"Why would anyone spend thousands of dollars on a watch when your phone tells the time for free?" It is probably the most common question every watch enthusiast has been asked, and honestly, it is a fair one. If telling the time was the only purpose of a watch, then the argument would be over before it even started. Modern smartphones synchronize with atomic clocks, and even an inexpensive digital watch can outperform a handcrafted Swiss mechanical movement in accuracy. Judging purely by function, spending thousands on a watch makes very little sense.
But that assumes people buy watches for their function alone.
The reality is that people have never assigned value based purely on utility. We spend money on experiences, craftsmanship, design, and objects that mean something to us. Research published in the Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance explains that luxury purchases are often driven by emotional satisfaction, personal identity, and self-expression rather than practical performance alone. In other words, people are not simply buying a product; they are buying what that product represents in their own lives.
A watch is perhaps one of the few possessions that becomes more valuable emotionally the longer you own it. Unlike most technology, which becomes obsolete within a few years, a well-made watch can remain on your wrist for decades. It quietly accompanies promotions, weddings, overseas adventures, career changes, and family milestones. Years later, you do not simply remember the watch itself; you remember where it was with you. That emotional connection is one of the reasons why heirloom objects continue to hold such significance across generations.
Critics often argue that luxury watches exist purely as status symbols. While that is certainly true for some buyers, it is far from the complete picture. The same study on luxury consumer behavior notes that premium products serve two distinct motivations: one is to signal status publicly, while the other is to provide personal fulfillment and reinforce one's identity. Anyone who has spent time around watch enthusiasts knows this firsthand. Many collectors deliberately choose understated pieces that go almost entirely unnoticed by the general public. They appreciate the finishing, the movement, the history, and the engineering, not because others recognize it, but because they do.
This is also why I have never been particularly fond of calling watches "investments." Yes, certain models have appreciated significantly over the years, and researchers have even examined luxury watches as an emerging alternative asset class. However, reducing every purchase to resale value misses the very reason most enthusiasts fell in love with watches in the first place. The greatest return a watch provides is rarely financial. It is the memories attached to it. The watch you wore on your wedding day, the one that traveled across continents with you, or the one your parents eventually passed down, carries a value that cannot be reflected in a market chart.
Perhaps the better way to think about it is in terms of longevity. Most people would not question spending several thousand dollars on a weeklong holiday or on a new smartphone that will likely be replaced in three years. Yet a quality watch, if cared for properly, can last generations. Spread across decades of daily wear, its cost becomes surprisingly reasonable. More importantly, its value continues to grow with every experience it shares alongside its owner.
Would I recommend everyone spend thousands on a watch? Certainly not. Financial responsibilities should always come first, and no hobby should come at the expense of financial security. However, I also believe it is too simplistic to dismiss expensive watches as irrational purchases. We all choose to spend our money on things that enrich our lives. Some people buy cameras, some restore classic cars, others collect artwork or musical instruments. Watches simply happen to be another expression of that same human instinct.
In the end, the mentality behind spending thousands on a watch has very little to do with telling the time. It is about appreciating craftsmanship, celebrating milestones, carrying memories, and owning something built to outlast trends. When viewed through that lens, perhaps the better question is not why someone would spend thousands on a watch, but why we so often assume value can only be measured by function.
