Quality Time

Some Gratuitous History
The watch was invented in Europe in the 16th century which was the time of the wars of religion. Over that century and the next, many refugees from the fighting who had skills as clockmakers came to the free city of Geneva. This concentration of talent led to Switzerland becoming the premier watch making center of Europe and the world. It still is.

The wristwatch is so ubiquitous today it is hard to believe that its popularity is less than a century old. In the nineteenth century men wore pocket watches, usually carried in a vest pocket. Nonworking women who wore watches wore them as a necklace or brooch or carried them on a chain.
The idea of a person's watch being worn on the most active part of the body exposed to damage and wear rather than protected in a pocket seemed strange and made a watch on the wrist an oddity.
For men, the big change from pocket to wrist came about because of war and sport. In the Boer War and especially World War I the need to co-ordinate attacks, bombardments, etc. meant a watch that could be easily seen was far better than a pocket watch that had to be constantly pulled out from under a trenchcoat and jacket and put back.

Louis Cartier, founder of the firm which bears his name, first seriously started making wrist watches after he created one to help an aviator friend who needed to tell time in the cockpit without fumbling for a pocket watch. Cartier's famous tank watch was named after that new WWI invention to end trench warfare, the tank.
Interestingly, working women started wearing wristwatches before the men (around 1900) because they were easier to read. For men, a pocket watch and fob was a "guy thing" and they needed to be prodded out of that attitude at bayonet point, as it were.
Still, it took time for the wristwatch to catch on. In 1920 the Swiss exported twice as many pocket watches as wrist watches. It was only by 1934 that those figures had reversed and the wristwatch had triumphed.

Why Buy A Fine Watch?
For many people, spending four or five figures on a beautiful mechanical work of art is perfectly reasonable. But for many, especially those who are the first generation in their families to be successful, it's understandable if they wonder, "Why get an expensive watch? A good quartz watch will keep time better than the best mechanical watch and you can get a reasonably good one for a hundred dollars or less. Why pay four, five or even six figures for a watch?"

For many people a fine watch is an important symbol of status as well as a reward for hard work. Marion Halfacre, whose Traditional Jewelers sells on average more than one Rolex every day, says, "For some people it is the goal they work for—you know you've made it when you get your Rolex."
And, of course, these symbols of status can help to maintain that status—people tend to deal with people who look successful. For many people, in a variety of businesses and professions, this is a reality as much as it is a rationalization; a truism, not just an excuse to buy things.

For many centuries it has been socially unacceptable for men to wear a bracelet. A watch allows a man to indulge in jewelry and luxury while still wearing something that is both practical and necessary.
For women, a fine watch is a way to dress up at times when too much jewelry is not appropriate. The diamonds and pearls one wears to the gala ball are not appropriate most of the rest of the time but an elegant watch is.

As we become successful we find we have more than enough for the necessities. At some point we want the finer things in life. Still, a part of us doesn't want to spend money on frivolous things so it is nice to get beautiful versions of things we have to have anyway.

And if we are going to spend our money on things which we need, it makes sense to shoot for quality rather than quantity. A person who can afford two hundred thousand for transportation may get a $150,000 luxury car and a $50,000 SUV but he won't get ten $20,000 cars.