That's what I'm saying. Her ring is practical AF but her corner-case is so corner-cased that it's impractical for her.

So here's a red pill for you. Pretty much everything you've ever seen, aside from computers and game consoles, is costed at "what did it cost us to make it, parts and labor" times roughly 40 percent, and sold at "what did it cost us to buy it" times roughly 40 percent. At least, that's the model - that way you can knock up to 25 percent off for sales and you make a little money. And that's why you rarely see discounts below that on anything that isn't going to literally or figuratively spoil - until the inventory is written down to nothing, it's a wash at 40 percent.

An iPhone 14 Pro Max costs Apple about $460, for example. They will sell it to you for $1099. $464 x 1.4 = $650 cost; for the factory $650 cost x 1.4 = $908 for the Apple Store (or whoever). Remember, Apple was the company that said "phones aren't loss leaders for carriers" because up until the iPhone, phones were literally sold at below cost to get you to sign up for AT&T or whatever. And this is the segment with the most intensive competition in the world, using the hottest components, with the most brutal marketing from the biggest companies in the world. And even there, the 40 percent rule holds.

So. Apple makes almost all their shit in house. Nearly zero watchmakers do. We buy our hands from here, get these guys to make our dials, get these other guys to make our bands, who get these guys to make their buckles, etc etc etc. Most watchmakers are assemblers, nothing more. And uhh.

Got a buddy. Buys his cases for $2000, buys his movements for $2000, buys his bands for $100, spends 32 hours on a rose engine to make the dial, sells 'em for $28,000. $28,000/1.4 = $20,000 - 4100 = $15,900 / 32 = damn near $500 an hour making that dial. Not a bad rate, eh? Except he pays someone else so his cost is probably $350/hr which roughly half goes to the employee (taxes and stuff are crazy) is still $175 an hour to sit there doing the ergonomically worst job in the world for a week. Dude's probably taking home about $4500 a week.

Except he's not. 'cuz that guy? He's a bunch of high school students. Myeah. My buddy is making HELLA more than 40% profit. Know what? he wears his own watches. Compare and contrast: Max Busser did an instagram spread of all the Horological Machines once. Someone asked "yours?" and he responded with "what do you think I'm made out of money?"

Aston Martin went public in 2018 and published their profits. It worked out to about $72 a car. Now on the one hand, there's a lot of shady accounting. But on the other hand, you wouldn't expect to see it in a "buy our stock we're profitable" prospectus. Automotive profits are pretty well-understood; the car industry is large and transparent. Jewelry is not. Did you know that Rolex, much like the NFL, is a non-profit? Look at all the money they hide I mean all the altruism they do!