Watches

Dr Crippin, probably the most read medical blogger in the UK, chose to introduce a discussion on the worried well and prophylactic screening with a discussion on servicing his watch.

This started quite a lively discussion on "watch porn" which provoked a bit of thought with me (hence the solipsistic tag below).

Men's bling in the mainstream is limited to cuff links and watches. I had a psycho boss for a job I was in for short time and the only positive learning I took from this guy was to choose cuff links with a solid spine. Since then, a pair of Tiffany kidney bean links have been all that I've needed to pass myself off as being "smart" in business and formal social occasions. If anyone is looking for a GBP150 present for a god son or whatever, I would recommend a pair of these. They feel nice and solid too.

On the watch front, it's hard to work in finance in Asia without succumbing to bigging it up on a new watch. Working in Singapore, Orchard Road was always a short taxi ride away and the prices were (relative in the odd world in which you existed) reasonable. The "standard" watch was a "Hong Kong Swatch", being a Roles datejust. This was the entry to a world of hurt where you went from Rolex / IWC (depending on how obscure you fancied yourself and how thick your wrist was) to the nightmarish heights of Vacheron Constantin (pictured above, yours for US$80,900).

Seemed like madness to me... but I couldn't resist shelling out for a Bell&Ross Hydromax, water resistant to 11,000 metres. Stupid, but a good conversation starter in the pub and a fraction of the price of a VC.