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Yeah, it's a tacky status symbol. What's the problem?
by artursapek 3y ago
Yeah, it's a tacky status symbol. What's the problem?
- modernpink 3y agoEverything is a status symbol.
- neom 3y agoLittle unfair to those into horology. Rolex makes quality watches and their history is rich.
- tsunamifury 3y agoEverything about Rolex is average at best and overpriced mass Produced machine watches at worst.
- wfme 3y agoIs this based on emotion or are there facts to back this up? Would love to read about it if it's the latter?
- tsunamifury 3y agoCollectors of Rolexes live in a bizarre netherworld where their watches aren’t mass produced machine made. This isn’t even a secret it’s openly stated. It made of few to no precious materials and is engineering a problem (time keeping) that has been solved in a variety of ways already to super accuracy. The reality is that a microscopically accurate replica can be made for 300$ in china. This isn’t true for A Lange or FP Journe, yet somehow people act like Rolex is unobtanium. They are simply the same as an LVMH canvas bag. Objects of desire because they are expensive and have no other unique features. I could get into details like how a blue hairspring is not that special or their movements are fine but nothing outstanding. But most don’t want to go that deep. Think of it like Bose. They sound good to someone who hasn’t heard anything else good.
- aranchelk 3y agoIdk, if you decide you want a mechanical dive watch, just by the stats, a Sub Date is under 13mm thick, +2/-2 accuracy, made of hard materials, ceramic, sapphire, and steel alloy (no coating so it can be polished), price after purchase is only going to go up. I don’t own a Rolex, don’t want to spend that much, invite the crime, or care about the status, but I really would like for Seiko (or another value brand) to step up and offer something comparable.
- gizajob 3y agoBOSE - Buy Other Sound Equipment
- jdross 3y agoThis is silly. Their movements are among the most accurate out there, putting watch movements by other highly esteemed brands like Patek Philippe to shame
- tsunamifury 3y agoAnd so is a Seiko. For substantially less.
- ohdannyboy 3y agoNow you're just making stuff up instead of doing a simple Google search. Regular Seikos (ie a Seiko 5) can expect around +-20 sec per day. Same with Orient and similar brands that use very cheap automatic movements. Rolex watches often do better than +-2sec per day. If you think the difference between the two is marketing you are either engaging in sophistry or painfully uninformed.
- tsunamifury 3y agoThis is the classic Rolex fan. Sort of brainwashed and clueless while insulting to others. Both spring drives and grands are more accurate than Rolexes. Beyond that who even cares. If you want accuracy certainly don’t get a mechanical watch.
- ohdannyboy 3y agoI am not a Rolex owner or even a fan. If you meant Seikos high end products you should have said those, no one calls Grand Seikos just Seiko since they are very different. With that in mind I don't think we disagree very much here.
- MichaelDickens 3y agoI'm no expert but my recollection from last time I was looking into buying a watch is that quartz watches are 1-2 orders of magnitude more accurate than even top-end mechanical watches.
- strunz 3y agoThis feels very much like the "Android is way better than iOS, why pay more?" argument
- tsunamifury 3y agoNo you can go into a lot of details of how Apple engineers its cases to its proprietary M chips to technically prove their value. You can also point out value integrations in software. This isn’t a Veblen good and iPhone is very much a measurable utility.
- aredox 3y agoThe iPhone and iWatch are clearly status symbols. How many users really need the full power of those chips? How many actually use it? I could go into very lengthy details into the technical prowess behind Rolex watches.
- hnfong 3y agoIt's really silly to argue that something with >50% market share (in the US at least) is a status symbol... Maybe the top end models, but definitely not in general.
- shard 3y agoHave you heard of the women who would not date men using an Android phone, as well as the kids being pressured or excluded? In some social circles Apple devices are definitely status symbols.
- hnfong 3y agoWomen don't date homeless men either. That doesn't make having a roof over your head a status symbol.
- sunpazed 3y agoRolex have innovated consistently with their movements and oyster cases, and their manufacturing quality is amazing. Their business practices are questionable though, as the article highlights. I can walk into an AD today and walk out with a Grand Seiko Snowflake. Contrast this with a Rolex AD who will put me on a “waiting list”, even though I’ve purchased from them before and own a few Rolex watches.
- wdb 3y agoYeah, it's pretty sad. At least the time you have to wait to get the chance to buy Rolex, you can get a few Patek's like a 5520P. No years of waiting.
- Sohcahtoa82 3y ago[dead]
- batch12 3y agoSibling sohc* - looks like your comment is dead. Pointing it out because it didn't seem that bad and this looks abnormal for your history. Maybe one of the words you used?
- roblh 3y agoI’d get a Snowflake 10 times out of 10 over a Rolex. Those things are just so cool.
- rnk 3y agoOkay, call them unnecessary status symbols for people to show their wealth. See also fancy cars, gaudy diamond rings. They are kind of in that category.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- gizmo 3y agoEven the most highly respected brands like Patek are stupendously tacky. Just look at their 2023 lineup: https://www.patek.com/en/collection/new-models-2023 https://www.patek.com/en/collection/new-models-2023
- voisin 3y agoWow. The nautilus and aquanaut lineups are beyond ridiculous. What the hell are they thinking? Will they sell even a single one of those?
- kjellsbells 3y agoProfoundly ugly. But these fancy watches have moved into speculative investment territory, like sneakers or bitcoin. I get the feeling that patek is trying to reel in rubes with money that think that they can make money by buying and reselling one of these, instead of buying a fancy watch for being a watch. Patek make beautiful watches, that run for decades, so its especially sad to see them chasing ugly bucks like this. Oh well.