Watches?

Now that Kevin O’Leary has pumped luxury watches as investments for years on YouTube, they’re skyrocketing in price across the board. Even Rolex Datejusts, once able to be found in AD cases everywhere, are exceedingly rare and go for around $10k on the grey market. What’s your favorite watch brand and model, and how do you think luxury watches are perceived by peers in IB and PE? Has the perception evolved over the past several years, and in what ways?

155 Comments
 

I'm two levels down from MD and I wear the same watch he wears, a Rolex Daytona. Yes, I get it, there's plenty of Rolex haters out there and some of that is deserved. But the Daytona speaks for itself - anyone that sees it knows that it's not an "entry level" watch like a Sub would say. You show a Daytona to anyone - watch aficionado or not - and they instantly know that it's an expensive watch. 

 

Movado is a mall watch - it is overmarketed to the suburban/ex-urban mall-going proletariat and is vastly overpriced. Movado watches don't hold their value and are easy to find. The opinion among the watch crowd is that they are low-quality and really flashy (in a trashy way). I would also group Shinola watches in here as the same category which is a shame because I like the brand otherwise. 

To put it bluntly, it screams "I have some money but don't really know anything about watches".

 

This will not be a popular comment, but I'll contribute my perspective. I don't wear a watch. I've gone through a couple apple watches, but I keep losing them. One fell off cliff jumping. The thought of carrying around 20k on my wrist is terrifying. I also don't really think rolexes look cool. I feel like whenever I see someone wearing one, if they are an analyst or associate, I think you probably grew up in CT and got that for graduation. It's just a little basic. Kind of like driving a BMW or going to vacation on the Greek Islands. I don't see a rolex and think, "oh this person has good taste." In fact, it makes me think oh this person just wants to fit in. 

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.2%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.3%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (44) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (78) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (72) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”