Who would not like to own an expensive luxury watch? Many of us would not wear a costly luxury watch every day, because of our jobs, but it would be nice to have one as a dress watch.

This expression is fairly revealing. It sounds as if a ‘dress watch’ is not for telling the time. After all, the watch that you wear to work will tell you the time and so will your mobile phone. In fact, your cell phone is a more accurate timepiece than any mechanical watch.

Nonetheless, we would like to own a beautiful Omega, Longines, Patek Philippe, Breitling or Cartier watch. I did not include a Rolex – striking though they are, because many people think of them as a ‘spiv’s watch’.

In the same way that an uncle of mine referred to a Rolls Royce a spiv’s car, whereas the choice of a gentleman should be the Bentley. I personally would be very happy to be seen wearing a Rolex whilst driving a Rolls Royce.

This is old world snobbishness, but I think that it still exists in some countries and among some groups even today. It is a question of ‘old money’ resenting ‘new money’ – an age old class battle against the poor guy ‘made good’.

A ‘normal’ Rolex will set you back $5,000-$6,000, which is no small amount merely to know the time when it is on your mobile phone anyway. All of the above may be purchased at the ‘fundamental’ level of between $1,000-$20,000 depending on the brand, but they may all be upgraded as well.

This is where you can get sucked into the machine again. Most of us would be happy with a ‘cheap’ rolex at $5,000, but in a solid platinum case, encrusted with jewels, the same watch movement could cost you ten to twenty times more. Or more.

We, at the bottom of the pile, tend to think that rich people have it simple and compared to most people they do, naturally. However, within their own circles, there is fantastic one-upmanship.

A millionaire thinks that he or she has done well, but he or she may be made to feel small by a richer, more famous person. They have their worries keeping up with the Armstrong-Joneses as well.

Anyway, if you are interested in purchasing an expensive watch, you have to know the origin of the watch, because there are countless forgeries on the market. The worst place to purchase a costly watch is probably the Internet and eBay in particular.

There are countless official, authorized dealers of costly watches and the first step to take ought to be to go to a dealer of the watch or your choice. Discuss the cost and talk about second-hand, because most of them have trade-ins.

If you feel at all uncomfortable, make noises that you are around to leave. If that does not work, try a different shop. These are difficult times for dealers in luxury goods, so there are lots of bargains in costly luxury watches to be had.

Owen Jones, the writer of this piece, writes on a number of topics, and is now involved with luxury Swiss watches. If you would like to know more, please visit our website at Jewellry and Watches.