It is impolite to flaunt your wealth?
The usually happens when the economy is under stress.
Like the weak art market some red flags of an economy not growing.
>>>>>>>>>>
The Wall Street Journal
Subscribe Sign In
- Style
- Fashion
The Anti-Status Watch: Why Men in Finance Love Cheap, Cheesy Watches
The ultimate trading-floor flex? A Snoopy Swatch. Or a Casio calculator. Why lots of money men (still) favor novelty watches.
By
Carson Griffith
| Photographs by Janelle Jones for WSJ
Oct. 10, 2024 4:15 pm ET
 The sorts of fun, kitschy watches beloved by men in finance.
How do you tell the time? Neal W. McDonough, the COO of a finance and policy startup in Ho-Ho-Kus, N.J., looks to Charlie Brown, the lovable, miserable “Peanuts” protagonist. An illustration of the character occupies the exec’s watch dial, Brown’s stout arms acting as the minute and hour hands.
McDonough, 55, bought the kooky Timex for a Valentine’s Day trip about five years ago, along with a matching model depicting Lucy van Pelt (Brown’s frenemy) for his then-girlfriend. To his surprise, he kept wearing the $150-ish ticker after the trip. “It’s now my business watch,” he said, adding that such a nonluxury model can telegraph that he’s under no obligation to be flashy. “I have nothing to prove to anyone,” he said. “And the fun thing is, a lot of people notice [my watch].”
 Timex Standard x Peanuts Snoopy Back to School Watch, $109
Though finance guys famously flaunt Rolexes or Patek Philippes on their wrists, an established subspecies of money men goes the other way entirely. In place of a sleek steel case and elegant ceramic dial? Mickey Mouse. SpongeBob SquarePants. Fanta-orange rubber straps.
Over the years, highfliers have made headlines for sporting Swatches. (See: Blackstone Group CEO Stephen A. Schwarzman or former Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein.) That “wealthy guy, cheap watch” ethos continues to resonate in boardrooms and on trading floors, with men of all seniority levels embracing plasticky, offbeat designs, from superhero models to calculator Casios. Many resemble something you might win in a claw machine. Priced from $30 to a few hundred bucks, they’re a bit of fun and a different sort of flex, conveying an “I don’t need a Rolex” bravado that comes from having made it. Call them anti-status watches.
 Swatch Mouse Marinière Watch, $105
Patrick Lyons, the managing partner of a family office in New York, rotates two contrasting watches: a 1988 Santos de Cartier and a Nickelodeon “SpongeBob SquarePants” model with a tangerine strap.
The Cartier, a family heirloom, is a slice of French sophistication; the Nickelodeon dial features a giant image of a pink starfish named Patrick Star who lives under a rock. Lyons, 35, likes that the second watch is idiosyncratic—and that its starfish shares his name. “I wear that more often than my Cartier,” he said, adding that he hopes to pass down both models to future offspring.
 Swatch Clearly Gent Watch, $80
Leroy Dikito, 42, an executive director at JPMorgan Chase in New York, chose his $450 “Avengers” watch from Citizen because it reminds him of his father, who loved comic books. Though its stainless-steel strap reads urbane enough, its cheerfully garish dial slices together images of the Hulk, Iron Man, Captain America and other superheroes. Working in finance, you need to be “serious all the time,” so a fun watch brings welcome levity, said Dikito. “People need to know there is more than the big job and the title.”
Since a suit can only inject so much color, a watch offers that rare opportunity to “show off your personality,” said Eli Tenenbaum, 36, the director of corporate development for a New York private-equity firm. Plus, he noted, “If you wear a fancy watch, chances are someone else may be wearing the same one.” Tenenbaum runs little risk of twinning with a colleague when he straps on his Mickey Mouse or Snoopy Swatches, worn with premium Brioni or Zegna suits.
 Casio CA506G-9AVT Calculator Watch, $70
Evan Vladem, 37, considers his Casio calculator watch a neat “ice breaker” when schmoozing, a professional obligation for the partner at a financial advisory in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. “It came in handy to break up awkward moments,” he said of the black, $30-ish design, a Casio classic. At a dinner with an insurance partner a few years ago, he recalls, the conversation petered out after an exchange about a client’s situation, which involved some financial arithmetic. “I pulled out my wrist and said, with a smile, ‘Well, I’m happy I have my trusty calculator watch to help me here,’” said Vladem. “We both laughed. [It] kicked off another conversation.”
 Casio G-Shock GWM5610-1 5600 Series Digital Watch, $150
Even men who have invested heavily in high-end horology seem to be falling for cheap, kitschy designs. Scott Jay Kaplan, 44, a film producer and financier for Brooklyn company CoverStory, owns pricey models from Rolex and Audemars Piguet. But for daily wear he’s currently favoring a super-chunky $25 watch he bought in Argentina this past winter, a model similar to a G-Shock but by an unfamiliar brand. He says he has received a lot of compliments on it, and it has held up surprisingly well. “I bought it because it looked silly,” he said. “Not for clout.”
McDonough, the Charlie Brown fan, urges anyone considering a novelty ticker to follow just one rule: Don’t splurge. “I think the whole idea of luxury watch brands coming out with ‘kitsch’ watches is…a little bit absurd,” he said. “So anything over, say, $500 would be out.”
Prop styling by Marina Bevilacqua
The Wall Street Journal is not compensated by retailers listed in its articles as outlets for products. Listed retailers frequently are not the sole retail outlets.
SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS
Would you be comfortable wearing a $20 novelty watch? Why or why not? Join the conversation below.
more in men’s fashion
Copyright ©2024 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
Hide Conversation (4)
Conversation5 Comments
By joining the conversation you are accepting our community rules and terms. To view rules, terms and FAQs, click here. Questions can be sent to moderator@wsj.com.
Conversations on news articles and news columns must be kept on the topic of the story. In opinion content, conversations can delve into other subjects. The conversation will close on this article four days after publication.
What do you think?
Sort by
Newest
EK
Edward Kelly
50 seconds ago
I wear my father's Rolex daily. It was passed down and has high sentimental importance. I do dress casually otherwise, no need to be flashy. In my experience, the most wealthy folks I know always seem to appear as if that do not have a dime. Those who dress super flashy are typically trying to pretend they have lots of bank.
Reply·
·
Share
DD
Donald Duenes
2 minutes ago
I've been wearing the same Rolex for 35 years......funny, nobody has ever asked, "Is that a Casio?" PS - I received it for performance.
Reply·
·
Share
LC
Lincoln Cleveland
10 minutes ago
"Working in finance, you need to be “serious all the time,” so a fun watch brings welcome levity..."
Other men might prefer a plastic lapel flower with a secret water pump, or hand buzzer for shaking the client's hand!
Reply·
·
Share
JM
Jay Man
14 minutes ago
Well yes, I do own and wear inexpensive watches sometimes.
Mostly I wear them to work in the yard or when exercising.
However, in my experience, the real Rolex guys are like me.
My very plain Air-King has been on my wrist since 1968, way before the majority of folks knew the name.
I'm retired now, and I could not bear to wear a plastic watch with a suit when I was working.
It seemed to be a real mismatch.
But then again, I was striving to make a buck then.
If I already had millions, I guess it would not have mattered.
(Edited)
Reply·
·
Share
JT
Joe Tylicki
3 minutes ago
Sadly I'm addicted to my Apple Watch, so no Swiss timepieces for me.
Reply·
·
Share
Powered by
Terms| Privacy|Feedback
Videos
Most Popular news
Most Popular opinion
Recommended Videos
WSJ Membership
Customer Service
Tools & Features
Ads
More
Dow Jones Products
|
