April 20, 2009
Last week we were talking about the myth of gold watch and what is once symbolized in the life of a working person–retirement and a reward for a job well done. And we were also musing about how we tend to use watches less and less these days since we all carry cell phones and figure that someone else will have the time even if we do not. Unless you travel in desolate areas, you are not likely to find that your watch is absolutely the only way that you can find out what time it is.
So of course to contradict this grand pronouncement, Ralph Lauren just announced that he will launch a new line of luxury timepieces. And, among these new luxury timepieces will be gold watches. To be more specific, these gold watches will be available in 18 carat gold. And apparently this is just the beginning: Ralph Lauren also wants to expand his hold in the fashion and accessory world by making more gold jewelry in the future.
It is possible that we may have spoken too soon. After all if a designer like Ralph Lauren sees fit to start selling gold watches at this point in time, perhaps there is a future for those timepieces we wear on our wrists. Then again, an 18 carat gold watch may just be considered another accessory, much like a gold bracelet or a gold necklace. I doubt that these gold watches are being sold because people really need to know what time it is. It is more likely that these gold watches are being sold to augment outfits and act as indicators of status. After all, with computers, clocks and cell phones everywhere, what indicates how good you have it better than a gold watch that you really do not need to rely on for the time? Being able to flash a gold watch now shows that you have extra money to spend.
Some of you may have old gold watches that you did rely on to tell you the time at one point. But now if your gold watch no longer tells the time, then it is not of much use to you now is it? One way to get the most out of a broken gold watch is to sell it to a gold buyer. That way you can get cash for gold, and that is something that is always timely.