So, after years of slaving, blood, sweat, tears, plus all other bodily excretions included, you finally bought your dream watch! Good for you! You wince in pain as you pay the sales person $ 15,000 (plus tax) for your luxury watch.
You upload dozens of photos of your watch in every angle on Instagram with the caption “my baby”. Barely a year later, your “baby” stopped working. Houston, we have a problem!!!
Before you go to the watch store and kick everyone inside while shouting “This is Sparta”, know this: Expensive isn’t always synonymous with good quality. There are times when you really don’t get what you pay for. It’s a sad truth.
Some people might argue that a watch is still, above everything else, a piece of device; hence, there’s a huge possibility that it will get broken. That’s partly true. But, there’s a big chance that you’ll get smacked in the face if you tell that statement to someone whose expensive watch just died….of natural causes.
Why? Well, simply because there are pieces that don’t cost an arm and a leg but are tough and sturdier. Reputable watch brands such as Casio, Timex, Orient, and Seiko (to name a few) have been producing top quality watches for a lot of years. Most have different movements from luxury watches, but that doesn’t mean they are less accurate or “less of a watch”.
One story that really caught our attention (though really unfortunate) regarding the quality of an affordable watch was that of the tragic plane crash that happened last year in the Philippines. The late Department of the Interior and Local Gov’t. (DILG) Sec. Jesse Robredo was wearing his favorite Timex Indiglo WR 30M watch the day his plane crashed.
After three days, his body was recovered along with the watch. After a forceful impact, three days of being submerged in 55 meters (far exceeding the watch’s 30 feet water resistant depth) of saltwater and strong currents, the Timex watch was still working. Timex’s sales soared!
People buy watches for a variety of reasons. Some buy it as a fashion statement, others as a status symbol, or as an investment piece. There are those people who still buy wrist watches for the purpose they were made. They buy pieces with good quality regardless of the brand. If you belong to this rare bunch, you might want to consider checking out the well-made watches that are inexpensive first before splurging. Remember: Expensive doesn’t always mean best, and that’s the truth!
Surely a windfall for Timex, which don’t even stand the Indian summers and sweat. My T23222 started rusting within a year flat. Now I use it as a table clock and also a paperweight. It looked good, though. Thought of buying an expedition; but can’t risk money again.