Audio clip
Louis Brody
While the average watchwearing man may be willing to fork over several hundred dollars for a quality watch, there are some who pay six figures.
“Somebody with that kind of money typically has a desire for fine timepieces and is also a collector,” said Louis Brody of Brody Jewelers on Rossville Boulevard.
High-end watch brands include Patek Philippe, Vacheron Constantin, Audemars Piguet, Audemars Piguet and Rolex.
“If it’s a high-quality watch, it’s a good investment,” Mr. Brody said. “You’ll get your money back and sometimes more than what you paid. The higher grade the movement and the name, the better investment you have.”
Most moderately priced watches, however, are depreciating assets, purchased for practical reasons, not as investments, experts say.
A watch is the “single most important accessory” a man can own, said Daniel Billett, on mensfashion. about.com.
“I’ve noticed too many casual watches making their way into office/work/formal settings,” he said. “I suggest having different watches for both work and play.”
Bruce Baird, owner of Bruce Baird & Co., an upscale men’s clothing store on Broad Street, said he has watches for every occasion.
“Dress watches should be thin with either an alligator or gold band,” he said. “Sports watches, which you would wear on casual occasions, can be thicker and bulkier.”
Men tend to be cautious shoppers when buying watches, Mr. Brody said.
“Men with smaller wrists prefer leather straps over metal ones, which are bulky,” he said. “Younger men like sportier watches with colored dials or bezels, while older men go for faces with larger numbers. But men of all ages today like the bigger faces and more complicated movements.”
A man’s lifestyle should determine whether he buys a waterproof watch or a water-resistant one, Mr. Brody said.
“Water-resistant means you can wash your hands without ruining the watch. Waterproof means you can go swimming or diving wearing it,” he said.
Vintage and used watches are also popular, Mr. Brody said.
“I sell used high-end watches every day. Ninetyeight percent of new watches sold decrease in value the moment of purchase, so many men opt to buy used ones that sometimes cost half the original price.”
Vintage watches are typically bought by collectors or by people who have sentimental attachments to the watches, Mr. Brody said.
“I recently sold a United States government-issued Waltham World War I wristwatch,” he said. “It wasn’t expensive, but it meant something to the man who purchased it.”
Mr. Brody said he gets calls from collectors across the country looking for vintage watches. “I get at least one call every day from somebody looking for a watch of some sort.”
Mr. Baird said he’d be “lost without a watch, even though cell phones tell the time. I like my watch. I don’t like flipping open the phone when I need to know what time it is.”
MOST EXPENSIVE MEN’S WATCHES
Blancpain, $1 million
Vacheron Constantin, $340,000
Audemars Piguet, $297,500
Roger Dubuis, $291,700
Girard-Perregaux, $280,000
Breguet, $275,000
Patek Philippe, $240,000
Parmigiani Fleurier, $200,000
Source: www.forbes.com
Feature writer Karen Nazor Hill covers fashion, design, home and gardening, pets, entertainment, human interest features and more. She also is an occasional news reporter and the Town Talk columnist. She previously worked for the Catholic newspaper Tennessee Register and was a reporter at the Chattanooga Free Press from 1985 to 1999, when the newspaper merged with the Chattanooga Times. She won a Society of Professional Journalists Golden Press third-place award in feature writing for ...
