I have a friend who has one. He also has two cherry vintage Cadillacs, so I believe it’s not a fake.
But if you took it into any department store and mixed it in with the other watches you’d never pick it out.
And I have $5 Wallgreens watches, that I wear when gardening, that are always accurate.
So if you aren’t paying for looks or accuracy, what’s in it for the purchaser?
Prestige? If they are trying to impress me, it’s not working.
I like my Rolex. My parents gave it to me for a graduation gift, so it has meaning behind it. It’s stainless steel, so you’re right - there’s nothing special about it besides what it means to me.
I realize it’s nothing special in the watch world, but I like mine. Perhaps it’s something about just having something nice that works, like a good fountain pen. It’s something you treasure and take care of. I like the fact that I’ll never need a battery for it, and that it keeps good time.
No, I’m not trying to impress you. Any more than the yahoo who drives the Porsche Cayenne is trying to impress you (well, maybe he is, but really, I’m not). In fact, I’d rather people not notice that it’s a Rolex - I doubt many people pay attention other than that I’m wearing a watch, but some do notice. Personal taste, maybe.
Rolex watches, Gucci Bags, Madison Avenue fashions & most automobiles with letter & digit combinations in lieu of a model name are the result of:
(Select One of the Following)
A. Pretentiousness
B. Ostentatiousness
C. All of the above
D. None of the above
True, but at the same time, they aren’t a scam, really.
Rolex watches really are very well made watches. They charge a premium because of the brand, but it’s not like they are crap.
Much like most luxury items… the magic is in the ownership.
Nobody needs a Cadillac (let alone two), and can get around fine in a Kia.
Nobody needs a Rolex, a Swatch will probably be sufficient.
BUT, items such as these are not a matter of NEED but WANT. As such, I find it hard to deny anyone the right to own and take pleasure in any such luxury item.
As for trying to impress anyone… some people do purchase these things as a way to impress others. Some people actually do it because it givens them some personal satisfaction. I would not judge too quickly what people’s motives are in this situation.
However, it seems that a Rolex watch and a couple of expensive cars have offended your sensibilities. Is that something you’d like to discuss with the group? :dubious:
It’s not that we are offended, although I can’t speak for JohnBckWLD.
What I don’t understand is when someone has to have something more expensive, like a Movado, when they really can’t afford it.
On the one hand this unnamed person is trying to save $$$ for a house, on the other hand they’re out buying Movado watches! Well my Seiko which used to go for $100 but has been discontinued and therefore I bought for $69.99 will do me just fine, thank you. Never breaks down, and I don’t need to tell the time in 15 different time zones.
Well, that’s a kettle of fish of an entirely different color!.. or something like that…
The “someone” in question is perhaps a poor budgeter or has simply decided that a Movado is more important to him/her in the short term than a new house in the long term. Irrational in your eyes but frankly, not your call to make… unless he/she hits you up for some cash or advice on how to better save money for a house.
With all due respect…
No, not my business, even if they ask me how to save, I know…but it’s a well-loved family member.
Ah! Well in that case, don’t spare the lash!
We’re very frank in my family… probably too much so! 
Cheap watches are accurate nowadays because they have a movement timed by the oscillation of a tiny quartz crystal. The rate of oscillation is constant, so the watch will never run fast or slow. Before quartz technology became cheap enough to put into plastic, throw-away watches, any watch that you didn’t have to reset every day or two was fairly expensive, and Rolex was like the uber-example of that. They achieved quartzlike accuracy just by precision of the gears and springs, and so on. Paul Fussell, in Class cites the attraction for the upper classes of things which are archaic, and a Rolex watch might be a good example of this. I do notice from their website, though, that some of their watches now have the quartz movement.
But I couldn’t find anything about the company’s origins and history, so I’m unable to give a cite for something I read in an earlier version of their site, which was to the effect that they actually invented the wristwatch. They were the first company to successfully produce an accurate watch small enough to be a wristwatch, and, IIRC, unusually for longstanding watch companies, never made pocketwatches.
Nope, the wristwatch was invented by Patek Phillippe and popularized by Cartier. Rolex did invent the self-winding watch, though. And I think they invented gas release valves for diving watches, but I could be wrong.
Maybe you wouldn’t but someone who takes an interest in fine watches would.
Think of a fine watch as jewelry. Not everyone wears jewelry. If your wife likes jewelry are you going to tell her that fine jewelry* is a ripoff because you can’t tell diamonds from what they have in the dime store? Be my guest, I won’t die on that battlefield.
FTR my own wife doesn’t like really expensive jewelry. She likes jewelry and makes it as a business but it’s mostly crystal and semi-precious stones. I actually was not able to talk her into getting a bigger stone for her wedding ring because she preferred the one that came from her mom’s ring when we had hers made. We may revisit that as the current ring causes a skin reaction but I digress.
I’m not a jewelry guy. Aside from my titanium wedding band and maybe getting an earring a wach is about the only place I can be flashy. I have a perI believe that when I reach my first anniversary with my new job I will get myself an Omega. Strictly speaking you can buy those at Costco too but they usually carry the quartz models instead of the automatic Seamaster I want. I have my own reasons for wanting one but rest assured I’m not doing it to impress you.
*The DeBeers diamond cartel is another whole discussion.
One of the hands on my mothers Rolex got stuck on a diamond inside the watch (the diamonds were the hour-markers). She had it fixed, and it happened again. So I don’t know if I’d agree with the “extremely well-made” theory.
Originally posted by JohnBckWild,
D.
I used to think it was all hype but I started noticing that some Italian designs were really quite unique. So I checked into it. It’s about special fabrics, design, tailoring. You really do get what you pay for. Love my Versace and Cavalli!
JohnBckWLD, sorry about that handle mangling.
I personally think that Rolex watches have very little style at all, they’re pretty crass, especially the bejewelled examples.
Ok, the lower end ones are robust, fine and practical, but they ain’t classy or subtle or stylish.
Any high end watchmaker coud simply stick on a load of precious stones to increase the value, but really the item should speak on its own merits rather than having to borrow specious glamour from a few rocks.
Now look at the very very high end stuff, such as the stratosphericly priced, Phillipe Patek uberwatches.
You might also look at Raymond Weil watches, some are very expensive but others are much less so, but still have more class than any Rolex of the last 20 years.
These don’t need to be flashy, showy pieces, and the owners are not too concerned if you know what you are looking at, those who do understand will appreciate them anyway.
Personally I find the Breitling and Tag-Huer watches a bit gauche too.
Interesting to note that among the world most expensive watches, there are no Rolexes, and nearly all of them are free of the gemstone crassness of that company.
That’s all well and good, but what about the $35 Rollex that I got from a streed vendor in New York?
I’m smarter than all of ya!
What time you got?
Peace,
mangeorge
Basically agree with everything said. Just adding a note about jewels –
For a mechanical watch, jewels on the inside of the watch are good. They’re part of the mechanism. It’ll say “17 Jewels” or “21 Jewels,” etc., somewhere.
Jewels on the outside are irrelevant for the time-keeping function.
Since the actual brand is spelled R-O-L-E-X I’d say you got ripped off.
Now my $15 Timecks – that was a helluva deal!