Why buy a new watch when you can rent timepieces that your budget wouldn't necessarily allow you to wear. In 2013 a company called Eleven James emerged offering watch enthusiasts, aficionado's the opportunity to wear their favorite watches. Other companies have sprung up like borrowedtimewatches.com, clerkenwellwatchco.com offering a similar service with options to buy after you have rented from some of their collections. By doing this you can wear a watch which you might have bought and didn't like it as much as you envisaged or you tried another brand or even just wanted to impress your friends thinking you have a great collection of luxury brands.
Eleven James has 4 different categories of renting starting at $149 going up to $899 a month. There are four different Collections (Enthusiast, Aficionado, Connoisseur, and Virtuoso) and annual plans can include 3-6 watches (one every two to four months). There are other options available if you check out the website. They provide a broad range of luxury watches from all the major brands such as Tudor, Bell & Ross, Cartier reaching up to the very best names like the holy trinity comprising of Patek Philippe, Constantine Vacheron and Audemars Piquet.
Personally i think this is a great opportunity of getting into the world of horology and sampling what the best have to offer watch lovers without breaking the bank. Hopefully many more companies will start this trend and offer more reasonable packages. It's a great time for all fans of meticulously handcrafted timepieces and indulge in our passion of wearing something special on our wrists.
