Check out Doug DeMurro's videos on YouTube. He is an automotive journalist in Philadelphia who daily drove a Ferrari for a week or two a few years ago. Plenty of videos of him getting gas and someone asking him how much his car cost, what he does for a living, etc.

There's a more recent comparison video of him driving an Aston Martin, a more expensive and arguably much nicer car, but because it's silver nobody gives a shit.

Unless you are truly flashy (red Ferrari, diamond watch) typically nobody will notice. And to the Rolex point specifically, there are more non-Rolex watches that look nearly identical to the Submariner than there are actual Submariners.

A friend of mine has what I thought for years was a Pepsi bezel GMT II. I caught a better look at it randomly and it turns out it's a Seiko.

Especially hilarious was the video where he tried to attract women's attention with his 360.

Protip guys: vanishingly few ladies want someone with a nice car (and all that comes with).

Very rarely will anyone notice your watch. Even speaking as somebody who does look at watches it's awfully hard to tell what somebody's wearing with certainty unless you're pretty close to them. I generally won't comment even when I do spot something interesting, partly because they probably don't want others' attention drawn to it.

not true. I saw a prospect we were pitching was wearing a Daytona and I knew immediately we wouldn't win or lose based on price.

for the same reason, I wear modest watches to client pitches. too pricey they'll assume we are making out better than them and thus we won't be enforcing the "clients first" mantra. The same also goes for hotels. When I travel to clients and they ask where I am staying, I'd be a fool to say the "Four Seasons". If you stay at the Marriott, they assume you product is priced fairly.

I think you've actually just validated my point: you are conscious of the watch you wear, and so I suspect you notice what others are wearing. You and I notice because, to some extent, we're both interested. Your prospect wearing the Daytona probably noticed what you were wearing too, but we're a very small number of data points: most people wouldn't notice. I doubt most people even know what a Rolex Daytona looks like, for example, and why should they?

Of course, when I go to a meeting I'm aware that perception matters, and in certain contexts there's a good chance I'm going to meet somebody wearing a nice watch who might make judgement about me based on what I'm wearing (human nature sucks sometimes). So I'm not going to turn up for a pitch wearing one of my Seikos (even though I love them) because they're probably too affordable and, frankly, too casual (Orange Monster anyone?). What I need is something classy and relatively refined without being flashy or ostentatious. Eventually, specifically to fulfil that role, I bought a used Omega Seamaster (which has become just about my favourite watch because it's so versatile).

I'd certainly think twice about wearing a Rolex for a pitch because there's always the risk it might make you look expensive, but I wouldn't think twice about wearing the same watch in a social context. Why? Because I love a good timepiece, and since none of my good friends are into watches they never notice what I'm wearing anyway, so I can get away with anything within reason. (Btw, I'm talking about stainless steel models here; if you're talking gold that is a different matter because just by its very nature it's attention grabbing.)

> when I go to a meeting I'm aware that perception matters

I would posit that any meeting you go to where you are trying to sell something perception matters.

Not to be facetious, but fake Rolexes are so widespread now that I actually wonder what the chances are that a random robbery will yield a real versus fake Rolex.

Even real ones are common, they make over a million a year.

Even a good fake with a Swiss movement could cost $500-1000. It might still be worth robbing.

I own one, it's a datejust, uncle grabbed it for me in Singapore maybe 10 years ago? It still one for my favorites, except the stem mechanism does not work correctly. My Apple Watch ended up replacing it for everyday use. I should open it up....

I don't know anything about movements other than what I can see through transparent backs and Wikipedia articles, but...they look sensitive to experimentation

It has a sweeping pattern, opposed to the "tick-tock", It's already broken, worst case its broken more :p I'll post some pictures later.

Automatics do sweep though right? Rolex do anyway

Could be a good project if you could make headway

>The drawback is that you make it crystal clear to everyone that you have money. That's the one thing that always troubles me with luxury items. How do people who own Porsche's or Ferrari's cope with unwanted attention, assuming that they don't want it.

Well, who said it's unwanted?

Besides, they often have bodyguards, and of course they don't regularly mingle with commoners. Difficult to get robbed in some Swiss chalet or some expensive neighborhood. And there everybody has money anyway, so they don't stand out much.

I think you are grossly overestimating the net worth of your average Rolex Submariner purchaser.

I suspect they mostly do want the attention, they buy it for signalling.

You buy the dark blue Ferrari instead of the bright red one. Even with its radical styling, most people wouldn't give it a second look.

Maybe not with a Rolex, but with a Porshe or Ferrari the buyer is looking for attention.

Or a splendid ride?

People I know that say similar things (along with comments about inappropriate sizing of their parts to compensate for) usually never drove any sports car, so have no clue how much joy this seemingly tedious task can bring on. And if you can afford it, why not go for a better experience with <insert_your_activity> ?

If you want attention, Porshe wouldn't be a go-to. You can spend $200k on a 911 Turbo S and no one will even notice you in traffic, particularly if you get it in black/white/silver.

If you make that Porsche a 911 R, you can spend half a million dollars used, and it'll look less flashy than even a Turbo S.

I saw a 911R the other day, but only because his wife was following him in a Ferrari. I had to google the 911R to find the cost. It did sound awesome.

We're getting way off topic, but c'mon, 911s. There's a guy around here with a Vorsteiner VRT Porsche 911 Turbo S (in silver), that I definitely didn't notice until recently.