No one I know wears watches

[NYG1121]

Are we living in a giant optical illusion? I have been into this hobby for around 10 years and I used to see a lot more people wearing rolex and other watches. Now I see nothing but apple watches and most people are so far removed from the concept of a mechanical watch that they can't fathom why someone would be into it.

But, then you see the insane demand for watches and the prices. Could it be that watches are not popular at all anymore and all the demand is all smoke and mirrors because of the value proposition? Don't get me wrong, I still see plenty of watches on touristy vacation spots but I am just talking day to day. And I live in Boston which is a decent sized city.

[Tri-Tip]

Among my friends, about 50% wear watches, none are WIS people.

I do have a client who has quite a collection, both Rolex and other high end brands.

[brandrea]

A good half the people I know wear Apple Watches or other such “watches”. I have one friend outside of the people I’ve met here, that wears a Rolex.

The demand is out there but I agree, I don’t see many in the wild, at least in these parts

[sickened1]

I have both and tend to wear Apple watch more. Same with most of my colleagues.

[Mifune]

you need new friends...

[NYG1121]

Originally Posted by Mifune

you need new friends...

apparently!

[JAJ2349]

Most of my friends wear a relatively cheap quartz watch.
One wears an EOD Royal Oak which his wife gave him as a wedding present more than 20 years ago.

[007timer]

I see a fair amount of watches on people’s wrists. Bath friends and just random people at the store or coffee shop. It’s true that the Apple Watch is starting to command more wrist time. I attribute that to friends who are running marathons and completing IronMan events. They train a lot and the watch helps keep track of their runs/rides.

But when out for a dinner the nice watches come out.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[colpol]

In office I work at - it’s all Apple or some other variant

Same in place before

If I walk round the Argyll Arcade In Glasgow- it’s always just about empty/ / same with the boutiques. I’ve no idea how these places stay open In Glasgow.

[MILGAUSS88]

I would describe watch demand as a mile wide and an inch deep.
The list of people willing to buy them when they think it's a bargain, ie a hot watch at retail from an AD, is a mile wide.

The list of people willing to pay full retail because they're going to keep it, is an inch deep. If that list evaporates so does the mile wide demand.


I think there are a lot more dealer to dealer transactions than most people imagine. When prices are skyrocketing, it creates a euphoric fury amongst dealers.

25 years ago when the antiques and collectibles market was much stronger, 50% of my sales would typically go to dealers and 50% would go to the public. Now that the market is weaker I typically sell less than 10% to dealers.

The same thing could happen to watches.

[RolexPD]

There are almost 8 billion people in the world, and Rolex makes about 1 million watches a year. I wouldn't expect to see them on most people's wrists.

[WatchMySix]

I think it's an illusion. I think a lot of the demand is artificial, or created by the grey market. Sure people want Rolex but most want to buy from an AD and it's not like of the 1 million watches Rolex makes annually, they are being held by ADs. ADs get the watches and sell almost immediately, even if that's to an "approved" grey market dealer. The grey market creates this insane demand by 1. "Holding" a majority of the Rolex's for sale on the market (especially modern Rolex) 2. They all set almost identical prices. You could argue that the market sets those prices with the demand for them but I see tons of Pepsis, Pandas, Cermits, that just sit unsold at their respective prices on TRF all the time. 3. The grey market buys up a lot of the ADs (almost all) surplus on hand, if any.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[sgarrity]

I used to wear a Rolex everyday for about 15 years. Then about 9 years I started working form home and traveling for work. At home I wear an Apple Watch everyday. It does so much for me and offers a tremendous amount of convenience. I can even pick up a call on the damn thing!

Now my Rolex and other watches make appearances when going out in the evening and weekends. They're basically jewelry at this point. And I don't really lust after others like I used to. I love the new Cartier Tank Francaise but I just don't have the need to have another watch that gets worn 1-2x a month.

[scarlet knight]

Love my Rollies, but I was wearing my Apple watch while playing pickleball a few days ago. I ran into a cyclone fence, fell hard and fractured my shoulder. The Apple watch said “You had a hard fall, do you want to call 911?” It had a red button that said 911. My wife drove me, but that is cool if you are alone.

[Ike]

Originally Posted by scarlet knight

Love my Rollies, but I was wearing my Apple watch while playing pickleball a few days ago. I ran into a cyclone fence, fell hard and fractured my shoulder. The Apple watch said “You had a hard fall, do you want to call 911?” It had a red button that said 911. My wife drove me, but that is cool if you are alone.

This is why my dad switched to the Apple Watch. He's had some falls lately. He also likes the other health features. He also likes it works like a phone. His 40-50 year old datejust has stopped working and I'm going to have it restored for him but I'm not sure he will wear it. He really likes his Apple Watch.

[Calatrava r]

Originally Posted by scarlet knight

Love my Rollies, but I was wearing my Apple watch while playing pickleball a few days ago. I ran into a cyclone fence, fell hard and fractured my shoulder. The Apple watch said “You had a hard fall, do you want to call 911?” It had a red button that said 911. My wife drove me, but that is cool if you are alone.

Feel better soon.

[kl2244]

All my friends love watches and own a collection of them.

[Calatrava r]

Virtually no one I see wears a watch except maybe for a wearable device. I am seeing an uptick of Rolex Subs in urban areas. The demand for high end watches is through the roof, but I suspect it is highly concentrated with the growing trend of collecting watches and limited to more affluent areas.

[NYG1121]

I am still not convinced. I interact with a lot of the well off community on a regular basis. No watches. Zero. Where are they going?

[Corvette]

Originally Posted by NYG1121

I am still not convinced. I interact with a lot of the well off community on a regular basis. No watches. Zero. Where are they going?

From my experience, a fair amount of well-off folks wear an Apple Watch on a daily basis but break out a higher-end Rolex or alike for a night on the town or a business meeting. I don’t think all that many people wear a Rolex as a daily, this forum being a huge outlier.

Not to mention I think Rolex is slowly switching their marketing and watch allocations to China where conspicuous consumption is more socially embraced. It wouldn’t surprised me if the US starts receiving less and less “in demand” models as other places start growing their upper middle class (looking at you India).

[Dirty John]

They are too busy buying NFTs

[Rock]

Most of my friends wear, and appreciate a nice watch. The ones that don't, often wear an AppleWatch. (most of my friends are over 60)
I get the AppleWatch thing, maybe when I get tired of the frequent expensive RSC services on my Rolex that require them to be mailed off 3000klms away.

[alllexandru]

Our organization has roughly 450 employees, out of them I noticed 3 persons into watches and myself, anybody else is either watchless or electronic Apple Watch , Garmin, other similars (I also have a Garmin using at gym and outdoor activities)

This is probably the ratio world wide, considering we are 8bln if you do the math there are still plenty of buyers for both worlds :)

Let’s say the 70 millions out of 8bln are into watches entry level luxury and upwards or passionate about watches and not all of them having the resources for Rolexes or whatever luxury Watch

However the vast majority of my friends are into watches so they exists :)

[Chester01]

Originally Posted by NYG1121

Are we living in a giant optical illusion? I have been into this hobby for around 10 years and I used to see a lot more people wearing rolex and other watches. Now I see nothing but apple watches and most people are so far removed from the concept of a mechanical watch that they can't fathom why someone would be into it.

But, then you see the insane demand for watches and the prices. Could it be that watches are not popular at all anymore and all the demand is all smoke and mirrors because of the value proposition? Don't get me wrong, I still see plenty of watches on touristy vacation spots but I am just talking day to day. And I live in Boston which is a decent sized city.

Yes, this bubble is largely supported by a few of us, maintained by a surrounding eco system of social media driving hype, and fake fabricated scarcity of things no one needs. Watches and rolex for that matter is simply for most about being out and getting that instabook snap so others can see them, and then it gets tucked safely back into the watch vault for another few months, with any scratches fretted about and resulting in posts about was it safe. Largely these are only relevant to the celebs and oligarchs of the world and attainable largely to those as well. They are no longer relevant (mostly-a few of use still ear them as tools), its just social media makes people think they are.

Side Note: Now, I tried the Apple watch ultra, and its not for me. The constant need to think about charging, updating, light variations and inability to see the time quickly (needed in my job) bezel that was not sensitive to the touch so I can track time, etc... I got rid of it and it did not do better than my sub for my needs.

[1William]

I do see watches on most of the adults wrists, if you include Apple watches and the such. I also think that some of it will be age. As individuals move through careers and family there are some things that are check the box once you are aware of them. A nice watch, and it could be a Seiko to a PP, depending on the individual is one of the things that some will purchase. Most of my friend group is mid-late 40's to early 70's and every individual owns multiple watches. Come to think of it have have never seen any of these men not wearing some type of watch. I guess it is who you are around, age and activity.

[joeychitwood]

When I first joined TRF, I was on a purchase and selling binge. I bought Rolexes and Tudors exclusively. Once prices and availability changed, I started looking at other brands, and lately I’ve been buying Seiko, Luminox and G-Shock watches. And I’m enjoying them as much as my Rolexes. I see a lot of people wearing watches in this part of the country.

[Wcdhtwn]

I have several neighbors with collections and at least 1 Rolex. When we hang out almost no one wears one, it’s all Apple Watches and g shocks here and there. I get not wearing one around people you don’t know to avoid impressions or seeming like a flex, but not wearing them when you’re around your buddies? I always wear mine.

[AzPaul]

Seldom see my friends wearing watches. As a rule of thumb, though, most hide their valuables when I'm around, so not seeing a watch isn't all that surprising.

[Mountain]

Most of my friends and acquaintances wear a decent watch, but none are really into watches as such. They just have one, wear it without thinking about it.

I couldn’t ever see my self wearing an Apple Watch. Being tethered to my phone 24 hours a day is my concept of hell!

[hypernova]

Thankfully have a couple of friends at work really into watches. It has helped on the collection journey, but definitely hit the wallet hard as well