With today’s delivery of the International Herald Tribune came one of those glossy fashion magazines, this one men’s, for a change. The cover features a famous actor; I don’t know which one, maybe Brad Pitt, George Clooney or someone like that, sporting the unshaven look that gets me thrown out of the kitchen in my own home. On the back cover Sean Connery is sprawled on a wooden bench and leaning against a tree, looking very comfortable and at peace with the world. At his feet, a Louis Vuitton sports bag, filled, no doubt with Connery money.

For the rich and famous?

All in all, the magazine is 75 pages of macho articles such as yachts, suits, shirts, travel goods, shoes and sunglasses. Nine of the pages are full-page adverts for wrist-watches and there is an article on Rolex watches. I haven’t worn a watch since I retired, deciding on that momentous day that I don’t need a reminder of how fast time is flying by. But looking at this collection, I am tempted to apply for one of those Online Payday Loans so I can put down a deposit on a beautiful object.

The money in watches

The internet reveals all so I looked up the prices of the watches advertised and I am amazed.

• Stainless steel Rolex: $5,720
• Chanel ‘J12 calibre’ 3125: $18,000
• Patek Philippe 5396R: $33,760
• Lacoste: About $350
• Corum: $4,500
• Gc: About $500
• F. P. Journet: $32,900
• Ferrari: About $5,000
• Breitling: $6,425

Am I missing something?

I guess I could be pressured into spending the money to buy a watch for $350, but that would be my absolute outer limit. Not a cent more! $30,000 plus – no way. I would rather upgrade my car or do that kitchen alteration we’ve been talking about for years. It’s not as though an expensive watch is going to give me more time, is it? All it will do is give me the same time.

What about the recession?

The fancy watch manufacturers haven’t heard about the global recession either or perhaps the people who wear these watches don’t get caught up in recessions. But that’s not what the Forbes List reported. They reported some major changes in wealth distribution.

Elsewhere in the Magazine

Is it really worth $40,000?

The Louis Vuitton sports bag at Sean Connery’s feet is priced at $898. An Ermenegildo Zegna suit will set you back $1,795, a pair of Tod’s Loafers runs at $560 and once you add a shirt, socks, underwear and a Patek Philippe watch you will be a walking investment of about $40,000. What does the magazine advertise when there is no global recession?

Egon Schiele

The most interesting piece in the magazine was a series of 5 paintings of Egon Schiele wearing the latest in fashion clothing and sitting in various contorted poses. Egon Schiele (1890 – 1918) was an Austrian painter and a protégé of Gustav Klimt. Schiele was a major figurative painter of the early 20th century.

Schiele’s work is noted for its intensity, and the many self-portraits the artist produced. The twisted body shapes and the expressive line that characterize Schiele’s paintings and drawings mark the artist as an early exponent of Expressionism, although still strongly associated with the art nouveau movement.

How clever to re-dress Schiele in modern clothing and put him back in the same poses as he painted himself a hundred years ago. One thing is for sure, Schiele never bought clothes like those!