Expensive watches are stupid, amirite?

Expensive watches are like jewelry for most people. The engineering is cool too with expensive watches have a leap years preprogrammed mechanically and other advanced stuff. Also they last forever. My parents gifted me a automatic watch more than a decade ago. Still west it almost daily.

by Prudent_Biscotti9375 1 day ago

Sentimental watches are better than anything, be it a timex or a tudor.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

Rolex bad, unless it's a gift from grandpa. Then Rolex good.

by Darwin04 1 day ago

Watch collector here (Albeit of relatively affordable watches!) No watch collector thinks that quartz watches are less precise than mechanical. Every watch collector knows this. You may not understand the fascination with mechanical movements, and that's fine! But a lot of people think the idea of a bunch of gears and springs keeping pretty good time in a cool package powered by your wrist movement is pretty neat. The only hate for quartz that i know of is that it has a loud and visible TICK, and mechanical watches are able to have a smooth sweep of the second hand. This means it is fun to look at and doesn't make a sound. But at the end of the day, it is jewelry. It doesn't make sense. Thats fine. Let people live their lives as long as they're not being assholes I say. I don't understand why you like whatever nonsensical thing you spend your money on either.

by Aurorecrooks 1 day ago

Although I do like the idea of a visible TICK from a wrist watch, I think the word you're looking for is audible.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

I do understand the fascination behind the sweeping hand and automatic movements. My point is, a Patek phillips worth 50k, doesn't actually cost 50k to make, it's marked up because it's a Patek. I have a problem with people who try to justify that makeup, not the watch

by Anonymous 1 day ago

I have no desire for a Patek or a Rolex or whatever, so no argument there. Seems like the real problem you have is with luxury brands, not necessarily watches.

by Aurorecrooks 1 day ago

Yes, more accurately, snobs

by Anonymous 1 day ago

Let's not let anybody have anything nice, let's all wear sackcloth and eat gruel. Nobody's making you buy one!

by antoninadamore 1 day ago

For some people 50k is like 50 bucks for me. Its a nice watch, i dont think anyone would argue. If its affordable and person likes it, then why not.

by Forsaken-Toe 1 day ago

the quartz ones are silent and the mechanicals make the tick

by Left-Jackfruit-1508 1 day ago

So your issue isn't with watches, just with status symbols.

by Brilliant-Worth-7296 1 day ago

I once had someone tell me they're alergic to quartz.

by Marlen60 1 day ago

lol, i aint OP but he's right, They just aren't very practical. Idk where you got status symbol thing from.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

What status does it convey other than "I had enough money to buy this pointless thing"?

by Anonymous 1 day ago

Well, you described it yourself. Money is status.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

That's kind of the status thing.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

But there are many brands that intentionally limit the production to artificially make their products rare. Expensive watches are made well, but not enough to justify their price. The prices are set by the brand

by Anonymous 1 day ago

No, expensive watches are expensive because the brand decided that they should be sold at a ridiculous markup just for the sake of being expensive (and because that appeals to people with a lot of money for some reason).

by Anonymous 1 day ago

It's a status symbol, nothing more

by Anonymous 1 day ago

Maybe a showy Rolex or Patek but for most people, they truly don't care about watches. People react the same if I am wearing a seiko or if I'm wearing a tudor. They don't pay any attention at all which is totally fine. I enjoy the watches and that's why I wear them.

by Upstairs_Egg 1 day ago

Well to be honest a Tudor is much trash so why would they react differently.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

watches are jewellery

by Potential-Amoeba-178 1 day ago

Not if you are in a job that requires time keeping

by myleskulas 1 day ago

we're talking specifically about expensive watches if you're in a job that requires time keeping you'd probably be rocking a digital watch like a G-shock

by Potential-Amoeba-178 1 day ago

Expensive watches (by which I mean anything over about £500) are basically jewellery, and even people who buy them know that. No one buys a Rolex or a Patek purely because they need to tell the time - most of us have smart phones now which do that better than a mechanical watch (even one of those) will.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

Even bellow, just less expensive jewelry. I used to wear 2-300€ watches and they were definitely a piece of jewelry. To watch the time you can get a cheap Casio.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

Unless you live in Germany, where in the world can you drive a Ferrari as fast as it could? Never mind that even here even the 180 kph a Toyota is capable of rarely make sense, as there are so many cars drive between 150 to 160.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

Agreed but you can take it to a track or even if you don't, it still launches faster and handles better

by Anonymous 1 day ago

The "launches faster" will more or less be moot with electric cars. Also, with "can take it to the track" you literally leave the part of it being practical.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

Yes electric cars do launch fast. My point is, a Ferrari is actually better at what it does the best than a family suv

by Anonymous 1 day ago

"Better at what it does best" doesn't add up here. A Ferrari is good at looking cool and going fast. A family SUV is good at hauling multiple people and a bunch of stuff around. How is one better in its niche than the other?

by Ornery-Plantain-609 1 day ago

Sorry if I wasn't able to get my point across, I meant, atleast a Ferrari does something extraordinary.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

Damn which 100k car should I buy that I can sell for 150k in a few years?

by Possible-Love-5914 1 day ago

That's the neat part, there's some out there that will do that, but you don't know which ones.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

Yes that is the case I agree. But also, not all watches appreciate as well

by Anonymous 1 day ago

Yeah, it's all about designers that made it. I think that's the main difference between them. You can find a lot of expensive jewelry that isn't made by a famous designer. Most expensive watches I think have a big luxury brand attached to them.

by Dismal_Towel_4615 1 day ago

Seiko luxury watch?! For real?

by Cmann 1 day ago

$200,000 USD Seiko.

by Big_Custard326 1 day ago

There's no way you unironically called a Seiko a luxury watch. Even grand Seiko isn't a luxury watch. In terms of investments, rolex, ap, and patek watches are really the only ones ever considered investments and they very often perform better as investments than straight up real estate.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

and they very often perform better as investments than straight up real estate. what do you mean by very often? single home real estate has more benefits than roi as well. a watch's only other benefit is wearing a watch.

by Waste_Fee 1 day ago

I don't want everything in my life to use a battery

by Winter_Car 1 day ago

you can get a normal priced Seiko you dont need to spend 5 or 10k plus for that

by larkinalycia 1 day ago

Solar powered watches do exist, also, some G-Shocks have 10 year battery life

by Anonymous 1 day ago

As a watch enthusiast, I completely agree lol

by Objective-Buyer 1 day ago

Watches are fun to research, discuss, buy, and own. It can be a hobby and bring joy. If you like a watch and can afford it, you should buy it. I do think buying them as a status symbol instead of actually liking them is stupid, but that's just some people not all. Again some people might be annoying just bashing quartz or cheap stuff, but again that is just some people. So in the end what is stupid about having interest in something and buying it if you can, literally no different than any expensive thing or "hobby"

by Emotional_Shake 1 day ago

I am into watches, but some snobs bash on cheap stuff and only consider you a watch guy if you have a omega or something

by Anonymous 1 day ago

The few watch nerds I know in real life couldn't care less if a watch is expensive or not. They just enjoy watches.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

Yeah maybe. I'm not really surrounded by watch nerds, so the internet is how I learn about watches and maybe that's why I feel like this

by Anonymous 1 day ago

Eh, as far as expensive watches go, I'll give them some leeway as it's one of the very few items of jewellery that men can wear in many social circles. I don't see them as any different than expensive actual jewellery (especially diamonds which IMO have very little intrinsic value), expensive designer handbags from brands such as Louis Vuitton or Hermes, expensive clothes from Versace. Yeah, they're good quality, but not good enough to justify those markups. Let's not even get into overpriced sneakers and brands like Balenciaga. And why are people so into Tumi luggage? What's wrong with good ol' Samsonite or Delsey? Then there are pointlessly expensive cars such as Rolls Royce. A Mercedes S-Class Maybach has almost everything a Rolls does at almost half the price. Many other people have pointed this out, but your issue seems to be less with expensive watches, and more with anything that's an expensive status symbol driven by artificially created brand value. So I kinda agree with you, but I wouldn't target watches specifically as much as I'd criticize all luxury brands.

by Resident-Water 1 day ago

You're correct. They're a joke. That's not even unpopular.

by Krajcikjenifer 1 day ago

When I was younger I really loved watches. Three years ago I bought an Apple Watch. I'm no way a "fanboy" of Apple, but I love my watch. I was walking through a nice mall on a trip, and they had a Rolex store and tag store etc. and all o could think is, those watches are so expensive and all they do is tell time. I feel like it helped fall out of love with expensive watches.

by National_Count 1 day ago

I'm a watch enthusiast myself, though I don't wear a smart watch, I love my casio and titan(a quartz indian watch). An apple watch is a cutting edge product, it automatically syncs time wherever you are, it tracks your fitness, detect crashes everything. It's truly awesome

by Anonymous 1 day ago

I know, I don't wear smart watches because of batteries as well. I would love to get a citizen ecodrive.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

So I can buy like 31 Apple Watches for the price of one hi end watch.

by National_Count 1 day ago

What makes you say so? Do I have to own an expensive watch to be one?

by Anonymous 1 day ago

A citizen ecodrive as someone else pointed out, doesn't need batteries. I don't hate rolex, I hate people claiming that a rolex is more technologically advanced than a simple quartz watch.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

Ok you're right then.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

Join micro-brand communities if you like watches but dislike the catchy mainstream expensive brands. There's a flourishing industry of cool watches you can get for reasonable/cheap prices, most under 1k at least (depends on your definition of cheap I guess). For my formal work watch I just rock a Tissot PRX 40mm I got for ~$700.

by eunaabbott 1 day ago

You are not smart. An expensive watch is not on your wrist to give you accurate time. It's on your risk to show potential business partners your successful, and therefore they should do business with you. You can't wear a Bugatti to a board room. But you can wear a Patek Philippe.

by Status-Phase 1 day ago

Yes maybe that is true. But I don't agree with people who try to justify luxury watches for anything more than looks or as a status symbol.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

I'll agree with that. But maybe that's part of the game?

by Status-Phase 1 day ago

Might be. Watch snobs do it because they are snobby, ceos of watch brands do it because it makes them more money

by Anonymous 1 day ago

I read an anecdote about businessmen speaking together at an event and the CEO of Rolex was asked about how the watch business was doing, and he said, "I don't sell watches." That really stuck with me. A Rolex by all its merits is a superb watch. But someone who just wants the time on their wrist has no reason to buy one.

by Ornery-Plantain-609 1 day ago

If you want a watch to tell the time buy a Casio, if you want a showpiece buy a Rolex, Patek Philippe, Richard Mille. mechanical watches other than the than fantastic engineering in them, they are jewellery no different to Tiffany ( I don't know other jewellery brands) I use a Swatch or Withings watch as they are good enough, but the boutique watches do look good though.

by Ok_Rutabaga5449 1 day ago

I do have a casio and I love it, and yes luxury watches look beautiful, but functionally, a cheap watch is better than any luxury watche

by Anonymous 1 day ago

It's a hobby and if you have the money and gain enjoyment from collecting or owning expensive watches power to you. Where I think it gets silly is when people only buy them in order to impress others and boost their own ego, or if they never even wear them. It's also silly to call it an investment, sure a lot of them will hold their value but honestly it feels like a cope to justify spending the money. Again if you have the disposable income and enjoy wearing it, power to you. I agree they're inferior to quartz watches from a technological standpoint but you can't help but marvel at the skill of watchmakers for building mechanisms that tiny which require no power source other than you moving around.

by SubstantialBid2288 1 day ago

When quarz watches came along Swiss watch makers almost went bankrupt trying to compet. Today they do not try to appeal to the same market anymore.

by Prudent_Biscotti9375 1 day ago

The click click click is soothing, though I'd never buy one myself bc I hate wearing watches.

by Deionheaney 1 day ago

My husband gave me a beautiful Rolex over 25 years ago. I used to wear it daily but now I wear an Apple watch and the Rolex sits in the safe with my husbands. Not something I'd ever buy for myself but it's pretty and has a nice feel to it. I always figured people might assume it was a knockoff because I wore it with jeans and tee shirts. I wore a little Baume and Mercier before that for dress my favorites were Swatch watches. So much fun. I liked Timex Indiglows too.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

Always cherish that watch. Sentimental timepieces are priceless, no money can buy you that

by Anonymous 1 day ago

Hand made vs machine made. Which is more impressive?

by jodieratke 1 day ago

It's not about telling time. It's a fashion accessory for people to spend money on and show off.

by bryce93 1 day ago

I agree, my problem is that some snobs try to justify it for more than just fashion.

by Anonymous 1 day ago

I don't totally get it but I have an inkling with these crazyly priced watches that their cultural role exists for very wealthy people ( criminals ) to hide money during disputes like the annual paying of taxes, just like the fine art market.

by Fast-Alternative 1 day ago

Far from an unpopular opinion, but you seem to be fixated on the quartz counterpart. Digital watches are even cheaper and more accurate than quartz. So it's really not about performance vs price for automatic watch owners. It's more about looks and history. And how expensive are we talking about here? You know there are solid (not knock offs) automatics for less than $100?

by Otherwise_Kiwi 1 day ago

Yes I do, I really like Seiko and citizen watches. But after a point, like more than 10k or even 5k, it's hard to justify the price as it's just mostly markup for the brand status

by Anonymous 23 hours ago

Some people are fascinated by gears turning. Exotic fancy complicated gears turning even more so. It's ok to not like things other people like.

by Anonymous 23 hours ago

A photo I took with my Xiaomi is better than Mona Lisa

by Special_Swordfish138 23 hours ago

OP can't afford an expensive watch so therefore they are stupid.

by Anonymous 23 hours ago

No, I don't hate watches I hate the snobs

by Anonymous 23 hours ago

People appreciate beautifully crafted things. It's not about engineering as much as it is about traditional craftsmanship, but for most status/prestige are the main draw. They aren't for people who can't afford them or a thing rooted in any kind of necessity or practicality. A Rolex isn't 1000 times more practical or beautiful than a Casio/timex to justify the cost. But if money was no object you're taking the Rolex. Sounds like you just have some kind of gripe with luxury goods you deem not worth it because you can't even fathom being able to reasonably afford them lol

by Anonymous 23 hours ago

That's not the case, I more so hate people clowning on quartz watches. I don't mind buying a branded thing just for the heritage, what I won't do is justify my buying decision and say that it is better than anything cheap

by Anonymous 23 hours ago

The point isn't to demonstrate a watch's utility, it's to show off how rich you are Because if you can afford a $100k+ timepiece, you are doing extremely well in life more than likely. And the Ferrari comparison is very apt. It's not like people in the US are able to even go break dick speed so owning a super fast sports car often makes no sense and it serves no bigger purpose besides telling people "look what I can afford!"

by Anonymous 22 hours ago

Nice watches tickle my brain in a specific way and that alone justifies me buying them. That is all. Not everything needs to be super utilitarian and min maxxed. Some people like the romance of a luxury mechanical watch. That idea is worth infinitely more than the material watch itself. Me thinks, it would be a miserable existence if everything you do is motivated by pure material rationality.

by Anonymous 22 hours ago

I agree, like I like using fountain pens too(cheap one tho). It is romantic in a way as you say, but even that's upto a point, 50k for a watch?

by Anonymous 22 hours ago

Found the guy who can't afford a nice watch

by Anonymous 22 hours ago

Yeah maybe I should have said that watch gatekeepers are stupid, I too like a good watch, I just hate gatekeeping and snobbery

by Anonymous 22 hours ago

We are flexing. It's pretty simple. Most luxury goods are pointless from a utility perspective

by Anonymous 21 hours ago

Haha, I respect the honesty. This is what I believe as well

by Anonymous 21 hours ago

I think you're conflating expensive watches with flashy watches. I'd love to buy a nice expensive Tissot or Seiko someday if I ever have the money. Those are watches that are made with expert craftsmanship, the best materials, and they will retain (sometimes gain) value for many years if properly taken care of. There's also not necessarily a correlation between price and movement type. You can get a cheap automatic watch and a hundred thousand dollar quartz watch. I prefer quartz myself for the reasons you listed but it's not a case of "automatic = flashy garbage & quartz = good quality". But yes, there are flashy watch brands like Rolex that use marketing and artificial scarcity to charge a huge premium for their mediocre products.

by Anonymous 21 hours ago

In my other replies I did say I like seikos and citizens. Yes I agree with what you're saying and I have the same feeling. No automatic is not equal to garbage

by Anonymous 20 hours ago

Not an unpopular opinion, just a poor take. No one buys an expensive watch for its ability to tell the time.

by Luciennebeer 20 hours ago

Yeah maybe you are right, I should've worded this properly

by Anonymous 20 hours ago

IMO, Expensive watches should be worn about as often as one wears a nice suit, most of the time I just wear my Gshock. It's Jewelry at the end of the day.

by Anonymous 20 hours ago

just like to point out that the rolex is probably also made in china. china makes everything, the best and also worst quality.

by Anonymous 20 hours ago

Yup agreed, those guys make everything

by Anonymous 20 hours ago

When you're rich you want to spend money on nice things. When you're poor you buy a quartz watch.

by jhaley 20 hours ago

Yes this.

by Anonymous 19 hours ago

a ferrari is useless as everyday vehicle.

by Educational-Cat 19 hours ago

Yes 100% agreed, it's uncomfortable, expensive to maintain, less reliable and all. But it is at least superior, it is faster, better handling and all. Contrary to that, an expensive automatic watch is less accurate than a G-Shock

by Anonymous 19 hours ago

Agreed. But you get my point

by Anonymous 18 hours ago

This is not unpopular. People know expensive watches are stupid and are showpiece. That's why people buy apple watch. That's why expensive watch have limited production. Heck many expensive watches are Quartz, Hublot is infamous for it. It's like handmade cars. They are objective worse in quality and finish than machine assemblyline cars. Even those cars are heavily assisted by machine. The handmade is marketing and differentiation, even though it's not tangible. You will see many people with Rolex which are not working becuase they did not wind the watch. Expensive watch indicate you are rich and slight differences in them indicate your taste. Also it's definitely like owning muktiple super car. People don't even use most supercar. Many are brought to simply store them or have showpiece.

by Anonymous 18 hours ago