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By Ranbir Chawla
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For many successful people, making money is only the beginning. Once they have it, another pressure appears: use it the right way.
Invest wisely. Protect the downside. Avoid anything that looks frivolous. The result is a strange contradiction. People can achieve financial freedom and still feel that someone else is setting the rules for how they should leverage it and enjoy it.
That conversation is becoming harder to ignore as collectibles find a larger place in discussions about wealth.
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The Deloitte Private and ArtTactic Art & Finance Report found that 51 percent of wealth managers surveyed now offer art-related services, compared with 25 percent in 2011.
The report also points to younger collectors placing greater importance on cultural impact and legacy over financial returns. Seventy-two percent of next-generation collectors said they increasingly value those factors over financial returns.
That does not mean every watch or collectible should be treated as an investment.
A 2025 study published on SSRN, examining 13 major watch brands from January 2019 to September 2024, found significant differences in performance across brands.
To me, that reinforces an important point: the category alone tells you very little. What matters is understanding the particular piece, its market, and what makes it desirable.
An Important Lesson
But I think the bigger mistake is managing wealth by using outdated rules and only looking at one or two types of opportunities. Wealth should also give people greater freedom to decide what matters to them.
If someone understands the risks, can afford the decision, and genuinely values what they are buying, there is nothing irrational about wanting an asset to bring experiences, relationships, or enjoyment as well as the possibility of only traditional ROI.
My own relationship with watches and cars changed the way I think about this. I once sold a Porsche I loved because I believed the market had reached a point where selling made more sense than keeping it.
That experience taught me an important lesson. Not every car or watch will increase in value, no matter how much I enjoy owning it. I can be emotionally attached to something and still recognize when the financial case for keeping it has changed.
In this case, the profit gave me a unique opportunity to experience something different in the exotic car market that I’d always wanted to try. To me, enjoyment and financial judgment do not have to be opposites.
Informed Collecting
Serious collecting can require substantial knowledge and, at the higher end of the market, a sophisticated network.
Two watches with the same reference can differ because of condition, papers, or provenance. Two cars wearing the same badge can carry different values because of specification, history, and condition.
Having access to assets that are not publicly on the market can often be the difference between success and failure.
To me, that is what separates informed collecting from simply buying something expensive.
I also think we overlook another kind of value. I call it return on access.
A watch can start a conversation. A car rally can create a friendship. A shared interest can introduce people who may later work together, invest together, or simply become part of each other’s lives.
None of that should be counted as a guaranteed return. I’ve seen this have a far deeper impact on people’s lives and careers than any public networking event.
There's Value in the Connection
I see watches and cars as more than objects of display. For me, they can carry personal meaning into everyday life. A life without beauty and joy is empty to me.
This is why we often spend so much time trying to share the beauty and the joy with as many people as possible.
A watch can reflect an appreciation for craftsmanship or engineering, while a car can represent a particular experience, achievement, or interest.
Their value is not only in their financial impact, but also in the connection they create to the things I genuinely enjoy and have worked toward.
The bigger obstacle, however, is often permission. I have met successful people who still worry about what a parent, spouse, adviser, employee, or peer might think if they allocate their wealth differently than other people.
I understand the caution. But if wealth creates freedom only on paper, while fear of judgment still dictates every choice, what has really changed?
Enjoyment Needs No Apology
This is not permission to be reckless. Before buying a passion asset, I believe you should understand its authenticity, condition, provenance, resale market, and downside.
You should be able to afford holding it if prices fall. Most importantly, ask yourself one uncomfortable question: Would I still be glad I owned this if its price never went up?
If the answer is no, you may be speculating rather than collecting. If the answer is yes, and the purchase fits within a responsible financial plan, enjoyment does not need an apology.
After years spent thinking about optimization, I have come to a simpler view of wealth. It should give us more agency over our time, our experiences, and what we value.
The real luxury is not owning something expensive. It is having enough knowledge and confidence to decide for yourself what is valuable, and why.
Ranbir Chawla is the founder of VardaLux Collections, a business that buys, sells, trades and sources luxury watches and exotic cars.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
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