Salsa_Lover said:
well my point is probably not understood.
It was in relation to a comment about Rolex watches.
I do appreciate the old world craftmanship and tradition that combined with leading edge product development, I do believe they deserve to be paid a premium.
But this doesn't apply to all areas and by all means.
Watches at some time needed advanced precision micro-mechanics and a high level of craftmanship was reached by Rolex, Patek Phillipe and other watchmakers. Same goes for their innovative cases that allowed the clock to work flawlesly and give time accurately under water at higher pressures.
But then scientific progess and innovation came on the other side and invented Quartz Watches, and this simply killed the micromecanic watch industry. It only survives thanks to the folks that attribute a high value to that and to the brand name. For that reason too they have to sell the watches at those high prices, if they sold large quantities the prices would be much lower.
Same about the photographic film for example, no doubt film photography is richer, but it has been simply killed by digital photography, I wouldn't pay thousends for a Leica when a Canon or Nikon does the job well. But surely some colectors do.
Tube Audio amplifiers anyone ?
Steel bikes ?
They only have a high price because there is much less demand, and because some few attribute a high value to their history.
that's all.
There is a HUGE difference between buying something because it does what it is supposed to do, and buying something because it does what it is supposed to do in
style.
Huge difference.
About the only writing instrument I use is a Mont Blanc. Granted, the everyday ones are the black and gold resin el cheapo ones at $200 each. The stainless steel and sterling silver ones are in the display case and are only used for very rare occassions (e.g., large settlements, house purchases, car purchases). Ever write with a Bic and then write with a Mont Blanc?
I own 2 Timex watches and 2 Mont Blancs. Yeah, they both tell the time, but there is a huge difference between the two. The Timex looks like complete crap when I wear it with a suit. The Mont Blancs looks good with almost anything I wear except for jogging shorts and a tank top. They even look good when I am wearing Carhartt jeans a Ducks Unlimited t-shirt.
Cars are cars. They will almost all get you from point A to point B, just like watch will tell time. However, some get you there in a completely different style than others. My sister had a 2002 BMW 330ci, and while it got her there in style, it was a complete maintenance headache and she just traded it in on a Mercedes AMG SUV and the BMW only has something like 120,000 miles on it. Meanwhile, my 1998 Ford Taurus, not all that stylish, has 220,000 miles on it and it is still getting me from A to B. A Ferrari will get you from A to B too.
The same can be said about bikes. They are all pretty much functional, and unless you are really in a hurry (e.g., Ferarri), they will all get you from A to B. Even the Target/Wal-Mart specials will get you from A to B, but putting one of them next to a Colnago is a huge difference to anybody that knows anything about bikes. Meanwhile, some of my friends have no clue what a Colnago is, and wouldn't even have a clue that they could possibly cost what they cost.
Me, I want another Mont Blanc watch and another set of Mont Blanc pens.
