I have reread you post carefully and would say the following.
"Go IWC. I wear an Aquatimer and love it..." - Great thats a nice enough watch, but the volunteering of that information kinda tells its own story. Its an esoteric piece.
"If you want to buy a watch that you can talk about its value or how it's an investment... Just buy whatever Rolex you can get your hands on." - there are a lot of Rolex that dont hold value, there are a lot of models in other brands that are better value retainers. Also there is the question of buying second hand so some other sucker took the depreciation. A bit passive aggressive there and a bit naïve.
"If you want a watch that you enjoy wearing and don't care about the value, buy a watch that you like..." - I enjoying wearing all my watches but also care about the value? Its great to buy what you like, but I dont know of many people that buy watches they dont like to be honest, so I never really know what this is supposed to mean except as an excuse to buy easy to get watches and avoid discussion of their downsides. And look if it bring more people into the hobby thats great. But nothing puts people off watches than buying say a new Seamaster at retail and finding out a year laters if worth half. I have been able to experiance so many watches without any financial penalty thus far by being a bit careful, hedging bets and trading up.
As 893bet says it depends on weather you are a "one and done" watch person or have a collection of watches. If you are one and done having a more classic watch, a more desirable watch is the way to go (remember strong residual values is a indicator of how desirable the watch is on the market) and you can use this as a proxy to judge if the watch you like is one people are happy with in the long term. The assumption that your own taste at that point in time is all you need to be happy is again a bit naive. I never sold a watch I didn't at one point like. Nor do I only sell watches I dislike now. Its a journey.
"BTW, if you need to worry about the future value of a watch, then you can't afford it... Buy something in your price range"
Eh thats not really true, and you are saying people worry? No they dont...its a consideration not a worry. If you dont consider it as part of your purchase thinking you are a fool. If you are buying stuff nobody wants anyway you have to dig deep into the "buy what you like" smooth part of your brain to justify the spend.
I could make an equally facetious statement of "if you dont worry about future value you need to man up and buy a more expensive watch". A famous internet youtuber once said about buying a watch "its got to hurt" and you will value more something that you worked hard for, and when you have worked hard for something you care about its worth. The point of pain if different for different people.
I dont care on a day to day basis about the value of my home (or car), I dont worry about it, but it is a consideration as I am not short-sighted enough to think I would never possibly move, or need to liquidate in an emergency or consider the inheritance of the asset.
I think to avoid all the snarky comments and assumptions about other people's motives and finances we should replace the term "residual/resale value" with "future desirability". Future desirability is something I think everyone can agree is a good thing to have, something of value, and the lack of it is something to ponder carefully.
You need to pay attention to what I actually said...
It’s frustrating that you can edit the post you are quoting!
To your last point re if you worry about the value of the watch you are buying you can’t afford it. That’s rubbish. Sure. If you are buying a single forever watch then yeah, value is unimportant, pick your forever watch and enjoy it.
But most forum users like here all have more than one watch. And like to change regularly. Residual value is an important aspect for most people whose resources are limited.
Go IWC. I wear an Aquatimer and love it...
If you want to buy a watch that you can talk about its value or how it's an investment... Just buy whatever Rolex you can get your hands on.
If you want a watch that you enjoy wearing and don't care about the value, buy a watch that you like...
BTW, if you need to worry about the future value of a watch, then you can't afford it... Buy something in your price range
unkel wrote: » I like the Omegas, have owned a speedmaster and two seamasters, but for me they are more in the mid range / entry level luxury watch market. A significant step below Rolex on all fronts that count
micks_address wrote: » From a resale value POV can’t argue with that
Fitz II wrote: » Just to throw a spanner in the work, you are now mostly in Airking and Milgauss money, and having owned every watch mentioned on here so far, A Rolex as a first luxury watch knocks the lard out of Omega and IWC.
Watch_Fan wrote: » Hi all, new to boards and also relatively new to the watch game. Have been looking to mark an occasion for a while and have narrowed my choice down to two watches. IWC 377717 the Speedmaster ending in 002. I probably like the speedy more. However, I was looking at the 2020 one originally but now gone in weirs and keanes. 2021 is over 20% more expensive. I know there is a new bracelet and movement, do you guys think that justifies the hike in the price?