Why You Should Not Settle For A Homage Watch

Watch & Bullion

19 August 2016 | 2 min read

I am going to be honest with you, I don’t like homage watches, and even less so fakes. But I don’t intend this to be another post on how you shouldn’t buy a homage because it is cheap, or because it is a rip-off, or even because I’m annoyed that I paid more for something that looks deceivingly similar. And there is a reason for this. I don’t care what watch you wear. There is a buddhist saying that goes “your actions are your karma, my actions are my karma“, and in that spirit I approach watches.

No, I want to talk to you about instant gratification, and how it tricks us everywhere in life. Before writing this blog I watched a video by the Urban Gentry called “WWT#34 – Homage Watches – Is Imitation The Highest Form Of Flattery?”. In it he expresses his understanding that not everyone can buy a Rolex “just like that”.

I would like to ask you however, should you even be able to buy a Rolex “just like that“? What would be the worth of a Rolex if you could get it “just like that“? Isn’t the struggle part the attraction, and explains why Rolex is synonymous for achievement? In the TED talk titled “Inside the mind of a master procrastinator“, Tim Urban talks of the instant gratification monkey: that little voice in our head that takes the control in your life away from the rational decision maker.

Something similar happens in our head when we end up with a fake, a homage, or even just that one watch which is “good enough“. The reason I know this is because I went through this process myself. I can’t recall how many watches I tried to convince myself were good enough on the journey to my Rolex. I can say however how happy I am to have had people to persuade me to aim higher.

Now if you are someone who just happens to love a Steinhart purely because it is a Steinhart, by all means, go for it. If you however want a watch only due to its similarity to that other watch you really want, then ask yourself will it fully satisfy you? Is it good enough for you? Don’t you and your hard earned cash deserve it?

“But I cant afford a Rolex!“

I challenge you to change that question into “how can I afford a Rolex?”. Print out the picture of your dream watch, figure out how much and how long you need to save up for it, and then just go out and do it! Make your watch something that tells a story. I promise you, you wont regret it.