We’re told: “buy whatever you like regardless of price and origin”

But then, if someone buys a fashion watch or a Seiko they’re snobbed at by the people who have Rolexes and Pateks because…this hobbie when taken too seriously, is above all, about being a watch snob.

I mean, movement making on mechanical watches is advancing much slower nowadays in terms of innovations, few people care about watches as more than a fashion item to begin with, and smartwatches are slowly taking over along with “minimalist” styled watches from Chinese brands being more popular with young folk.

That leaves only one point in watch collecting: being a watch nerd or watch snob. Seeing it as a tradition and a object with history and knowing technical data about watches.

• Watch collecting People know quartz watches are more advanced than the mechanical watches available at the same price as them: and yet they prefer mechanical watches generally on a irrational and purely phylosophical reasoning to the point of mocking quartz sometimes

• We also say “get any watch you like”. But then…for most serious watch collectors, why is that watch always a Audemars Piguet, or a Breitling, or a Rolex or something that costs above 2.000? And why ridicule people, because it does happen, that only have say a Casio or so?

• it very much is mostly about brand name, and not about using the watch as a “tool”. Few people do that anymore, and, many hate Hublot and even Richard Mille for example. These are expensive and advanced watches. But they haven’t fallen in the good graces of the community! There’s also a part of the community for whom it’s funny to pick on TAG Heuer as a brand for a no longer valid reason.

• Watches are a terrible “investment”. They never gain value these days, if anything some retain better value than others. Then why do we still care about value retention? Or are told we should care about it?

My point is, all of the above is true, but people into watches act like it’s not true. It’s a status symbol or an accessory more than a utility item now, and to be respected in the game you have to buy from very expensive brands. There’s cheaper watches snobs can’t hate on sure. But there aren’t many cheaper watches that snobs will get impressed by, and it’s sometimes purely because maybe it says there Seiko or Casio instead of Rolex or Omega. And those names carry a reputation with them that’s associated more often with their price categories than with their actual quality because I would say a Grand Seiko can sometimes be better than a Rolex