Challenge: Name another technologically obsolete product that is thriving like Rolex

[metallic]

Is it not incredible how thriving the mechanical watch business remains?

First came the quartz revolution. Cheap watches that keep perfect time. Had no economic effect on Rolex.

Next came the Apple Watch (and Android equivalent). Can you believe a watch exists today that you can buy for under $500 that keeps perfect time, functions as a telephone, texting device, heart monitor and any other number of functions and you can change the face anytime you want to meet your whims? Incredible.

But yet...mechanical watches are thriving.

You cannot walk into a store today and purchase a Rolex Daytona, Submariner, or even a Datejust without getting on a waitlist. Try to purchase an AP Royal Oak or Patek Nautilus, they will laugh you out of the store and treat you rudely on top of it. Or you could buy that stainless steel Nautilus on the grey market for the astonishingly insane price of $100,000.

It made me think if there are any other technologically obsolete products that still thrive today. Most have gone the way of the dinosaur like CD's for music or DVD's or Blockbuster rental stores.

I can only think of two products off hand: Classic cars and mined diamonds. Classic cars have that romantic attachment associated with them. Diamonds are available today factory produced and chemically identical and more perfect than mined diamonds, so that one I don't get at all.

[Eagles]

Vinyl is a big deal once again!

Record shops used to be nothing but racks of CDs but now I notice it's lots of Vinyl for sale.

And suckers like me are buying lots of it!!

[derklink]

Carrier pigeons

[acorn]

Jewelry never becomes obsolete.

[HMHM]

Leica Camera.
Vintage Porsches and Ferraris. Those are in a different game altogether compared to Rolex and Patek.

[Max7857]

A lot of vintage stereo equipment still brings in some pretty high prices.

[Baronrojo]

Though not quite as popular, fountain pens. Many Montblanc retail shops around. I know a lot of watch collectors collect pens as well.

[Tylerlsu2008]

Let’s be honest, it’s jewelry. Rugged jewelry, but jewelry. I love my watches as much as anyone, but if I’m being honest, if I’m claiming Everest tomorrow, I’m not wearing a Rolex.

[HHIslander]

Originally Posted by Eagles

Vinyl is a big deal once again!

Record shops used to be nothing but racks of CDs but now I notice it's lots of Vinyl for sale.

And suckers like me are buying lots of it!!

Vinyl is my answer too, it’s huge these days. There were some teen-20 something kids at my house recently and they all were into vinyl. None had ever bought a CD, they made fun of my CD collection and called me a dinosaur. That changed a little when I played a few SACDs and they were blown away.

[Mystro]

Steinway pianos.

[jrinTX]

Custom 1911 pistols, ICE vehicles in some eyes, and as mentioned already vinyl resurgence. All these have been passed up in technology, but still have merits and are still trending up in price and have long wait lists.

[cdmorenot]

Manual Transmissions....

They're obsolete. They can't compare to modern transmissions like DCT and CVT...

Yet, many people want them. I am one of those people - On certain cars, a manual is a must. The fun factor is completely different.

[enjoythemusic]

Originally Posted by Eagles

Vinyl is a big deal once again!

Yup, and vacuum tube amplification (love 'em personally).

Printed magazines / publications / newspapers are technically... and perhaps a massive waste of.... PDF or website is fine, enables links / videos / etc too.

[Bald Angus]

Books…e-readers were much bigger a few years ago. Nothing like the feel and smell of reading a book.


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[Chaucer1787]

I’m not sure the comparison is fair. Or, maybe, the comparison is not apples to apples.

Mechanics differ from computerized, electronic technology. I think in today’s society of over-stimulation and ease-of-access there is something very romantic and appealing about historic “technology” or mechanics.

I am a piano and accordion player and have played my fair share of Steinway pianos. An electric piano, no matter how good the action or timbre, is never a Steinway. A particular Steinway comes to mind and the action on it is like pure sex. (Sorry if this offends people). Ease of playing, tonal quality, reaction… all of these are insanely good. There is also a Roland MIDI accordion that has no guts and simply models reed configurations. In today’s world of MIDI and electronics can things be modeled to sound the same? Yes.

In today’s world does an Apple Watch or IPhone provide everything and then some in terms of time keeping and information? Yes, by a long shot.

It’s the Romance of a simpler time. (No pun intended) and as long as there are humans on this earth, there will always be a need for it.


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[1675-David]

I just sold an old Minolta SLR for a lot more than I paid for it 30 years ago...

[seosub]

Great thread. Air-cooled Porsche - performance wise cant compare to some of todays super cars but carry similar price tags.

Vinyl - as well as vintage record players / sound systems - is super interesting. I have seen manual espresso machines carry some insane price tags. Did I mention air-cooled Porche? :)

[slus]

Sounds like Rolex is the same as it always was. Lots of people want one, no one actually needs one.

You could argue that at one point a mechanical watch was needed as no other technology existed, but it certainly did not have to be a Rolex. Rolex has demand and staying power due to very good advertising for a very long time and they managed to not muck up the brand along the way.

[JimSnyder]

A model 1911 pistol. The design originated in the late 1890’s and still is 2nd to none.

[KevNev]

Originally Posted by cdmorenot

Manual Transmissions....

They're obsolete. They can't compare to modern transmissions like DCT and CVT...

Yet, many people want them. I am one of those people - On certain cars, a manual is a must. The fun factor is completely different.

While I am also one of those people, I don't think there are enough of us to consider it thriving.

[Offshore]

If this is restricted to obsolete technology that one can buy new, rather than a 'classic' of some sort then it is hard to beat sailing yachts.

Forever 'innovating' and marketing new product lines yet still based on the same technology in use for thousands of years.

[Krash]

There are other examples, but it seems like mechanical watches are at the pinnacle in terms of obsolete items still thriving.


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[thesharkfactor]

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[Blanch]

Originally Posted by thesharkfactor

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Lol

[AK797]

Lots mentioned already but ofc the big one is art, and painting in particular, first you had incredible accuracy with the renaissance and then that became old so you had impressions of what you see, and then that too became too clinical so you had complex abstract and surreal art, and then that too became too much so you had really stripped down simple abstract like Rothko and so it goes, and all of those styles in their most prized representations will fetch close to a billion dollars or more.

[roystrex]

The bicycle, the wheel, the hammer...

[pandajoe]

Rolex is beyond just a device to keep time anymore - its also jewelry, a status symbol, a collector's hobby, has historic implications and more

[Krash]

Originally Posted by culvercity

Firearms

Originally Posted by roystrex

The bicycle, the wheel, the hammer...

None of those are obsolete.

[thesharkfactor]

Originally Posted by Krash

None of those are obsolete.

..a wristwatch is obselete? I wouldn't think a wristwatch would be obselete until time itself stops. Obselete in the centre of a black hole is the only place I can think of that it would be of no use.

[samson66]

Originally Posted by thesharkfactor

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