5/31/2023 0 Comments Tick tock jewelersHe and his peers sling around expensive watches with impersonal matter-of-factness these are assets to sell, a job to do, not a source of identity. He knows the appeal of luxury goods, and how to use them to entice both buyers and viewers. Buckley ends up complicating those urges in the same way “Uncut Gems” does. But those influencers tend to fixate on the surface of things: on lifestyle, status symbols and the spectacle of making moves. On TikTok, Buckley appears amid content from many a “rise and grind” hustler, figures spouting tips on getting ahead in life. This is a way to imagine actively participating in a market rather than just being subject to it. Another result is that it’s bound to seem thrilling and enticing, for many younger people, to watch transactions in which prices are bluffed out by independent agents in rapid-fire banter, rather than dictated by corporate offices or set in algorithmic trading. One result, lately, is the number drawn into seedy ventures like cryptocurrencies, gambling, multilevel marketing or drop-shipping schemes. Certain types of young people, especially young men, are clearly in search of such openings. (Something similar could be said of the watches Buckley deals in, with their somewhat retro strains of masculinity.) But it stands in sharp contrast to modern American business as a whole, which is increasingly corporatized, internationalized, technologized and financialized - all far too remote for an uncredentialed striver to imagine finding openings where hustle and interpersonal savvy, the right eye and the right instincts, can be rewarded with wealth. This general variety of business has often been viewed as déclassé, the province of fast-talking hustlers. “Somebody will kill you for this thing, and it’s not even a real watch.” You can also watch Buckley leverage his knowledge in exciting ways, as when he points out sketchy details on what’s purported to be a rare Patek Philippe: “This is 100 percent no bueno,” he explains to the guy who brought it in. Watching these men’s charmingly familiar Midtown patter (given a low assessment of one piece, Buckley grouses: “Why do you hurt me, Albert? I’ve always been loyal to you”), you can imagine this as an operator’s world, one in which cleverness, confidence and a knack for reading others can be leveraged for profit. (The app’s users love “discovering” the remnants of bygone eras, which, for many of them, could include anything up through the mid-aughts.) Buckley works in one of a shrinking number of markets that still make room for individual eyes, interpersonal connections and handshake deals - one that combines savvy showmanship and bluffing with reputation and trust. By providing a window into the district, Buckley is taking viewers into one of New York City’s last great kingdoms - an idiosyncratic old world of fast-paced, person-to-person commerce that looks fresh and fascinating to TikTok’s youthful eyes. What’s irresistible has to do with the world in which these watches are bought and sold. The draw of these videos has little to do with vintage watches, or even the elite lives they symbolize. But this wheeling and dealing, he says, is his field of play: “This is how I win.” It comes early in the film, as its dealer protagonist negotiates the price of a rare opal with the basketball player Kevin Garnett - and tries, in the bargain, to hype up Garnett for a game he intends to bet on. The line is close to one from the 2019 film “Uncut Gems,” an economically anxious dark comedy that introduced millions to the world of the diamond district. “See,” he says, “every once in a while, I win.” “I can’t even buy lunch for $500.” In the end, he buys both timepieces for $62,500, then looks to the camera and grins. In this case, Buckley is cold on the lesser of the two watches, and showily unimpressed when Albert drops his price by $500: “Gee, thanks, boy, a whole $500,” he carps. Both men operate out of Manhattan’s diamond district, a blocklong bazaar with a century-old subculture like the Wall Street traders 70-some blocks south, they are constantly buying and selling, offering and counteroffering, working connections and brokering deals. Buckley and Albert have been friends for years, but this is a haggling business, so the theatrics commence: For around two minutes, they quarrel over a price. Both pieces are gold and in good condition, and one features a blood red dial with diamond hour-markers, though neither has authenticating papers. In a clip posted online last fall, you can observe as a watch dealer named John Buckley negotiates the purchase of two shimmering Rolexes from an associate named Albert.
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