"There is no watch between $1,000 and $3,000 that is worth buying. Not one."Click here to follow AskMen Fashion on Twitter.The Watch Snob is in.
You may think you know watches, but let's be real -- you just don’t. Let me, a true horological aficionado, enlighten your plebeian minds as to what makes a real watch, what you should wear when, and what to do with those old watches of yours. All the opinions expressed by the Watch Snob are my own and are just that -- opinions. Don’t worry, though. AskMen will still be bringing you great features on interesting watches to buy, both old and new, expensive and cheap. But for those who would like a truly discerning opinion on timepieces, let the Watch Snob decree.
This week, I’m taking time out from answering your questions about marriage, adventure sports and graduation gifts to clear a few things up. Not only am I tired of the endlessly banal and repetitive questions I receive (don’t you read my past columns?), but my assistant filters through the comments the column receives every week, and I’m disturbed by the misinformation and misconceptions being perpetuated there. I certainly don’t have the time nor the interest to sit and read and respond to these every week, so I hope that today I can clarify a few things once and for all.
First of all, “Watch Snob” is not a pseudonym I chose; it was given to me to protect my anonymity. My real name would be well known to a few of you but probably not to most (given the circles in which most of you seem to move), and though I don’t really fear retribution for speaking the truth, one can’t be too careful. A pseudonym only serves to save me the potentially uncomfortable though remote possibility of encountering an irate TAG Heuer-owning reader (or TAG Heuer executive) on the open street.
While “snob” has a pejorative pallor to it, this site’s editors presumably felt it would reflect the tone of my responses and be a trendy way to draw in internet trolls. Frankly, I care not about coming across as slightly aloof or arrogant. If being honest is considered snobby, then so be it. There are too few truth-tellers in the world, and whether you’re a single mother or a globetrotting pilot, you need to know the truth whether or not you want it. I am confident in my knowledge of timepieces, and if you come into my world and ask for my advice, expect to hear the unvarnished truth. If you want someone to tell you it’s OK to spend $3,000 on a mass-produced watch with a contract case and a bone stock $200 movement, don’t come to the Watch Snob. There are plenty of sites out there that spew regurgitated watch company press releases.
Don’t expect me to be consistent. Some readers gleefully comment that I said something a year ago and now I say something different, as if they’re catching me in the act and exposing a fraud. I attribute most of these instances to a lack of reading comprehension. But in cases where I’ve reversed my opinion on a watch brand, it’s usually for good reason. Breitling, for instance, is now slowly turning around and starting to regain some of the luster that for years was reserved for its overly polished bracelets. One day I might change my opinion about IWC. Or TAG Heuer. Start making worthy products, change my mind and I am willing to admit when a company is doing good things. But for those bitter souls who seek to scour all past columns for inconsistencies, I will say that it is my prerogative, just as it is yours to spend money on your Nixon watch or countless hours trolling search engines.
And finally, I will repeat what I have written in the past: There is no watch between $1,000 and $3,000 that is worth buying. Not one. In fact, it is a stretch to find more than a worthy handful under $7,000. I’m not sure why this comes as any surprise to readers, who continue to cry foul and sing the praises of inferior watches. My commitment to fine timepieces is well known, yet you continue to submit questions about $1,000 watches. As I said above, there are other websites you can visit and bloggers to read that will happily tell you what a fine watch you can get for a week’s pay. So don’t come here looking for the same drivel. You don’t see men’s fashion sites or magazines advising their readers to buy their suits from off-the-rack warehouses (or “wearhouses,” as the case may be). So if you seek advice about haute horlogerie, I am at your service. But for those who persist to beat the same drum of mediocrity, prepare to be ignored.
Consider yourselves once more enlightened. The Snob has spoken.
No comments:
Post a Comment