Is Rolex a luxury watch?

[Voyagez]

Seems like many articles and videos point out that Rolex is not a luxury watch, while the likes of PP and AP are considered entry/mid tier luxury. What is everyone’s thoughts on this?

My personal opinion is that Rolex is still a luxury watch similar to Mercedes/BMW, while PP/AP would be equivalent to a luxury/super car such as Ferrari/Lambo. Beyond that the other watch brands like Roger Dufour would be more akin to a hyper-car.

[GoWarriors]

Rolex is akin to Ferrari. Omega is like Porsche.

Any watch over $500 is a luxury watch.

[Mystro]

Yes it’s a luxury watch in every definition. Some like to flex needless snobbery as much as they can within the horological brands.

[Alex369]

Originally Posted by Voyagez

Seems like many articles and videos point out that Rolex is not a luxury watch, while the likes of PP and AP are considered entry/mid tier luxury. What is everyone’s thoughts on this?

My personal opinion is that Rolex is still a luxury watch similar to Mercedes/BMW, while PP/AP would be equivalent to a luxury/super car such as Ferrari/Lambo. Beyond that the other watch brands like Roger Dufour would be more akin to a hyper-car.

I've heard these arguments too. Rolex is most definitely a luxury watch. Is it the MOST luxurious watch/brand? Certainly not. Not even close. But if a platinum DD, or rainbow Daytona, or rose gold GMT aren't luxury watches, then nothing makes sense...

[Michael1968]

Not for me. There is nothing special about mass production Rolex watches without some special models.

[douglasf13]

Originally Posted by Voyagez

Seems like many articles and videos point out that Rolex is not a luxury watch, while the likes of PP and AP are considered entry/mid tier luxury. What is everyone’s thoughts on this?

My personal opinion is that Rolex is still a luxury watch similar to Mercedes/BMW, while PP/AP would be equivalent to a luxury/super car such as Ferrari/Lambo. Beyond that the other watch brands like Roger Dufour would be more akin to a hyper-car.

Yeah, I kinda see Rolex as Mercedes, or maybe Porsche, and Omega as BMW.

[amh]

Originally Posted by GoWarriors

Rolex is akin to Ferrari. Omega is like Porsche.

Any watch over $500 is a luxury watch.

Porsche
- High performance
- Sought after
- Great resale value
- Waiting lists....

Omega is none of those today. You can not only get whatever you want, you can get a discount - at the AD! Grey even more discount, like 40%. Nowadays Omega is swimming in the same pool as Tag and Breitling (Sorry fans of the brand, but it's true. Great movements and other tech but nothing makes them stand out.)

[Chester01]

Originally Posted by Michael1968

Not for me. There is nothing special about mass production Rolex watches without some special models.

Aren’t all commercial watches mass produced? I mean even AP/PP/VC make many, many watches. Unless it’s a 1 off, all are to a degree mass produced.

[fooey]

Watch Bark and Jack's latest video. It's about this very subject and very good!

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[guest1]

I think it is.

[You]

Of course Rolex is a luxury watch and always has been

[WantBlue15202]

The current situation didn't always exist, so talking about the waitlists isn't completely applicable. "Technically" any watch today is really a luxury product as no one needs it. So you're buying it for the sole purpose of jewelry/entertainment/etc. Rolex is no where near the top of this pile. They don't even let you register the serial number to prove it's a real / authentic Rolex timepiece. It's almost like they enjoy fakes in the marketplace - every other brand extends warranty or encourages some form of registration.


I'd guess if you surveyed people in an airport for a day - 99% of the people wearing a watch check their phone still for the time.

[shaunylw]

I see it as luxury to some extent. I would say to 99.9% of the population, its luxury. To many of us here, we know there is patek, Lange, AP, and many low production handmades that i would consider true luxury. But lets be honest, when you're buying a 10k watch, it has some level of luxury to it.

[GoingPlaces]

Originally Posted by GoWarriors

Rolex is akin to Ferrari. Omega is like Porsche.

Any watch over $500 is a luxury watch.

Really?

[kieselguhr]

It’s pretty obvious that it is

[Krash]

For greater than 99% of the world population, a $945 Hamilton Khaki is a luxury watch.


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[Farsh14]

Originally Posted by GoWarriors

Rolex is akin to Ferrari. Omega is like Porsche.

Any watch over $500 is a luxury watch.

Nah this isn’t a good analogy.

Maybe not the best one but I see it like this:

Rolex akin to BMW/Audi/Mercedes’ benz
Omega akin to Acura
Patek is your Ferrari

[JParm]

Originally Posted by Mystro

Yes it’s a luxury watch in every definition. Some like to flex needless snobbery as much as they can within the horological brands.

This.

You cannot buy a $7,000+ item that only tells time and say that it is not a luxury item.

[pursang_]

Car analogies kinda suck. But I'll play along.

Rolex is akin to Mercedes IMO. It's a recognizable brand spanning race, age, and locale.

Losers flex in them, and use them as a substitute for a personality.

They're generally available to people in the wealthy world that one them. Aspirational brand for many.

Some are much pricier than the rest. Your 3186 equipped 16710 is like a CLK63 Black Series.

Your SARU is like a GT Black Series, etc.

[Krash]

Originally Posted by fooey

Watch Bark and Jack's latest video. It's about this very subject and very good!

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I saw that. His interpretation of luxury is all wrong. Just because he’s on YouTube, that doesn’t mean he’s right. He considers Rolex a luxury watch but not Omega. Paying $6,000+ for a watch just because it was worn on the moon is the very definition of luxury. Guilty as charged by the way.



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[Guybrush]

Originally Posted by shaunylw

I see it as luxury to some extent. I would say to 99.9% of the population, its luxury. To many of us here, we know there is patek, Lange, AP, and many low production handmades that i would consider true luxury. But lets be honest, when you're buying a 10k watch, it has some level of luxury to it.

This.

To Joe on the street, it’s not only a luxury watch, it’s probably the definition of a luxury watch, and that’s not wrong in any way.

But to someone who knows watches (is a hobbyist, forumgoer, collector, SA, etc) it’d probably classify as entry- or mid-level luxury. Luxury, yes, but there are levels. And even within the brand itself there are levels. Car analogies are imperfect, but I don’t mind the idea of Porsche for Rolex. I see Porsches all the time, almost every day—Rolex Submariners and Datejusts are sorta like that too. But then there are the primo, rare Porsches that are more akin to unicorn Rolexes. As a brand, though, it doesn’t rise to the level of the supercar brands—even if it makes an occasional supercar. Nobody’s going to dis Rolex or Porsche—they’re just different brand-beasts from, say, Patek and Lamborghini.

Rolex is the “nice” (luxury) watch you get yourself when you retire or get promoted or graduate law school or something. Or it’s a midlife crisis purchase, the way a Porsche convertible might be.

I guess maybe where the luxury car analogy fails is that a lot of people will see someone driving a Porsche and think “what a douche.” They’ll think the same thing if someone’s wearing a Rolex, especially a yellow gold one. But whereas the same “douche” logic holds when someone shows up in, say, a Ferrari, I don’t think most people would know what a platinum PP looks like. So someone wearing a $$$,$$$ watch could escape the judgment that might afflict someone else wearing a vintage Rolex that cost 5 grand.

[Harry-57]

Mechanical watches costing thousands of quid, or multiples thereof, are luxury goods. Those who are fortunate enough to be able to regard them as tools that "only cost a few grand" may have a different perception. Different strokes for different folks.

[Krash]

Originally Posted by Guybrush

This.

To Joe on the street, it’s not only a luxury watch, it’s probably the definition of a luxury watch, and that’s not wrong in any way.

But to someone who knows watches (is a hobbyist, forumgoer, collector, SA, etc) it’d probably classify as entry- or mid-level luxury. Luxury, yes, but there are levels. And even within the brand itself there are levels. Car analogies are imperfect, but I don’t mind the idea of Porsche for Rolex. I see Porsches all the time, almost every day—Rolex Submariners and Datejusts are sorta like that too. But then there are the primo, rare Porsches that are more akin to unicorn Rolexes. As a brand, though, it doesn’t rise to the level of the supercar brands—even if it makes an occasional supercar. Nobody’s going to dis Rolex or Porsche—they’re just different brand-beasts from, say, Patek and Lamborghini.

Rolex is the “nice” (luxury) watch you get yourself when you retire or get promoted or graduate law school or something. Or it’s a midlife crisis purchase, the way a Porsche convertible might be.

I guess maybe where the luxury car analogy fails is that a lot of people will see someone driving a Porsche and think “what a douche.” They’ll think the same thing if someone’s wearing a Rolex, especially a yellow gold one. But whereas the same “douche” logic holds when someone shows up in, say, a Ferrari, I don’t think most people would know what a platinum PP looks like. So someone wearing a $$$,$$$ watch could escape the judgment that might afflict someone else wearing a vintage Rolex that cost 5 grand.

Rolex are luxury watches, period. Watch collectors and watch enthusiasts often can’t see the forest through the trees. Tag Heuer is a luxury watch for the masses.


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[Epanerai12]

sigh....

who cares

they're all luxury watches. Or none of them are. Luxury defined by price? Exclusivity? Experience?

If its price - Rolex is mid-tier
If its Exclusivity - Rolex is low end
If its Experience - Rolex is rock bottom right now

If its - hey look at my expensive watch that's hard to get at retail, then its cream of the luxury crop!

[SLWoodster]

It’s just a marketing term.

A Seiko Presage is a luxury watch.
A Movado is a luxury watch.
A Rolex is a luxury watch.

I think if you feel luxurious in it, then it is to you.

[Calatrava r]

One issue is people's definition of luxury may vary and often does. People who bought Rolex as tool watches, before the current craze, may not have considered their watches as luxury items.

[douglasf13]

Maybe I've just fallen victim to all of the Rolex ads in National Geographic as a kid (my elementary school had a huge collections of old NatGeo magazines,) but I don't really look at my Explorer as more than a high-end tool. It's like buying a high-end knife, or nice leather mountaineering boots, or a $400 Stiletto hammer, or a $5K Les Paul, or whatever. I wouldn't buy it if I wasn't planning on wearing it as intended.

Anecdotally, when I was a somewhat broken musician working at a music store 20 years ago, I bought a '59 resissue Les Paul for a ton of money, and I dragged that thing around bars all over Los Angeles and beyond for a decade. I never once looked at it like a luxury good. Just a top-end tool.

[amh]

Originally Posted by Calatrava r

One issue is people's definition of luxury may vary and often does. People who bought Rolex as tool watches, before the current craze, may not have considered their watches as luxury items.

And before the digital watch revolution Rolex was indeed a tool watch. One of my earliest memories was a friend of the family, a doctor who wore a Rolex (3rd world country, out in the middle of nowhere.) It was likely a very good choice given the reliability.

They are _still_ tool watches despite the bling. However they are not really necessary given that everyone has other timekeeping devices handy.

Or look at our very own Jocke, his tool watch threads are legendary

[Krash]

Originally Posted by Calatrava r

One issue is people's definition of luxury may vary and often does. People who bought Rolex as tool watches, before the current craze, may not have considered their watches as luxury items.

I never buy into that argument. 50 years ago, when people bought a Rolex as a tool watch, Presidents and World Leaders were wearing solid gold DayDates.


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[Me4u2night]

Originally Posted by fooey

Watch Bark and Jack's latest video. It's about this very subject and very good!

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+1
Adrian makes a good argument on this.