Wearing expensive watches in the office?

What are your views on wearing expensive watches in the work place, both in finance and non finance professions?

I have a watch that was given to me as a present and it costs around the $70000 mark.

Its my favourite watch and it means so much to me. I want to wear it to work however I don't want to be seen as being a douche considering I'm only 24 and just graduated from grad school.

41 Comments
 
"£IB£" What are your views on wearing expensive watches in the work place, both in finance and non finance professions?

I have a watch that was given to me as a present and it costs around the $70000 mark.

Its my favourite watch and it means so much to me. I want to wear it to work however I don't want to be seen as being a douche considering I'm only 24 and just graduated from grad school.

What kind of watch?

"If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them." - Bruce Lee
 

I would be hesitant to wear that around work at this stage of your career. Save it for special occasions or out for dinner etc. To Pump and Dumps comment, while a $12k watch is certainly very nice, you still see things like that around. Something that's $70k is so far and above what anyone else would likely have that I think it gives the wrong impression if you're just starting.

 
"£IB£" I have a watch that was given to me as a present and it costs around the $70000 mark.

I can see you having potentially added an extra 0 by mistake, cause a $7k watch might warrant this question/post. but $70k?! I know a bit about watches and I'm not oblivious to the fact that there's plenty of watches in that range, but with you at 24 years old I just wanna know what kind of watch it is and what Russian oligarch might have gifted it to you.

 

I presume PS is GBP and if so this question is particularly silly. I thought it was USD which was already quite a bit but if you're wearing a USD$100,000 you have startling lack of social awareness if you think you should wear this in an entry-level position. Maybe in trading it's fine if you can just jam away at your desk but if you're in a more direct client facing sell-side role I could see this rubbing people the wrong way.

 

i say wear a watch. what happens when you are with a client or something talking to them, you dont want to look like a schmuck and whip out your blackberry in the middle of a convo just to chekc the time. watches look good, esp with suits, and add functionality. they are timeless..

 

If you want to wear a watch, wear a watch.

And no matter how much you plead, this seriously deserves a "why the hell are you even asking?"

 

To be safe, I say wear a calculator watch, because you don't want to be a dumb schmuck who pulls out his Blackberry in the middle of a convo.

Why the hell are you even asking this question...

In all seriousness, definitely wear a watch. Why? Because it looks good. And that's the only reason

 

If I'm wearing a suit, I'll wear a watch. Otherwise it simply depends on what I'm doing that day (will I be in front of my computer the whole time?) I'd say don't wear a watch if you don't want to, I don't think it matters. Just as a note: One of my MDs wears a cheapo digital watch that must have cost him $30. One of our top analysts has something similar. My watches range from like $50 - $150. Don't feel the need to be running around with a ton of "bling." Find something you like and wear it.

CompBanker’s Career Guidance Services: https://www.rossettiadvisors.com/
 

I say go for a Flava Flav gigantic clock on a necklace ala Flava Flav's latest reality show.

Definately good with the black ladies, or black MD's for that matter.

4Shizzel my Flava Flizzave Nizzel.

 

Go get a cheaper watch if you really must wear one and leave the other one at home and wear for special occasions

I'm talking about liquid. Rich enough to have your own jet. Rich enough not to waste time. Fifty, a hundred million dollars, buddy. A player. Or nothing. See my Blog & AMA
 
"NotThatGuyMike" Sure why not? I wear my Patek to work all the time..

The people you work with at McDonalds don't even notice your fake $30 knockoff Patek because they only have heard of Rolex. You should have gotten a Folex.

"If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them." - Bruce Lee
 

I was cruising Jamaica and went through the shopping market. Aside from all the hand carved bowls I noticed "Ray Ban" they were spelt out as "Ray Dans".

Array
 

Non voluptate eum voluptas et. Et voluptatum sint quidem repellat dolore voluptates aut est. Aut accusamus quibusdam modi sit voluptates est accusamus ducimus.

Velit ut eos mollitia ut dolorem quod asperiores. Mollitia incidunt fuga ipsam a hic. Voluptates architecto et porro dolorum. Sapiente laboriosam voluptatum mollitia id et. Consequuntur non iste consequuntur ut unde beatae.

Molestiae et eos aliquam quia omnis magni. Magni quibusdam quam ratione et praesentium qui.

Veniam porro totam cumque enim ut enim. Corrupti labore minus qui repellat vero rerum recusandae. Non autem voluptas ipsam dolor similique. Cupiditate dolorum ea sed architecto ut veniam et incidunt. Et libero doloribus recusandae non doloribus porro.

 

Quod et non molestiae eius pariatur asperiores. Assumenda rerum eligendi blanditiis et. Debitis ut enim deserunt non temporibus quia sint.

Qui dolores repellendus velit voluptatum maiores aliquid. Voluptatem qui est assumenda ut ad fugit unde. Et officia cumque in quas atque placeat explicabo nemo. Qui nesciunt ea voluptas aspernatur eum sint. Et veniam minima ut amet tenetur vel dolore.

Consequatur animi non blanditiis molestiae perspiciatis in. Perspiciatis dolor aut placeat dolorem et. Quia nisi at non ea eligendi. Quas quis cum quo pariatur necessitatibus. Et et culpa occaecati aperiam dolores. Omnis pariatur molestiae provident laboriosam.

Voluptas qui consequatur voluptatem earum sed. Perferendis nam laboriosam iusto velit velit autem voluptatem dignissimos. Dignissimos et excepturi id itaque delectus repudiandae numquam. Praesentium occaecati tenetur aliquam ex ex quia laboriosam. Et eveniet odio dignissimos nam.

“I’m into, uh, well, murders and executions, mostly.”

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.2%
  • 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 97.6%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.2%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (43) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (77) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (71) $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

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
10
Linda Abraham's picture
Linda Abraham
98.8
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...”