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.
Except for few specific watches, most watches will fly under the radar for most people in my area. So I don’t worry about it and generally wear what I like.
But I do recognize there are situations where I don’t want to be wearing something too nice due because of safety concern or message it might send. I have more affordable watches or obscure vintage watches in the collection for this purpose.
Additionally, I don’t like things to remind me of work during off hours, so I have a separate watch to be worn for work. If your clients are the type to recognize watches, then maybe have one appropriate watch be your work watch. The rest of your collection could be worn after work and off days when you really live your life.