Awaiting the arrival of a potential beauty he met over the Internet, newly divorced Manhattan surgeon Robert Huang is sipping nervously from his drink, hoping he’ll pass muster on the cutthroat New York dating scene.
Then he checks his diamond-studded Cartier gold watch (the flashy $80,000 timepiece he dug out from his drawer after the final divorce papers were signed), and instantly feels reassured.
PHOTOS: TOP-SELLING LUXURY WATCHES AT TOURNEAU
Like a growing number of singletons in the city, the 53-year-old doctor believes that expensive wrist bling is the “must-have” accessory when you’re looking for love.
“Women want to see a man as being successful and, along with upscale clothes and shoes, a good watch is an established symbol of success,” says Upper West Side-based Huang, who is seeking a “younger woman for companionship, not marriage.”
“They want a man who can give them security and it highlights the fact you’re that type of guy.”
The luxury-watch business has ticked upward in recent years. Remarkably, between November 2010 and November 2011, LGI Network, a market research company that tracks consumer retail trends in the US, recorded a 50 percent jump in sales of men’s watches priced over $10,000.The growth in the 12 months to November 2012 was more modest, at 6 percent, but the boom has got the industry buzzing.
“Customers are definitely becoming more aware of the appeal and importance of a luxury timepiece,” says Larry Barkley of the blue-chip watch company Tourneau, whose flagship Manhattan store is on 57th Street near Madison Avenue. “It speaks volumes about their personal style and standing.”
Now that we’re emerging from the Great Recession — and financial-sector bonuses are returning — men are splurging on luxury watches, especially ones made of gold. Because that precious metal kept its value even while the economy wobbled, they believe a pricey watch isn’t just a style statement, it’s a sound investment. And an aphrodisiac.
“It sounds really shallow, but younger women really fall for all that stuff,” says Wall Street trader Mike, 27, the owner of a dozen high-end watches priced between $3,000 and $12,000 each. He asked The Post not to publish his last name so that it wouldn’t get him into trouble at work. A member of the sugar-daddy-dating-service seekingarrangement.com, which matches wealthy men with women who want to be “kept,” Mike wears an $8,000 Rolex Submariner II to the office.
But his customized $12,000 Breitling is definitely more effective when he’s negotiating a deal in the dating game.
“A bigger [watch] face always catches a woman’s eye,” Mike says. “A jeweler friend drilled holes [in the Breitling] and added 24 quarter-carat diamonds around the edge, so it really sparkles.
“A Maserati only goes as far as the parking lot, but a watch you have with you all the time.”
Mike recalls a recent night out in Atlantic City when an admiring guest at the roulette table zeroed in on his bling: “I have a pretty small frame so, when I wear this watch, it takes up most of my arm,” says the 5-foot-7 banker. “I hit a spin, and this woman said: ‘Oh my gosh, that thing must be half your weight!’
“Then she was asking me what I did for a living, and where I was staying.”
One thing led to another. “Let’s just say it was a lucky night,” he demurs.
Mike, who earned $400,000 last year, including a $120,000 bonus, even admits to driving his Lexus LS around the Jersey Shore in the summer, the windows rolled down and his wrist hanging out, on display.
“[The girls] will cheer and wave when they see my big watch,” he laughs. “It’s right out of a rap video!”
Rolex Romeos can be found on the gay scene, too. Ken Panton, the publisher of three online consumer magazines including ecityofstyle.com, has lost count of the number of times he’s been approached by other men admiring one of his watches. The 44-year-old’s biggest and most recent splurge was a $10,000 Breitling for Bentley Le Mans with a silver dial and casing.
He was so enamored of his purchase in December 2011, he wrapped it up and left it under the Christmas tree with a gift tag saying: ‘To Ken, Love Ken.”
“It’s a standout piece and, since people are always looking for a reason to break the ice, it’s the perfect conversation starter,” says Panton, who lives in Gramercy Park.
Only last week, he was approached in the tony Chelsea gay bar the G Lounge by a well-dressed man visiting New York from the Czech Republic. He quizzed him on the eye-catching, limited-edition Breitling as they stood near the dance floor.
“He had on a big, bad Hublot watch worth about $80K,” recalls Panton, who currently has a steady boyfriend and wasn’t tempted. “It was a definite come-on.”
Meanwhile, Bill Hobbs, 33, a former financier-turned-actor and author of “The Work Book: How To Build Your Personal Brand,” is convinced that his $65,000 watch collection played a part in his wife, Stephanie Wu, agreeing to marry him two years ago.
“Most guys aren’t going to tell you that they bought an expensive watch because they want to impress women,” he says. “They say it’s for their status with clients or because of their love of watches, but an overriding factor of buying anything grossly overpriced is to attract the opposite sex.”
Wu agrees. She says Hobbs’ 18-karat gold GMT Master 1969 Rolex was one of the first things she noticed about him when they started dating.
“What struck me about his collection was that he was really rather passionate about it,” she says. In fact, luxury timepieces played such an important part in their romance, the couple was given $14,000 worth of matching Cartier watches by Wu’s parents before their marriage in Taiwan. Their wedding rings were made to match the pattern of the Cartier pieces, linked and flexible like watch bands.
As for Huang, he’s willing to take his chances on whether a woman is more interested in his watch than him.
“Yes, you’re always going to get gold diggers,” he shrugs, adjusting the strap on his Cartier. “But that’s the risk you take.”