Watch It
The Jakarta Post | Wed, 01/23/2008 3:46 PM |
Wise investments are not
limited to real estate, stock portfolios, gold bars or a whopping bank account.
Your wristwatch can be of equal value, and its ticking may be as important as
that of your heart.
I was enjoying afternoon
tea, replete with delicious petit fours, with an old friend at the Peninsula
Hotel in
For once, I was speechless,
almost choking on my strawberry jam-laden scone. All that money for a
timekeeper, I finally blurted out. “Why not?” my friend replied blithely. Why
not indeed. Perhaps if I have zillions of rupiah in the bank, and made it onto
the recent Forbes’ list of
But having to fork out a
bank-load of cash for a watch is no given that it will make a wise investment.
A source told me of a regular watch brand that recently launched a
super-expensive series, costing more than a billion rupiah and of a limited
edition. Guess who were first up as the buyers? Indonesians, although he
demurred on naming names.
“It wasn’t a good
investment, it was just throwing money away to feed their egos.”
Select models of Piaget,
Jaeger Le Coultre, Vacheron Constantin and Audemar Piguet are sought after as
good investments. They qualify as the latter because they are ultraexpensive,
few are made (from 50-300), they require sophisticated technology, do not bear
gemstones as decoration and, generally, are men’s models. He named as an
example the Girard Perregaux Enzo with limited production of 399 watches. And
try to guess who was the lucky buyer of watch number one? Yes, an Indonesian.
I shook my head at the
story. When would I as an Indonesian be able to fritter away billions of rupiah
to soothe my ego?
“You already are. That cup
of marriage frere you’re drinking is already expensive,” my friend said. Then
she gave me some words of advice.
“Begin small with a couple
of elastic bands, and then get a watch. But make that a plastic one for
starters.”
+ Samuel Mulia
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