A couple of readers thought that an expensive watch was a waste of money and that a similar looking or similar functioning watch could be had at a fraction of the cost.
I totally agree with them. Someone rightly said “Spend money on experiences, not material things”. And I don’t own a fancy car, fancy TV, cellphone, Ipod or other “fancy” stuff, so buying expensive toys isn’t really my thing.
However, buying an extravagant gift for myself went deeper than just replacing my watch. Sometimes, you need to spend some money on yourself. A reward for all the hard work you put in and a reminder to why we work so hard.
A watch is also a very personal artifact, one that you gift to your kids when you die. I definitely appreciate having my Dad’s watch and thankfully he had good taste!
Anyway, regardless of my attempts to justify buying an expensive watch, I went ahead and bought one anyway. I bought the Omega Men’s Speedmaster Michael Schumacher “The Legend” Collection Series Watch.
I opted not to buy it from an online store, since they are not authorized dealers and therefore do not offer a company warranty. I thought it made more sense to buy it from an authorized dealer, so if something went wrong I could get it repaired anywhere under warranty. After all, these are complex mechanical watches, not a simple quartz mechanism that will fit in 2mm. Most repairs run atleast a couple hundred dollars.
However, I did negotiate the best deal ever. I found out that red schumacher legend series was a slow moving model. People who can afford to spend $4,350 on a watch aren’t often in the age-group that would appreciate a red faced dial! I told the dealer that I wanted the red faced dial and he said it would take 4-6 weeks to locate and get. I can’t wait that long, I have a birthday coming up! So I settled on the black faced dial. I told the dealer I had found a dealer in Florida who was willing to offer a 30% rebate and that with taxes he should offer me atleast 35% off the retail price.
He said there was no way he could match that price. I had previously gone to the bank and withdrawn $2,500 cash and I when I spread the stack of hundreds on the counter he realized I was serious. I said I was willing to make a deal right then and pay in cash if he would offer good terms, if not the watch would still probably be there in another month. Finally we settled on a 34% discount. I paid the bulk in cash and put $600 on my visa card.
Atleast I got a good deal on a bad “investment”!!!! Of course, I could’ve gotten an even better deal buying a discount omega watch online.