[nevi-me]

One of the execs at a client I work for bought a nice expensive Breitling. One evening at a function I innocently asked him what the value of such an expensive watch was. He told me that the value of it is that it can last generations. Watch straps can be replaced, but the time piece thing itself is there to last for as long as long.

So when I saw the price tag on this watch today, I wondered what would make it cost that much, anyone have insights? I mean, the battery on the watch will at some point fail or need replacing. I get that the watch should be serviceable, but then; if the internals can be replaced, why price it so high? What's there to guarantee that 50 years down the line the thing will still be usable?

[garethsprice]

A high-end mechanical watch also functions as a store of value - most "blue chip" brand watches can be resold and a decent part of the cost recouped (or, in rare cases, a profit made).

Consumer tech is generally the opposite, where the resale value rapidly declines to zero as technology rapidly improves.

A $17k Apple Watch is far, far more expensive than a $17k Breitling or Rolex when considering total cost of ownership and how much it'll be worth in 5 years.

[Lx1oG-AWb6h_ZG0]

The apple store only offers a two year guarantee, three if you pay extra for apple care. And since this thing requires a paired phone, even if the hardware is usable after that, there is no saying the software will be compatible with new iphones.

It's pretty clear this watch is meant to be disposable.

[nevi-me]

Yes, I agree there that we can conclude it's meant to be disposable. So are the wealthy elite then paying for the "Apple brand"? I ask this seeing that there's not that much gold on the watch itself to justify the price from a commodity perspective.

[Lx1oG-AWb6h_ZG0]

I thought so too, but if the only difference between the 17000$ version and the 500$ version is the case, the only thing you're paying for is the opportunity to tell others you can afford to drop 17 grand every couple of years. It's probably a pretty lucrative market.