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Be wary of imitating high-status people who can afford to countersignal

robkhenderson.substack.com

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Re: Be wary of imitating high-status people who can afford to countersignal

#511

Post by [deleted] »

rosnd wrote: post #379
maigret wrote: post #356

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks for the hints. About the replicas: Yes but usually you’ll find a few challenges with those. First, pure replicas are illegal, so what you can find legally are called hommages with another logo. That doesn’t make them worst by itself, but here are the drawbacks: First the maintenance. What is the probability those watches will still be serviceable in 50 years? I own a watch that’s more than 50 years and wear it…

>First the maintenance. What is the probability those watches will still be serviceable in 50 years Extremely high, given that they tend to run on clones of incredibly popular movements like the ETA2824.

[deleted]

Re: Be wary of imitating high-status people who can afford to countersignal

#512

Post by [deleted] »

coredog64 wrote: post #190
fnbr wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What’s an example of a watch that’s mechanically identical to a Rolex?

A Seiko SKX (or a spiritual successor) with a regulated NH35 will fall into the same “100m water resistance, accurate to within 10 seconds per day” category as a Rolex for about a 10th of the price.

[deleted]

Re: Be wary of imitating high-status people who can afford to countersignal

#513

Post by ukd1 »

projectazorian wrote: post #487
tptacek wrote: post #479

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's what I was thinking, too. (I'm not a car person and someone can easily school me here).

Yeah, if you want a 911 and have a little more money to spend, then there are more expensive variants of the 911 that Porsche will be happy to sell you. And they’re generally very good cars. Would get a Carrera GT over a Maserati any time.

LOL, Carrera GT is in a different league (~$1.5mm). 911 is kind of like a Speedmaster, it's a classic, and even a basic one is "acceptable" for most car folks. The S, GTS, GT3, etc would be the more premium. Countersignalling might be to buy older versions, as most folks won't expect the prices, and they're "classics" (e.g. 993s, 964s).

Re: Be wary of imitating high-status people who can afford to countersignal

#514

Post by ukd1 »

projectazorian wrote: post #499
dsfyu404ed wrote: post #493

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is the kind of thing people who see cars as appliances go 55 in the left lane in a Prius (or maybe if you're a homeowner you've traded up to a Tacoma) say. People buying "100k+ rich man's toy" cars don't care about value for money the way you or I do. Edit: appeasing nit pickers

Maseratis aren’t exotic cars though, that’s the thing. They’re mediocre luxury cars marketed as exotic cars. You can get a new Maserati for less than a new BMW M3. Not exactly exotic car territory.

Whilst I agree, it seems non-car-folks seem to relate them to ~Ferrari levels. I.e. expensive, rare, etc.

Re: Be wary of imitating high-status people who can afford to countersignal

#515

Post by nostrademons »

yunwal wrote: post #490
nostrademons wrote: post #448

Earlier quoted context omitted.

More cupholders, the ability to seat 3 carseats abreast, fabric rather than leather seats, better gas mileage, fits more easily in tight parking spots (and you care less if it gets dinged because you didn't pay $70K for it). Only thing the BMW really has on them is soundproofing (and probably acceleration & handling, but I don't care much about that). And I care more about how reliable it is at > 10 years of ownershi…

Rich people probably only care about the first few years of ownership since after a few years they’ll upgrade the the newer model.

Right, but this subthread is explicitly about efficiency, i.e. getting value & quality for your money, and not about what's adapted to rich people's lifestyles. The context is people who cook a lot but don't spend a lot of money vs. people who cook only infrequently but spend a lot on kitchen appliances.

Re: Be wary of imitating high-status people who can afford to countersignal

#516

Post by gbjw »

bloqs wrote: post #244
sanderjd wrote: post #212

> An example from Ogilvy Vice Chairman Rory Sutherland: If you’re a top executive, turning up to work on a bicycle is a high-status activity because it was a choice and not a necessity. But if you work at Pizza Hut, turning up on a bike means you can’t afford a car. It must be so tedious to live having internalized this perspective on people. The vast vast majority of people are not "signaling" when they do things, t…

You find it unrelatable (and most commenters on this website will too.) People can be broadly separated into 2 categories in terms of cognitive wiring for personality psychology. " People people" and "Things* people". (Theres a lot of overlap between interest in aesthetics and interest in ideas here too, but a separate discussion) These map rather neatly onto other things like introversion and agreeableness, but park…

This is a blatant false dichotomy and a dehumanizing one at that.

Re: Be wary of imitating high-status people who can afford to countersignal

#517

Post by astrange »

nobodyandproud wrote: post #491
seattle_spring wrote: post #413

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Zuckerberg can look like a total slob at Facebook Huh, custom tshirts and well fitting jeans counts as "looking like a total slob" now? Fwiw I'd rather work with / for someone that dresses like that over formal any day of the week.

Yes. I like t-shirts and jeans and never want to go back to suits and ties but.. When I went to Japan a decade ago, I realized just how informal and slovenly American working attire had become.

Japanese suits/uniforms are often pretty cheap (and look that way) - thus the low end “recruit suit”. They are tailored, but the level of body-fitting they are would be actively unacceptable in the US. By which I mean, everyone would think you’re gay.

On the other hand, Japan is the home of expensive high end recreations of American casual clothes - look up Take Ivy, BEAMS, nice selvedge jeans, etc.

Re: Be wary of imitating high-status people who can afford to countersignal

#518

Post by pclmulqdq »

tptacek wrote: post #477
pclmulqdq wrote: post #274

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think there's a bit of an idea now that you should be expressing yourself with your money, not expressing society's ideas. Around cars and watches, this creates a little bit of a "dead zone" for prestigious professionals. For example, if you aren't showing up in a $200k Maserati, your car had better be under $50k (maybe $70k with inflation). Only posers who aren't really into cars but want to show off their wealth…

Where is this place where showing up in a Porsche 911 outs you as a car dilettante because you didn't shell out an extra $90k for the Maserati? I think the status symbols there might be reversed.

I'm not a car person, but I think showing up in a 911 is okay, but showing up in a random Mercedes is not. Other commenters have pointed out that a Maserati is also not a great brand to be driving, despite the price.

Re: Be wary of imitating high-status people who can afford to countersignal

#519

Post by astrange »

vineyardmike wrote: post #427
pclmulqdq wrote: post #274

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think there's a bit of an idea now that you should be expressing yourself with your money, not expressing society's ideas. Around cars and watches, this creates a little bit of a "dead zone" for prestigious professionals. For example, if you aren't showing up in a $200k Maserati, your car had better be under $50k (maybe $70k with inflation). Only posers who aren't really into cars but want to show off their wealth…

> Clothing seems to be the same at many companies: you had better wear tailored suits and shirts or be less dressy than "business casual." There’s a running joke in my circle about the “dad professional class”. People who are older (40-60s) and go to the office in a remote-work-accepting world mostly because they seem to want to leave their family at home. They all dress like shit in ill-fitting clothes, but because…

I think the idea you should get your clothes tailored is just foreign to them. Uniqlo is the only brand that offers it in the US at mall clothes prices.

Re: Be wary of imitating high-status people who can afford to countersignal

#520

Post by thaumasiotes »

steveBK123 wrote: post #143
trasz2 wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Technically a Rolex, however expensive, will always be much worse as a watch than a 20$ Casio. But recently there's another aspect to this: there are now watches that are technically (mechanically) identical to rolexes. Same design, same mechanics, virtually impossible to tell the difference when you tear it apart. Rolex has always been more about marketing (artificial scarcity, waiting list etc) than mechanics, but…

Correct, a G-shock would get the job done better. I always viewed watches as the only mainstream sociable acceptable form of male jewelry. And regardless of which model, generally no more expensive than a woman's engagement or wedding ring, and actually usually cheaper. Plus it does something other than look pretty - tells time & date!

> I always viewed watches as the only mainstream sociable acceptable form of male jewelry.

Cufflinks are a big deal, in certain circles.

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