This Fleeting Prestige

Tell me you didn't see this coming: The hellish partnership between Bentley and Breitling, in which two brands (that were already over-producing their core items to an increasingly indifferent audience) combined to flood the market with ridiculously-priced watches that didn't do a good job of serving either brand's mission, has finally found its natural level at JomaDeals.

I betcha they can't even move the watches at 70% off retail. Four grand would get you an Omega Speedmaster or a Rolex Datejust, either of which will be worth far more than this tonneau-cased monstrosity when you go to sell it. It's an odd thing that's happening out there in mass-market-luxury land: there's more money than ever, printed by the trillions and just given away to the doubleplusgood members of our financial/political junta, but that rising tide isn't lifting all the boats. Instead, you get a sort of herd/flock situation where every single junior guy on Wall Street wants an LV Submariner or a Milgauss or a Panny or whatever the watch of the moment is.

The only way Breitling is going to move these watches is to do what they should have done in the first place: given them away to everybody who buys a Continental or Flying Spur, raising the price of the car three or four grand to cover the cost of making them. But here's the good news: with prices of the early W12 Bentleys also falling into the 70% off zone, now's the time to be a big baller on a budget, 2007 style. You can get the car and the watch for $45k out the door. And will anybody know the difference?