[themartorana]

They do.

There is a huge divide between a $10 and a $1000 watch. One is a simple Quartz battery-run watch. But when you start talking about mechanical and automatic watches, your looking at incredibly intricate micro-scale engineering. (You may be able to say the same thing about intricately weaved hats, but I wouldn't know.)

You can get a decent mechanical watch below $500, but you're almost definitely looking at a Seiko.

I wouldn't bet on a watch as an investment, but if you spend $3,500 on a good quality Omega Speedmaster or $35,000 on a (low end) Philippe Patek, it's a solid bet it will retain its value over time. I wouldn't bet on it increasing in value better than a Vanguard index fund, but...

Source: I love researching watches and clocks (especially centuries-old clocks) and find mechanical movements to be engineering works of art. I don't personally own that $3500 Omega Speedmaster... Yet...

[gaius]

your looking at incredibly intricate micro-scale engineering

Making an LCD is no small engineering feat - it just happens to benefit from enormous economies of scale.

[ljw1001]

If you get really amazing micro-scale engineering, you can get a watch that is almost as accurate as a quartz watch, for a hell of a lot more money. At least with the hat, it is qualitatively better.

[KC8ZKF]

Qualitatively how? Does it keep the sun and rain off better than a ten dollar canvas bucket hat?

[tedunangst]

Root comment mentions smoother, lighter, more flexible. Lighter certainly seems like a desirable quality, I'm not wearing a hat to work out my neck muscles.

[KC8ZKF]

Smoother, lighter, and more flexible than a less dear Panama hat. The bucket is almost certainly lighter than both, if you're looking to relieve your neck from its tremendous burden.

ljw1001 was comparing watches by their ostensive purposes, telling time, but the hats by something else.

[ljw1001]

Exactly, better than other panama hats for the purpose for which it is used. And I wasn't as KC8ZKF states, comparing hats by one standard and watches by another. You can make a quartz watch that looks and feels exactly like a fine mechanical watch (excluding those that expose the insides, of course) AND is more accurate. You can't make a cheap panama hat that looks and feels exactly like a finely made panama hat because the craft is directly exposed.

[MagnumOpus]

You can get a decent self-winding mechanical watch for $150 from Swatch.

Beyond that, mechanical watches are like art or classic cars - you can "invest" in them, but they are more status symbol and one-upmanship than investment...

[jackgavigan]

> You can get a decent self-winding mechanical watch for $150 from Swatch.

For a certain value of "decent"...

http://watchguy.co.uk/review-a-trip-inside-the-swatch-sistem...

[joshuapants]

I got a decent self-winding mechanical watch for about $30 from Seiko. Granted, I bought it used, but you really don't have to spend much at all unless you're really into watches.