I’ve never been much impressed by ostentatious expressions of wealth or social trends. Some suggest clothing, including watches, makes the man. If that’s the case, what does my choice of a $25 Casio make me?

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Graphic: Casio Wristwatch. Author.

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Bill Glahn at Powerline is similarly puzzled: 

I confess to complete bafflement at the obsession of our newspapers regarding luxury watches of a certain brand name. From today’s New York Post,

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Barron Trump was spotted Sunday afternoon sporting a Rolex as he arrived at Trump Tower in New York.

The recent birthday boy, who turned 19 on March 20, appeared to be wearing a gold Daytona model of the luxury watch, which can cost about $50,000.

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Late last week, from the Washington Post,

How Kristi Noem’s $50,000 Rolex in a Salvadoran prison became a political flash point.

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Glahn notes Noem’s Rolex probably retails at closer to $60,000. Apparently, being South Dakota’s Governor and one of Trump’s cabinet officials is more lucrative than I thought. I was a public servant for most of my life and never saw or expected that kind of loot.

In fact, that single watch costs more than my most expensive vehicle, a new Ford Ranger pickup. It’s actually our second pickup, after a 2024 Ford Maverick. We’re a two-pickup family, which is very Wyoming. Were I to covet a watch like Noem’s, I’d have to take out a loan, and I don’t think there’s any such thing as a watch loan, at least not in most of America.

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My wife is the technological gadget fan in our household. Even so, she’s thankfully far from a high-maintenance woman, which is one of the many things I love about her. When she got an iWatch years ago, I did the same. It worked just fine until the battery bulged and I was introduced to the planned obsolescence of Apple Watches. I couldn’t find anyone who could or would replace the battery, and I quickly got the message: buy a new one or go elsewhere. I did. To my $25 Casio.

That was fine with me, because I expect nothing more of watches than to accurately keep time, and little more of my smartphone than to make phone calls and the occasional text. I do occasionally use it for keeping up with the news, but I prefer my desktop computer for emails and news surfing. But then again, I’m from an earlier generation that didn’t emerge from the womb with a smartphone and iWatch. I tend to spend what little free time I have between the pages of good books. I’ve discovered there’s very little retirement in retirement. Glahn again:

From the Daily Mail earlier this year,

Who’s in and out of the Rolex club? It’s the gift all the rich athletes, moguls and heirs are giving their girlfriends – and it has a special meaning among the ‘in’ crowd.

Alas, the story itself sits behind the Daily Mail‘s VIP paywall, so I will never learn that “special meaning.

I’ll have to do without it too. Like Glahn, I noticed the Rolex Submariners that James Bond wore in the early Bond films, though I never lusted after one. The Bond girls, sure. I never had that kind of money, nor would anyone I knew have known what it was or been impressed by one anyway.

I’ve managed to live for a very long time without the burden of keeping up with the Joneses. Through my musical and academic endeavors, and even through police work, I’ve sometimes wandered in the kinds of social circles that care about such things, but they certainly never expected a temporary visitor to abide by their conventions, and neither did I.

So, what does my cheap but useful Casio say about me? That I’m a happy guy who has lived a productive, adventurous life without pricey wrist jewelry, which is as it should be.

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Mike McDaniel is a USAF veteran, classically trained musician, Japanese and European fencer, lifelong athlete, firearm instructor, retired police officer, and high school and college English teacher. He is a published author and blogger. His home blog is Stately McDaniel Manor.