

Product Video for the New $2.75M Patek Philippe Watch Is Most Incredible - rakic
http://www.patek.com/movies/events/2014/175th/175th_5175R_Grandmaster_Chime_Full_EN.mp4

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applecore
An incredible amount of engineering for what's ultimately an obsolete
plaything of the super rich.

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smt88
"Plaything" is generous. A yacht is a plaything (and far more functional). An
expensive watch is a status symbol -- the "classy" way of wearing a sign that
says, "I can burn [thousands/millions] on something pointless. That's how rich
I am."

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thegenius
Not really. It's all very relative. I don't see what difference it makes if
you have 3 billion dollars and spend .09% of your wealth on a watch vs. having
a net worth of 10 thousand dollars while spending $50 on a watch, which would
be over 5 times the amount relative to net worth. As a first-world inhabitant
of moderate means, you could argue there are better ways to put that 2.75M to
use, but so could a third-world inhabitant of lesser means with your $50
watch.

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smt88
You're looking at it from a different angle than I was.

You're saying that, as a financial decision, spending $2.75M isn't necessarily
stupid because $2.75M is peanuts to some people.

I agree, though it depends on their goals. If they want to make more money,
it's obviously a poor decision. If they want to look like a vain, wealthy,
frivolous person, then it's a great decision.

My comment was from the angle of whether I think someone who would spend
$2.75M on a watch is A) cool, B) a good person, or C) a good decision maker.

Related to all of those aspects, I consider "looking like a rich person" to be
an incredibly sad, ridiculous goal, especially when $2.75M could be used for
such interesting, useful things (both selfish and unselfish).

And, of course, it's not 100% relative because goods/services cost absolute
amounts of money. Fifty dollars is equivalent to, let's say, 10 hamburgers,
and $2.75M is equivalent to 550,000 hamburgers.

Put that into any other unit you want to (charitable donations, vacations,
houses, massages, political contributions, art, etc.). The point is that
throwing away $2.75M on something frivolous is far different from throwing
away $50, no matter how much money you make.

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thegenius
Not at all. You're discounting the fact that $50 is a month's wages to some
people in some countries or that a loaf of bread cost a wheelbarrow's full of
trillion dollar bills in Zimbabwe. A person might buy a watch like that
because the amount is disposable, and they like the craftsmanship. It's you're
assumption they're trying to impress people because you've formed a value
system through your experiences in life, and you can't see it through any
other lens that your own.

Someone who can buy a $2.75 M dollar watch likely looks at life very different
than you do whether they go and buy a watch like that or not. Don't assume
people who get what they want are naive, greedy, vain etc. They might have
different reasons that on a relative basis are just as good as any you'd have.

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smt88
I already agreed that, depending on the goal, it's a good decision. Sure,
craftsmanship could be their reason. I find it unlikely that there aren't any
$100k watches that approach the quality or aesthetic appeal, but it's
certainly possible.

It's not just that the watch is $2.75M. It's just that the markup is so high.
It's being sold for that price just to sell it for that price. It's not like
paying for the construction of a $2.75M house, which might cost nearly that
much to build.

And as far as conforming to my value system, I acknowledged that there was
subjectivity in my reaction. But I don't have any problem with that. I also
wouldn't mind including my own subjective morality when criticizing Bernie
Madoff or John Wayne Gacy. Value systems may be individual and entirely
relative, but our society has agreed on some useful tenets that I happily
subscribe to (don't harm others, don't be greedy, etc.)

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thegenius
Fair enough - I can appreciate your point of view and logic.

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amalag
There are still have working watches from the late 1800's. That is kind of
cool, but now its a status symbol.

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rstoner
Warning: this link points to a 926MB mp4. Anyone have a non-direct download
mirror before we kill the site?

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astrange
With those margins, maybe we can expect them to afford keeping their website
up.

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evanwarfel
It's subtler than a facial tattoo, louder than the startup-school after party,
and it looks gaudier than be-sequined sliced bread.

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mcphage
What is the green mechanical pencil the artist is using early on in the video?

