Hey Luxury Watch Peeps (just an observation)

I think it’s always nice to be acknowledge, no matter what it is. for me it gives a sense of camaraderie and a chance to maybe have a good to great discussion about something that you cared about with the hope of the same enthusiasm as you do. 

Also, can work the other way that you are noticed for something that someone dislikes and expresses it…

So being noticed can be a double edge sword. 

Yes, I probably did something wrong if somebody notices the watch. It's normally not an item that I really want to stand out. I've also never had a discussion about watches with a stranger.

No. I collect watches that appeal to me and as long as I'm happy with them, then I don't really care what others think.

I agree that most people don't notice.  However, I wouldn't say that "nobody" notices your watch.  I think some people notice, but they just don't say anyting.

Sure, I wouldn't say anything, either. Let's go through the scenarios:

a) He/She got the watch to mark a milestone, simply has the money, or wears it as a sign of status. This is a discussion I'm not particularly interested in.

b) The person simply likes the watch, but has no further interest in watches in general.

c) The person is really into watches, and likes to discuss them.

The second scenario might be more of a conversation starter, and the last one would be a fun discussion. 

However, the other person doesn't know you. ("Why is he talking to me about my watch? What is he up to?") The reaction may therefore by driven by an apprehension of having their wealth called out in public.

NOBODY notices my watches.  Thank god.  Only my buddy's wife, whose family is into watches, once asked, "Is that an Omega?" but I was able to say, "Oh, yeah, this is a Chinese fake!" so then the conversation turned to Chinese fakes.

The thought of talking...  to other people...  fills me with horror.  

I have a car I really love, and every now and then when I'm filling up at the station, someone will say to me, "Hey, nice car, dude!" and I then have to smile and say thank you, when in reality, I'm actually thinking to myself, "You're lucky that I don't have Dr. Manhattan's powers.  Otherwise, your head would have exploded just now.  How dare you force me to communicate with another human being!"

I also have to park my car on the street outside our house, and people randomly walking by when I'm in the garden will comment on the car!  And then...  thank you...  Dr. Manhattan in my mind all over again.  I have to park on the street because we have these god awful macadamia trees that line our driveway,  and when the nuts fall from the tree, it's like getting pelted by mortar fire!  My last car had all these dings all throughout the hood and roof from these nuts!  I keep threatening to chop down these godd*mn trees, but my wife protests something about how they're almost a hundred years old...  something something nature...  something something sanctity of life...

Very true.  I started shaving my head when I still had a full head of hair like 20 years ago.  My cousin who loved my hair had something negative to say every time she saw me.  Grant it she is not all there, but being someone who does not like negative confrontation just stood there looking cheerful and stupid and she literally said something nasty every time she saw me.  Unreal.  On a side note, I have never stopped shaving my head.  I love the freedom it gives me, but that is a topic for the bald heads of America Forum.  lol

I have a car I really love, and every now and then when I'm filling up at the station, someone will say to me, "Hey, nice car, dude!" and I then have to smile and say thank you, when in reality, I'm actually thinking to myself, "You're lucky that I don't have Dr. Manhattan's powers.  Otherwise, your head would have exploded just now.  How dare you force me to communicate with another human being!"

Then you're the exact opposite of me. I might start a conversation with another human being before the conscious part of my brain has fully catches up with it. It leads to very odd situations at times. 

That being said, "Hey, nice car dude!" is usually one of the most sincere forms of a compliment. But a watch is just a different category. 

Yeah unfortunately we can’t always have a positive response, but it’s a balance I think.

lol. I'm that guy.  lol.  Sorry man.  Please don't make my head explode, I'm going to need it for the remainder of my life.  lol

 I am a auto mechanic of 30+ years that doesn’t always look “presentable“. When stopping for a cold one after work I may get a comment on my Rolex 14060. This watch being one of, if not the most iconic looking watches made, people notice. It is usually ”is that real”? This is when I push the caste that person sees me in aside, smile and politely say yes.

You're going to be so much fun when we have our inaugural WC watch meet. 😆

(You'll definitely come because Max will ask you personally and we all know how you feel about him)

It's a rare day when someone notices a watch I am wearing. Usually it's a friend who loves watches & we discuss them all the time. For me, my watch is a piece of art I enjoy. A glance at my wrist is a one second vacation. It's great to have a forum to share the enthusiasm and info with. What I wear is personal fun. Gifting a watch tells someone I appreciate the time I have shared with them & give them something I enjoy. 

Here on the prairies there is next to no one wearing anything better than a cheap quartz or Iwatch if at all. A real flex here is the newest Iphone with 3 cameras and expensive cowboy boots.

I don’t buy watches for others people opinion, so the world keeps turning and I keep walking.

Follow me on IG 

different situations determine if I want people seeing my watch. Amongst collectors that is a definite yes. We have things in common and are invested in the hobby. It’s a safe space. For service people, waiters, and salesmen… no. I would prefer they do not know what i am wearing. Ive Seen watch store employees damn near break their necks scoping the wrists of customers… sizing them up. A complete stranger in a bar looking at my watch screams security risk. I don’t want to be a target When I leave. Coworkers or bosses too… they tend to make a big deal out of wearing different watches…. And think either you are paid too much, don’t need a raise or are careless with money. Haha 

I think unless your grail begins with R and ends with olex nobody is likely to notice or mention.  Very rarely you’ll get another oddball who loves all things watch, but for me it’s about 1x per year, tops. 
 
I suspect if you have a crazy enough looking watch the brand no longer matters and you’ll at least collect notices, in the way wearing a barrel and swim flippers into an office will get you noticed.

You can‘t drop that story and not reveal the cool car that generates all this social angst and macadamia hatred.  Pics!

BTW- I saw your King - and doggo- on YouTube!   You’re famous 🤩

I would personally never feel bad about not getting noticed. I wore a vintage datejust before and currently have a datejustII in my collection and it goes by very stealthy. :-)
I do appreciate it when people who are into watches notices and you can have a conversation about watches in general.

We'll be right, you and me, at this WC meet up. We can sit in a corner somewhere and not talk to each other about anything, just drink all the free booze and possibly and only when I have had enough to drink ask how the puppies are going 💯😂

People wanting to talk to me about my watch 😂

I hardly ever get strangers come up to me to talk about the watch I’m wearing. I don’t mind if they do but it really depends on whether they are holding a knife or gun at the time. Then I do mind. A lot….

People come talk to me at work sometimes about watches in general but that’s general conversation about each other’s lives or interests outside of work.

I don’t really like it in retail shops and boutiques when they ask you what you are wearing and don’t really care - all part of their sales script etc. It adds to the negative experience of being in a boutique (unless they’re genuinely interested of course, in which case - it’s a pleasure)

😂😂😂

Or, I just hate people!  

Too funny!  

I have a crazy story about the pitfalls of fame.  Used to do a lot of volunteering at a food bank in the Bay Area with a huge group of friends.  And we would always go out for drinks afterward.  One night, there was this really cute gal there, and I chatted her up, and invited her to go to drinks with us afterward.  She'd just moved to town, she'd spent the past couple of years doing a travel documentary, etc., etc.  She starts hanging out with our group on a regular basis, and one night, while we're at this popular pizza place by Berkeley, some college student comes up to me, and says, "Hey!  Is that Emily from Road Rules?"  And I turn to the college student, and I say, "What?  No.  That's Emily...  our friend, Emily."  Turns out, Emily had been on MTV's "Road Rules," and that was the "travel documentary" she'd been working on!  All of us were like, "WHAT???  You were on TV?"  (This is back when reality TV had just gotten started.)  We then grilled her for the next couple of hours about what it was like.  Turns out, it sucks:

• There's no real money - so you end up being "internet famous" and give up any semblance of privacy for...  nothing
• You get stalked a lot - she told us about how she got this package in the mail, where some guy had written out a love letter on a giant roll of Brawny Paper Towels...  like the love letter spanned the entire roll of paper towels!  Twenty-first century stalker version of ye olde timey scroll!
• It's hard to make new friends, because you don't know if people are approaching you because they actually like you, or want to be "famous-adjacent"

So, yeah, totally stoked that my pup and my pup's poop is famous.  But, me, I'm quite happy being totally anonymous!

Oh, one last thing!  In real life, she was like the most gorgeous gal I had ever seen.  While, on camera, she looked like everyone else.  So, what that also tells you is that everyone on TV must be like 200x more beautiful that the rest of us troglodytes.  

I appreciate it when fellow watch enthusiasts notice and comment on a watch I'm wearing, but other than that I'd generally prefer that nobody even notices. I suspect that the only people who would notice most watches would be either fellow watch enthusiasts or people with nefarious intent looking for a target. Before I became interested in watches, I never noticed what watch someone was wearing unless it was something unusual that grabbed my attention (such as a Hamilton Venture , with it's unusual shape).

As always, a  fun and fascinating read (and an artful dodge of the requested car pics 😉)

My brush with fame is limited to knowing a guy whose watch was featured in a you tube video.  😃

Funny, that’s the exact reason I like watches…

I’m typically a “fly under the radar” type of guy so I REALLY like being able to have nice things that I enjoy without other people noticing.

Almost no one recognizes a nice watch.

This weekend I was at the gas station filling up my truck and I was wearing a pair of Jordan shoes.  Not one, but TWO people made a comment about them. 

No one noticed the watch I was wearing that was literally worth 200X more than the shoes! LOL

At one point my grail was a Skydweller. I was lucky enough to buy one but I actually ended up selling it because so many non-watch people would ask me what it was in the street lol. 

I like the idea of wearing something which is not only the pinnacle of luxury and craftsmanship but also entirely invisible to the untrained eye. This usually leads to far more interesting conversations when people do recognise the watch also...

No one notices my grail (Speedy Pro) that I have had for a while or my other watches. I assume the vast majority of people don't care about watches which is fine.  

The odd thing is that since I got my Tudor GMT a few months ago, 3 people noticed the watch and stopped to say something.  

Once on the subway when I was visiting NY by a nice guy who mentioned that his brother was going to be getting the BB58 blue. 

Another by a guy at work who is now one of my only watch buddies (well he would be if I went to work more often/ WFH forever!).

The last time was by a guy who asked me if my Tudor was a Rolex.  

Very rare I meet someone and talk for a bit I always look at there watch if they have something very nicer than mines I say something positive. If its too way dam cheap, ugly looking I won't even bother. I have not gotten into the smart watches so I won't say much for those either.