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.
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.
You’re overthinking it. Do you apply same logic for the car you own? Or a part of the city you live in?
You might, but why… You’d never be able to control it all and people will judge either positively or not, there’s no an universal rule.
To be sure have a neutral watch or the one you mentioned, for the specific meetings when seeing those clients in person.
Yeah I my therapist says that a lot. Not about watches, other stuff. I worry about people questioning my priorities or jumping to assumptions about how I present myself.