poor and no one liked me. I lost my job, I lost my house, Penelope hated me and it was all because of this terrible, awful Negro.
In the last couple of years, I’ve discovered that there are a fair number of watch collectors and vintage/used watch dealers. There are a couple of niches in which certain types of watches maintain their desirability and other watches, for no clear reason, don’t. For instance, certain types of pocket watches set many collectors’ hearts aflutter while others don’t seem to have the appeal. I have traded watches from time to time and done alright. There is a marketplace for mechanical, vintage or used quality watches. I do think it’s harder to turn a watch into cash though.
Anyone who views houses or watches or cars as an “emergency” source of cash clearly lives beyond his means
Not much of a bid for illiquid stuff in times like Oct ’08 when everyone simultaneously seems to “need” maximal liquidity and Treasuries
This little story really does get to the crux of the problem- who are you going to sell to? The mark-up on buying a fine watch is as unbelievable as the discount should you want to sell, and good luck on selling on the internet. If anyone knows the answer to this, I’d sure like to know!
As soon as talk turned to timepieces earlier in the day, I thought of this scene, one of my favorites, from “Trading Places.” Aykroyd is the preppy sine qua non. Thanks for the replay. Hilarious.
Living beyond one’s means has nothing to do with hard commodities, such as rare watches with complications, which will always have a market in the part of the world where, at any given time, there are people with means. Just like any other collectable category, you have to know what you are doing, follow the market and auctions, get to know reliable dealers, etc. I am much happier with a Patek with three complications than, say, a Maybach. And by the way, Rolex do not fall into the category of collectables. Just big, too heavy status symbols. Like a BMW.
horsejock-
I’m glad you added those remarks. Well put and it makes what I said seem a little more coherent. I would add this though. If you like old Maybach watches, look for them. They’re fun to find too. Just don’t overpay. As you point out, the same general rules hold true with many older collectables.
What are “complications”? Guess I should know, but I don’t.
I have a second-hand Patek Phillipe I bought in the 90s, and boy is that a pain in the ass to get fixed. Local jewelers refuse to touch it for anything more than a battery change; they send it off to NYC, and it doesn’t come back for months. The locals get a piece of the grotesque $$ charge, of course, for all their hard work doing the shipping and fielding a phone call or two. What a racket.
Truth be told, if your watchband is a good one — black or brown alligator, $200 range — I think that you can put an ordinary watch with a white face and smallish numbers on it and it’ll look great! Just as long as the watch is not too thick, and the fake gold isn’t turning your wrist green. Yet.
While I generally agree with horsejock’s comments, I disagree with the blanket statement that all Rolex watches are not collectable. There are clearly a number that fall into that category (Newman Daytona and vintage Milgauss). No different than Pateks. Some are clearly “investments” but many are just great watches.
Full disclosure: I own both Patek and Rolex, among others, in my watch collection.
Old Grump: Complications are things like day, date, year, phase of the moon and can include things like temperature, chimes, the celestial heavens, all of which are displayed on the watch.
OSG-
A complication is a function that a watch will perform other than basic time keeping. For instance, stopwatch features on a mechanical watch. On a quartz watch (run by battery), they might be called complications or functions. If the watch has little faces inside the large face, those are probably “complications” with their own functions.
horsejock-
I thought that I knew what a Maybach watch was but now I’m not so sure. Are they as expensive as they seem? I think I was confusing them with a different, older brand but I can’t find out that much about them. Based on what they seem to cost, I don’t think I’d be much interested either.
No, I meant I would rather have a fine Patek (mechanicals are really the only collectables) than something like a Maybach automobile. In any case, I think this whole conversation is a little to high toned for our friend Chris. Merry Christmas.