Obviously we all have our own circumstances, so I’m generally wondering: there is a difference between the watches we dream of and the watches we wear.
When I wear mine, I need to be not too flashy for clients while keeping it professional. I earn $105k as a middle manager in wealth management (MCOL), and the nicest watch I own is an Omega Seamaster ($5.9k).
Affordability aside, I’m weighing how much “nicer” of a watch can I get without “out-wearing my wage”.
I’d love to hear how others have approached this intangible; I can make my own decisions just looking for anecdotes.
It depends a lot where you live. When I was working in the Middle East, I could be in meeting with someone having a $50k watch on their wrist. Now in Germany, working on the same industry, that never happens. Between the two countries there is at least a 10x gap in the average price of the watches on a room.
Most watch guys have Main Character Syndrome (MCS). No one care what watch you are wearing unless they intend to rob you.
I manage money for high net worth people. The self-made ones generally don’t like to see expensive jewelry or clothing on their advisor. The investment fees from the client’s accounts literally pay our salaries.
MCS exists but this is not it.
No one is going to notice or care. Even if they do notice, you can’t predict their reaction. In your case, if a client sees you wearing a nice watch, are they going to think that you’re successful and worth trusting, or are they going to think you’re gouging them on fees? Who knows? I’ve worn watches worth thousands of dollars and had people ask me, “Is that a Seiko?” On the other side, I wear a cheap Citizen and have people ask me if it’s a Rolex. Story short, it’s such an unknown that you can safely wear whatever you want.
I manage money for high net worth people. Their investment fees pay our salaries. If I have too much on my wrist it would ruffle feathers.