I have been wearing my 1993 Subby most weeks for 28 years, for most things, so it’s got to be a sturdy daily wearer, so £1753 is the price for that.

Havnt really got luxury? Closest is probably my Reverso, so £6500.

 

To me...luxury is $1,000+. At that price point...I’m speaking of Oris, Longines, etc. Not $1,000 offerings from companies like Seiko that are nearly indistinguishable from their watches priced less than half that amount.

 

To me...luxury is $1,000+. At that price point...I'm speaking of Oris, Longines, etc. Not $1,000 offerings from companies like Seiko that are nearly indistinguishable from their watches priced less than half that amount.

i think a USD2,000 seiko is distinguishable from a USD500 seiko. Both are great watches to be sure. But there's a difference.

 

It's hard to define as a static amount of money. I'll never consider Seiko (GS excluded for the purposes of this example) a luxury brand, regardless of how much they want for contemporary reissue of a run of the mill watch from their back catalog. This isn't to bash Seiko, I own and love many, they just don't occupy that space in my view. Brand identity is more the deciding factor for me, and even that is a very squishy standard.

My view of what makes a reasonable daily driver has obviously changed over time. I thought I was a fancy man when I dropped $200 on a Tissot years ago. Now I'm telling myself that a Sinn 105 for $1,800 represents a great value proposition.

 

Having tried and owned many different brands over the years from TAG, to Rolex, to JLC, to Panerai, to Seiko (all levels) and decent micros and independents, I think at a certain point the luxury jump gets a little hazy and hard to quantify. Over the $2500-3000 point seems to me to be Branding/ Marketing/ Finishing over a dramatic, "Wow this is so much better" feeling. I suppose if you break out the loupe, the differences may be more obvious, but that never mattered to me.

On your Seiko thought, Seiko is a unique brand that really has the ability to surprise a full range of watch buyers, from entry level to avid collector. When you make the jumps through their range, the SLAXXX and reissues best show what Seiko is truly capable of as a Powerhouse Manufacture and yes, they are exclusive and expensive, but the Wow Factor is amazing and on the level with Grand Seiko quality and care (for the most part). I've learned to not underestimate Seiko like I use to. When they get it right.....take note, they are definitely on to something good.

 

While not every watch at that price point qualifies and leaving aside all that brand hierarchy, for me it starts at $1k+ just like the OP said minus that part of feeling uncomfortable wearing a watch over the $1k price point.

 

I agree that the $1k mark seems to be the pain thresh hold for me. Anything above that would not be a daily driver - other than to the office or for business. For weekends and other more casual wear, I'm definitely under that mark....

 

No matter how you look at it, it's subjective. Well, at least I think so

 

I have come to think this is true of just about everything related to watches except what time it is, and even that depends on where you are.

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The richard invicta mille buyer : hmmmmm over 120k

The casio buyer : over 500

The grand seiko guys : over 1k

The Rolex guy : hmmm over 10k

The masses of humans on earth: a watch ? Why I have a cell phone.

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The richard invicta mille buyer : hmmmmm over 120k

The casio buyer : over 500

The grand seiko guys : over 1k

Good luck finding a new Grand Seiko for anything like that...

 

over a grand.. is it for myself..

 

hmm, I tend to think of the individual watch looking or being luxury and not so much a set price point. A used vintage watch might be worth a lot, but not look luxurious, but is it luxurious because it cost a lot ?

Are we talking about price we paid, the msrp, sale price, used price ?

What happens 5-10 yrs from now and your income has increase substantially ?

 

hmm, I tend to think of the individual watch looking or being luxury and not so much a set price point. A used vintage watch might be worth a lot, but not look luxurious, but is it luxurious because it cost a lot ?

Are we talking about price we paid, the msrp, sale price, used price ?

What happens 5-10 yrs from now and your income has increase substantially ?

That's a good point and a good question. I would say any of the 4. Whatever amount of money you paid to get said watch. I feel like when it comes to what I consider luxury, once it's in that price bracket paying $1500 new or $1200 used is the same in my mind (although I know not everyone sees it this way).

 

Good thread. The price for luxury starting point is obviously different for most everyone. Here's a thought for people cringing at spending $2500 - $5000 for a watch, (me being one of those people). How often do you not even blink on a $500 watch and I bet you have plenty of those

 

This is what got me thinking about the question. 2 $500 watches is the same amount of money (roughly) as one of the new Seiko Sharp Edge watches. 3 $500 watches is around the price of a Sinn 556i. I'm sure some of this are the mental hoops I jump through to justify the ideas I have on how this hobby works best for me but I go back and forth on "am I already in luxury territory by owning 3 relatively nice watches that would equate monetarily to 1 watch that feels luxury?"

 

For a watch in my regular rotation, I wouldn't feel comfortable wearing anything that was more valuable than the amount of cash I'm comfortable carrying around, which is about $1000 - $1500. Most of my watches are in the <$500 range. Since I don't own any watches that I don't wear regularly, I don't see myself buying anything substantially more expensive than that. I have thought about it, though - a lot. I'm routinely tempted to buy an Omega or a Rolex or a Glasshütte Original, but in the end, I just can't make myself pull the trigger. I just don't think I'd ever be comfortable with the much money on my wrist. Subject to change, of course.

 

This is kind of the point I was saying about a watch that looks luxurious/expensive vs. not. There are plenty of expensive watches that look plain and to the non watch enthusiasts, do not look expensive at all. The reverse is also true.

Gold vs silver colored watches. Flashy vs simple. Add in strap/bracelet options and how luxurious/expensive a watch looks can change.

 

Sub $2,000 daily, over $3,000 luxury. In between I guess is purgatory

 

I had to think about this. For me, over 3k is where luxury starts, under 1k is for non luxury watches, and 1k to 3k is a dead zone where I don’t see much value.

 

I had to think about this. For me, over 3k is where luxury starts, under 1k is for non luxury watches, and 1k to 3k is a dead zone where I don't see much value.

I'm with you.

As much as I like many (emphasis on "many") watches in the $1-3k range, I can never pull the trigger on anything in this range.

Above that level (e.g., Tudor) and below (e.g., Seiko) I can do.

But not anything in the "dead" range between $1k and $3k.

 

Depends on the person. A few of my friends think that my hamilton field watch is luxury.

I define it as $2000+ with finishing that I don't really want to damage.

 

Depends on the person. A few of my friends think that my hamilton field watch is luxury.

Second that. Bradley Cooper allegedly wears a $10k IWC Big Pilot as his daily. Whatever you feel is versatile, durable and comfortable.

I currently wear a Fortis Classic Cosmonauts Chronograph on most work days. It's functional, handsome but unobtrusive, wears great and has a ceramic bezel and 100m WR. It's right around that price point between $2-3k where I feel that a certain value saturation kicks in. Everything above that is pure luxury and branding.

But then again you can make that same argument with a Seiko SKX007, which could be had for $200 back in the day, and I would not say you are wrong at all.

 

The question is really about “subjective luxury” so for me, I’ll say that 4x my average purchase price of a watch in my collection would put me into my definition of “luxury” watch territory, something that is attainable at a relatively high cost to me. I’ve got 30-40 affordables with an average purchase price of 500, so my luxury threshold begins around $2000. Therefore, my Sinn St Sa 103 is my only luxury watch. Realistically, I have no shot at buying anything approaching haute horology prices.

 

Luxury starts for me from 2k€. Even if some of watches are overpriced quality speak itself.

 

For me, over $1K. Which, if you think about it makes no sense, because I have over a dozen watches in the $300-$700 range. Why can I justify two $500 watches but not a $1K watch?

 

I have asked myself this same question many times over.

 

Over $12-15k would be luxury territory for me. Anything below that works as a daily wearer. Below $2k for a knockabout field watch. Of course, it depends on our individual financial status what qualifies as what.

 

$5000 ish maybe?

 

For me, luxury hovered around the $2.5K mark for a long time. Then it jumped to $5K last week.

 

I’d say around 1000 largely because in my current situation I can’t spend much over about 500. But that also largely seems to be the point where you aren’t getting much of an improvement in “quality” beyond things like precision in fit and finish. I get that a Rolex is probably more refined than whatever you get for a grand, but diminishing marginal returns really seem to kick in over a grand or maybe 1500


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Below $500 for roughing it. Above $3k for luxury. In-between is dead zone, though Seiko Astron is the anomaly.

 

As some have stated, it is not a clear dollar amount. Price is even more skewed when it reaches pre-owned.

I have tried to define it, and I cannot

 

My collection is centered in a much lower price range than what I’ve seen in this thread. Most of the watches I’ve purchased new were between $125-175. Buying new at $100 and below, I’ve too often been disappointed later, for one reason or another.

Buying pre-owned, I’ve made some purchases as low as $60 and still been very pleased. A person can sometimes get lucky. I have a couple watches where the purchase price plus necessary service totaled a bit over $500. These days, that’s my limit where I’m still comfortable. However I can do that only in some years.

Anything priced higher is outside my comfort zone.

 

I'm not comfortable with letting an expensive watch sit. Usually my most expensive watch is my daily wearer. It's supposed to be the best, why not wear it. Note that I'm not much into dress or collectible watches.