Luxury Tastes: Then and Now

As befits the day of rest, I was catching up on watch-related internet readings this morning.  I linked over to TZ for an article by Alan Downing that was written back in the year 2000.  That year has some resonance as it marks the start of the new century and for me personally, I recall thinking at the time about replacing my scratched up quartz Ebel watch that was a graduation gift from my wonderful sister many years before.  (The following year I would end up buying my first Swiss mechanical watches and truly beginning this financially disastrous passion.)  Anyway, Downing's article was about the PP 5100 that was released at the time for Patek Philippe's 150th Anniversary.  At the end of the article, there's a cursory mention of the expected MRSP and I was shocked at how reasonable it seems compared to today's terms.  And it made me feel a little uneasy really.

So I started thinking about the time around 16 years or so ago and the non-trivial finely made things and the relative sums spent on them that motivated me and held my interests.  I was 25-years-old back then and I can freely admit now with hindsight that I had illusions to being more cultivated that I really was, which is to say I would be embarrassed to encounter my younger self now.  I suppose for many of us, no matter the generation we're from, it's relatable.   

My watch tastes at the time ran to the sporty offerings from Rolex, Omega and IWC.  I knew some things about A. Lange and Sohne but really nothing about Patek Philippe.  I bought a new Speedmaster Automatic (reduced size) for a price that is close to the cost of the Nomos Tangente nowadays.  I owned a sporty 2-door Japanese coupe newly bought a few years earlier with the help of an auto loan.  It was a Honda and it was basically fully-loaded, an attainable nearly luxurious car.  My (pretentious) sartorial sense was captivated by well-known heritage brands and I loved the idea of well-made shirts & sweaters and classic leather dress shoes.  I remember buying a light sweater made by Givenchy in Paris as a splurge (not in 2000 obviously but just a few years later when Euros were adopted) and I remember walking into John Lobb on Jermyn St in London around the same time and treating myself to an even bigger splurge.

Sitting here now, I can gauge that my interest in owning a true luxury car is not very high.  I like the idea of it in daydreams but I do not rate it very high vs. the environmental impact.  Maybe Tesla will move me more in the future.  Would I spend 3X or more what I did for my first Honda?  No.  I would just prefer to live in the city and use public transport.  I still love soft & supple menswear especially authentic cashmere and I'm now enthusiastically into the old men Italian makers like Brunello and Loro Piana.  On the other hand, I'm not at all convinced by luxury handmade shoes anymore.  I wore the John Lobb on my wedding day so it's still loved but I cannot imagine buying them again.  I wear mostly New Balance sneakers which are admittedly not that cheap either.  So turning to luxury watches, it falls in the middle.  If I were wearing my cynical hat, I would say I need a good slap in the face because I should have a much bigger qualm about buying something that is 3X or 4X what it was about 15 years ago.  Maybe it is the weakness of the middle age life, that to find something to stir and motivate the passions, it takes a bigger and bigger leap as we get older.  On the other hand, maybe it is all relative and it's just enough to do what pleases you if you work hard enough and you are not cheating anyone then do as your conscience allows.                   
--Joe