12-09-2016, 01:54 PM
Joey and I were actually talking about Eleven James the other day (I think I brought it up on this thread many pages ago). While the concept of effectively short term leasing a high end watch is pretty asinine, there is one situation to me where it could actually make a lot of sense. I will use a real life example:
I'm too pragmatic to buy one of my "grail" watches any time soon but I would like to buy a dream watch if I have the means when I retire. I have a short list of these I have developed over the years and occasionally add to when a new one hits my radar. I have experienced this with low-mid level watches which is loving the concept or design of a specific watch but not enjoying it as much when it arrives and I actually wear it. The Citizen I have for sale right now is a great example...the watch itself is amazing, has every feature you could want and is super light and comfortable. But it didn't meet my visual expectations when it arrived as the colors in real life are much different than pretty much every picture I had seen. Also, wearing a watch is much different than "seeing" a watch. Unfortunately, depending on what you are shopping for sometimes it can be nearly impossible to find a real life example to try on before you buy. In others, just trying on a watch once doesn't really give you the full experience of living with it every day. I tried on a $12k+ GMT Master II two tone at a Rolex dealer in Dallas and liked it, but it didn't give me the immediate feeling that I would want to live with it every day.
Here's where Eleven James makes sense, if you're truly in the market for a high end watch and want to "try before you buy" it's not a bad option really. It lets you live with a watch without making a big expensive commitment that you would regret and potentially lose a lot of money in its resale to get something else you like better. That's never really been an issue with me before because I've never owned anything expensive enough where it mattered, but if you're shopping for a high 4 figure - low 5 figure watch my thought would be that you want to be damn sure you like it before you pull the trigger.
Anyway, that's my only devil's advocate argument for a service that otherwise screams "$30,000 millionaire" to me.
I'm too pragmatic to buy one of my "grail" watches any time soon but I would like to buy a dream watch if I have the means when I retire. I have a short list of these I have developed over the years and occasionally add to when a new one hits my radar. I have experienced this with low-mid level watches which is loving the concept or design of a specific watch but not enjoying it as much when it arrives and I actually wear it. The Citizen I have for sale right now is a great example...the watch itself is amazing, has every feature you could want and is super light and comfortable. But it didn't meet my visual expectations when it arrived as the colors in real life are much different than pretty much every picture I had seen. Also, wearing a watch is much different than "seeing" a watch. Unfortunately, depending on what you are shopping for sometimes it can be nearly impossible to find a real life example to try on before you buy. In others, just trying on a watch once doesn't really give you the full experience of living with it every day. I tried on a $12k+ GMT Master II two tone at a Rolex dealer in Dallas and liked it, but it didn't give me the immediate feeling that I would want to live with it every day.
Here's where Eleven James makes sense, if you're truly in the market for a high end watch and want to "try before you buy" it's not a bad option really. It lets you live with a watch without making a big expensive commitment that you would regret and potentially lose a lot of money in its resale to get something else you like better. That's never really been an issue with me before because I've never owned anything expensive enough where it mattered, but if you're shopping for a high 4 figure - low 5 figure watch my thought would be that you want to be damn sure you like it before you pull the trigger.
Anyway, that's my only devil's advocate argument for a service that otherwise screams "$30,000 millionaire" to me.
Posting in the banalist of threads since 2004
2017 Mazda CX-5 GT AWD Premium
Past: 2016 GMC Canyon All Terrain Crew Cab / 2010 Jaguar XFR / 2012 Acura RDX AWD Tech / 2008 Cadillac CTS / 2007 Acura TL-S / 1966 5.0 HO Mustang Coupe
2001 Lexus IS300 / 2004 2.8L big turbo WRX STI / 2004 Subaru WRX / A couple of old trucks
2017 Mazda CX-5 GT AWD Premium
Past: 2016 GMC Canyon All Terrain Crew Cab / 2010 Jaguar XFR / 2012 Acura RDX AWD Tech / 2008 Cadillac CTS / 2007 Acura TL-S / 1966 5.0 HO Mustang Coupe
2001 Lexus IS300 / 2004 2.8L big turbo WRX STI / 2004 Subaru WRX / A couple of old trucks