RO or Sub for a college kid? :)

[eightbore]

So, I work as a professor at a small private university abroad. The institution is well-known locally to be elite in nature to the degree that it seems every third 19 year old is sporting a stainless sub they probably got for HS graduation. The other day I am giving an exam and I look down to see a kid furiously writing with a "basic" 41mm Royal Oak on his wrist. I'll admit I was a bit disgusted at first....but then gave it some thought. The kid probably chose this watch knowing that VERY few of his sub-wearing buddies would know what the thing is. He didn't buy it for "flash" but rather precisely because it was, to some degree more under the radar in his peer group. When the exam was finished, the kid walked by, turned in his exam, and wanted to know when the grades would be posted. I told him and then complimented him on his watch saying, "That's a nice change from all the subs around this place". The kids eyes literally lit up....."FINALLY...someone who doesn't think Rolex is the best watch in the world"! Looks like we both have a new, and unlikely, friend to talk watches with.

[DECR]

Good story. Smart kid. Thanks for sharing.

[Hairdude1]

Cool story

[AK797]

Nice to find a friend

[Snow-Dweller]

Very cool

[thomaspp]

that's cool - at 19 I would have gone for the sub!

[overthehill]

Good one

[VICI]

So you didn't com across a snobby kid - rather one who appreciates horology.

Nice story - help guide him.

[eightbore]

Originally Posted by thomaspp

that's cool - at 19 I would have gone for the sub!

Precisely. Clearly his parents paid for it, and we could debate the virtues of buying your 19 year old a $20,000 watch all day long, but if he chose that piece rather than something more recognizable he is definitely to be commended. My first "good watch" was a Rolex back in 1992 when I was 21 and, even if I'd had the budget, I don't think I would have been mature enough to pick an AP over something with more flash.

[csi-n]

Pretty nice story. A WIS in the making.

Thanks for sharing.


Sam

[tcheeco]

I like this kid... Very nice story, thx for sharing ;)

[doc.kool]

And an open mind. Refreshing

[powerfunk]

Here in Boston I see 5 AP ROO's on college students' wrists for every Sub.

[eightbore]

Originally Posted by powerfunk

Here in Boston I see 5 AP ROO's on college students' wrists for every Sub.

A ROO on a college kid, to my mind, is not so different than a big gold Rolex Sub in terms of "announcing itself" and the wearer. This kid in my class was just wearing a 15400ST which is why he struck me as pretty low profile.

In that age group, to be frank, I always thought that a watch was a pretty ham-fisted way to broadcast wealth. I've seen it done right though. When I was seeking my undergrad degree, the then Kuwaiti Ambassador's kid was at the institution. He drove a new shiny white Rolls Royce Corniche. That's doing it right.