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very good post
May 30, 2021,15:06 PM
It provokes the deep thoughts about the state of watch collecting today.
On my usual rounds shopping in the city, I see "consolidators" in boutiques, buying up huge portions of inventory. They are not even buying it for themselves, but rather, to re-sell on the secondary market. One sees the same familiar faces all the time. I see algorithms in buying a Birkin. Apparently it is not about buying bag after bag of entry level Hermes bags to entitle one to buy a Birkin. Rather the algorithm seems to be, buy an Hermes watch, and some ornaments, and maintain spending every 2 weeks, and then they might hint at the availability of a Birkin.
I liked the FPJ CB, eyeing it for more than 5 years now. But when I have amassed the funds for it, it eludes me again. So I really gave up. The PP Nautilus was not even rare - 10 years ago, I could handle one every time I entered a boutique, and it costed USD$22k for one, straight from the AD. The Lange Odysseus, is only for sale, for pre-existing Lange customers.
The biggest insult that these brands are giving us is, making us look like fools rushing in for 3-handed pieces, and paying more for them, than for grand complications - to belong to a "club". Whatever the club is, I don't need to be part of it, nor do I want to end up looking like a flunkey for the brands.
I think as consumers, we have to start boycotting such monopolies, trends and pressures. A member once told me, never wait more than 2 years for a watch - He is right.
Your post has made me realise if I like pieces because of how society values a piece, or how I value the piece, regardless of what others think.
I shall keep my dignity, and come and go into ADs as I please - if they don't have it, it's alright, I'm not begging.