Does unlimited wealth diminish the alue of acquisition?

[J!m]

So a post on another thread got me thinking...

Let's say a pro footballer or have access to family wealth etc. where the value of the dollar is disproportionate to someone wo had to scrape the funds together for a luxury item the hard way...

I was just looking through old Heuer catalogues, and price points are very low (loking at 1970's list price) and thought, gee, if money value to me was like that... In other words, if it really didn't matter what the asking price was, would that item still be as valued to me as a posession?

If I did have unlimited wealth I'd still gravitate to the vintage pieces but I just post this as a somewhat introspective idea I guess.

Any thoughts on this?

[stnmikita]

I think it would definitely have an effect.

If I could go out and purchase whatever PP struck my fancy at the moment, I'm guessing I'd become quite bored with a new piece relatively quickly.

When a goal requires no effort, I believe it eventually ceases to satisfy. It's the only way I can understand why so many of the super-wealthy in our world seem to be so unhappy.

[HorologyK]

Originally Posted by stnmikita

I think it would definitely have an effect.

If I could go out and purchase whatever PP struck my fancy at the moment, I'm guessing I'd become quite bored with a new piece relatively quickly.

When a goal requires no effort, I believe it eventually ceases to satisfy. It's the only way I can understand why so many of the super-wealthy in our world seem to be so unhappy.

Agree. I only purchase Patek now because I can't wear Rolex due to the heft and ubiquity. After going through six Rolex pieces, I've purchased several Patek's over the past two years and now just have one... 5167 on tropical. My daily and only piece. I could purchase any Patek or Rolex but choose just to have this one due to its superior comfort, under the radar look and clean dial.

[nilfire77]

Originally Posted by HorologyK

Agree. I only purchase Patek now because I can't wear Rolex due to the heft and ubiquity. After going through six Rolex pieces, I've purchased several Patek's over the past two years and now just have one... 5167 on tropical. My daily and only piece. I could purchase any Patek or Rolex but choose just to have this one due to its superior comfort, under the radar look and clean dial.

I envy your problem dude...

[Naz737]

Why am I thinking of the story where the rich kid (way back when) gets a horse and the poor kid gets a whistle... The poor kid is so enthralled with the whistle and the rich kid is jealous of the poor kid...

I guess I'm saying it depends on the person and how you choose to live your life... And based off of what's earned and what is valued... it will all be relative... But who is to say someone who is rich wouldn't appreciate what they have...

Depends what you value as a person and everyone's taste is different...

[MCO1]

I have often thought about this myself. I was at an AD in St Louis yesterday looking at many models that I am not currently in the market for but I wanted to see them. There was a gentleman in the store that was being well catered too, I could tell he was a regular client that was in looking and buying watches often, the fellow working with me said he could buy any watch that he wanted. It crossed my mind that does he get the same charge as I do when I have to be so selective. My guess would be yes to a certain degree, the appeal of watches is the appeal of watches.

[GB-man]

I think with unlimited funds it requires the collector to go down a different path. You have different options and such. Also new watches are always being released and rare vintages always hard to find. This hobby suits any budget and that is part of what makes it great.

[AzPaul]

In Citizen Kane, as the wealthiest man in the world lay dying, the possession he valued most (**Spoiler ALERT**) was his childhood sled.

[ronin_ph]

The wealthiest person in my family wears a $1,000 watch.

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[capote]

Well if you can buy a handful vintage perpetual calendar Pateks before breakfast without noticing the cost I guess watch collecting would get really dull fast. But I'm only speculating.

[nilfire77]

Originally Posted by J!m

So a post on another thread got me thinking...

Let's say a pro footballer or have access to family wealth etc. where the value of the dollar is disproportionate to someone wo had to scrape the funds together for a luxury item the hard way...

I was just looking through old Heuer catalogues, and price points are very low (loking at 1970's list price) and thought, gee, if money value to me was like that... In other words, if it really didn't matter what the asking price was, would that item still be as valued to me as a posession?

If I did have unlimited wealth I'd still gravitate to the vintage pieces but I just post this as a somewhat introspective idea I guess.

Any thoughts on this?

Just to state an interesting point... Money can't get you any watch you want... For instance, you need to be interviewed by Thierry Stern (CEO of PP) if you wanna get your hands on a brand new $2.6 million Patek Grandmaster Chime.

In short, PP screens their buyers for their top end stuff to make sure they don't fall into the hands of the wrong people (read: Non-wis)....

[zeuloa]

Originally Posted by nilfire77

Just to state an interesting point... Money can't get you any watch you want... For instance, you need to be interviewed by Thierry Stern (CEO of PP) if you wanna get your hands on a brand new $2.6 million Patek Grandmaster Chime.



In short, PP screens their buyers for their top end stuff to make sure they don't fall into the hands of the wrong people (read: Non-wis)....

I'm sure if Mr. Buffett suddenly decided to dive into watches and knocked on PP's door he would be sold any watch without much trouble...


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[nilfire77]

Originally Posted by zeuloa

I'm sure if Mr. Buffett suddenly decided to dive into watches and knocked on PP's door he would be sold any watch without much trouble...


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Ahhh... I have no doubts about that... Cos he ain't Justin Bieber...

[stnmikita]

If someone needed to interview me prior to taking my $2.6 mil, that interview better include a parade, celebrity guest appearances, soft music, and delicious cheeses.

[AK797]

When it comes to unlimited wealth and the super rich it is more about exclusivity and the story one can tell others (usually other super rich folks) behind the item/experience/watch. That replaces the affordability issue the rest of us face.

[stnmikita]

I'd give a great deal of wealth for someone to add an "r" to "alue" in the original post.

[Watch This]

A good friend of mine is worth a solid 30 million. He wears a plastic Timex and drives a Buick SUV.

[Great_mazinger]

Originally Posted by Watch This

A good friend of mine is worth a solid 30 million. He wears a plastic Timex and drives a Buick SUV.

And that's why he has 30 million.

[Tri-Tip]

It's all relative to your worth. I remember about 25 years ago, my boss purchased a CD Jukebox for his house. It held 100 CD's.

I went with him and his son to the local chain music store and together we picked out 100 CD's across all genres of music.

Went to pay, and it came to about $1,600. He pulled out cash to pay, and the cashier almost wet her pants, I don't think she had ever seen that much cash at one time.

Of course, back then her hourly wage was probably less than $5/hour, so that was a good 2-months pay to her.

[watchwatcher]

I don't know, but I'm ready to find out!

[london_v]

Good thread. I'm a firm believer that to truly value something, you need to work for it. Whether that's a relationship, an item, a dream, etc. If money was on tap, I would buy and replace at will, and therefore disregard the hard work and achievement that would otherwise have gone into achieving the goal - that's the fun bit, right?

[Rock]

In my experience most material acquisitions are most enjoyed before, at acquisition, or soon after. I'm thinking that the greater the capacity to acquire, the quicker the novelty wears off.
If you have 50 watches, there are probably a lot of them that you have totally forgotten about(?).
Not that I would know or am ever likely to know.

[zama]

For me I think the things that cost the most don't always give me the most utility.

I think you could still be passionate about something even if you had unlimited wealth.

[jdmi32]

A former baseball player named Dmitri Young was a huge baseball card collector. He focused on high grade rookie cards and his collection was beyond astounding. It did seem to me that after a certain point he was simply amassing cards rather than collecting for his own enjoyment.

[GradyPhilpott]

If one has "unlimited" funds, the act of buying for it's own sake would become pretty dull pretty fast. That's like an addiction and a rapidly increasing resistance.

However, a man with a passion who collects anything and has "unlimited" funds would be able to live a fantasy existence in terms of his passion.

Jay Leno is a good example of someone with lots of money who has a passion for cars. He's not just some shallow rich guy who's infatuated with cars and crazy in love with money and the stuff it buys.

Jean-Claude Biver has tons of money, but he has a passion for watches, besides being in the business, and he has a spectacular collection and when you hear him talk, it's obvious he's still quite passionate.

Like a lot of things in life, there's a huge difference between those who are shallow and those who are deep.

[Rock]

The urge/motivation to collect or 'amass' can be a strong drive in itself.
Maybe the urge for 'individual pieces' becomes subsumed by 'The Collection' as an entity?
The 'Collection' becomes the satisfier rather than individual pieces.
It would be interesting to know how it is seen by people with big collections of things - cars, watches, jewellery, business acquisitions, wealth etc.

[Ruud Van Driver]

Very good and thought-provoking thread. I have to work hard, v. hard, to be able to wear a Rolex, as I'm sure most on here do/have done.

Someone wrote on here a few months ago, a post along the lines of someone winning big in Vegas and then steaming into the nearest Rolex AD and asking for a gold Rolex, any one, don't care which. Can someone tell me where the fun and satisfaction would be in that, because I sure as heck can't see it.