It seems like you can't get past the idea that you're buying something expensive and ostensibly not doing anything with it. Consider it like this: if you were t

It seems like you can't get past the idea that you're buying something expensive and ostensibly not doing anything with it. Consider it like this: if you were to buy a Rothko, you would not be able to do anything with your new painting except look at it. That sounds kind of dull, right? It is dull - unless, of course, you love art, and Rothko in particular. Maybe you also happen to be part of a community of art enthusiasts who similarly love Rothko's work. Maybe you like to get into spirited debates about it. So it is with watches (or anything else, really). You think that the enjoyment of a watch is simply having it, but that's not how the hobby is enjoyed by its enthusiasts. Watches like this are enjoyed by talking with other collectors, admiring the movement, geeking out over the features ("complications") built into the watch, commiserating over ingroup gossip, etc. It's not for everyone, and I don't blame people for not "getting" watches! The subculture might be somewhat inscrutable from the outside, and it can be easily dismissed as an idle fancy for the rich, but there is a lot more depth to it than what you're seeing.