Being in the watch writing line of work it’s no great surprise that friends and acquaintances often ask me for watch-buying advice. Call it an occupational hazard, call it a compliment that they should consider my advice worth seeking but (unlike a doctor friend, who gets irritated by being asked for free clinical advice at dinner parties) I never tire of talking about watches. But something has changed: as watch auction prices have gone relentlessly up over the past few years (not to mention the retail prices of many brands), the two questions I’m most often asked are: “I’m tossing up between an X and a Y [pick any two modern watch brands]. Which one is going to hold its value better?” And: “I’d like to buy vintage and I can’t afford a Daytona or a Patek, so which other brands would make the best investment?” (To clarify: these are people with around $10,000 to $30,000 to spend. Not $100,000 plus – that’s a different planet.) Those two questions are essentially the same one in different clothes – and my answer to both is: “Stop. You’re asking the wrong question.” Not because I don’t have a crystal ball (I don’t)…
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