Rolex As A Status Symbol

[gamingdoctor]

Originally Posted by eugenetsang

If Rolex wasn't considered a "status symbol", you guys wouldn't be on here posting nonsense about the brand and its different models. Showing off your "very first purchase" and etc.

I agree it's a status symbol but disagree with the connection with that and posting pictures. People can be passionate about their watches for different reasons. Certainly people are passionate for watches that are not "status symbols." Go look at the G Shock sub on the WUS website....millions of views of $100 watches.

[bluestreak]

Originally Posted by gamingdoctor

I agree it's a status symbol but disagree with the connection with that and posting pictures. People can be passionate about their watches for different reasons. Certainly people are passionate for watches that are not "status symbols." Go look at the G Shock sub on the WUS website....millions of views of $100 watches.

It’s all the same. People who are sporting G-Shocks are just trying to convey a different image.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[eugenetsang]

as I agree, owners of watches can be passionate about their toys. But being on a "luxury" forum such as the one we are on now.. It's gearing towards more on the "status symbol". We're not talking about $40 Timex watches here... We're talking about watches that cost more than $9k msrp... Let's not talk about resell/grey...

Whether you want to believe it are not... Members here are trying to flex... Doesn't matter if it's subconsciously or full on in your face... Users are showing off.

[bluestreak]

Originally Posted by Kevin of Larchmont

To paraphrase Shelley:

“Look upon my Rolex Ye Mighty, and despair!”

I repeat, it’s only a status symbol if people know you’re wearing it.

If you saw someone wearing an eyepatch, would you mention it to him? Does that mean you didn’t notice it? What percentage of people that he encounters mention said eyepatch? What percentage know he’s wearing one?

I’m long past the time of trying to attract women in bars, but if you’ve talked to one, they will say they always notice the watch a guy is wearing. And clothes. And shoes. And they rarely mention them. But it definitely goes into the image they have of you.

If you’re wearing it, people know. Even if no one ever says anything.

[nosignalbmwdriver]

women only really know rolex. Tag goes invisible imo. Something to consider.

Originally Posted by Krash

I really disagree. A $2000 Tag Heuer is an exclusive watch for the overwhelming majority of the global population.

The “billions of dollars of watches per year” sounds impressive. But less than one percent of the global population are buying them.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Kevin of Larchmont]

Originally Posted by bluestreak

If you’re wearing it, people know. Even if no one ever says anything.

And if nobody ever says anything then there is no manifestation of status.

[eugenetsang]

Originally Posted by Kevin of Larchmont

And if nobody ever says anything then there is no manifestation of status.

if there is no manifestion of status, then why spend $9k+ for something that simply tells time? Wouldn't a cheap $30 Timex do the same job?

[Krash]

Originally Posted by Kevin of Larchmont

And if nobody ever says anything then there is no manifestation of status.

The woman that just walked down the street is a delectable dish. Just because I didn’t say anything doesn’t change a thing. She’s still a delectable dish.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[bluestreak]

Originally Posted by Kevin of Larchmont

And if nobody ever says anything then there is no manifestation of status.

This doesn’t make any sense. If someone subconsciously treats you differently or views you differently, why on earth does it have to be explicitly stated for the status to be “manifested?”

Surely you can’t be this naive about human nature that you think people are only judging you if they come out and tell you?

[Kevin of Larchmont]

Originally Posted by bluestreak

This doesn’t make any sense. If someone subconsciously treats you differently or views you differently, why on earth does it have to be explicitly stated for the status to be “manifested?”

Surely you can’t be this naive about human nature that you think people are only judging you if they come out and tell you?

Speaking of naive you are completely missing the clear, obvious and repeated point: it doesn’t matter what someone thinks and keeps in their own head about us, none of us can ever know this and who cares if we are being silently judged. Unless the person judging behaves differently towards us then they aren’t bestowing or acknowledging any status towards the person they are observing and silently thinking about. So if we are wearing Rolexes as status symbols the only measure of this supposed status is a visible reaction to it. I don’t wear my watch to get a reaction although it sounds by your description as if you might and that’s OK but sometimes a watch, even a very nice watch, is just a watch.

[Calatrava r]

For some people the notion of status never enters their mind. They just wear a watch because they like it. They just enjoy its looks, feel or how it is made.

[bluestreak]

Originally Posted by Kevin of Larchmont

Speaking of naive you are completely missing the clear, obvious and repeated point: it doesn’t matter what someone thinks and keeps in their own head about us, none of us can ever know this and who cares if we are being silently judged. Unless the person judging behaves differently towards us then they aren’t bestowing or acknowledging any status towards the person they are observing and silently thinking about. So if we are wearing Rolexes as status symbols the only measure of this supposed status is a visible reaction to it. I don’t wear my watch to get a reaction although it sounds by your description as if you might and that’s OK but sometimes a watch, even a very nice watch, is just a watch.

So you’re saying, the only way you can get some type of status benefit from wearing a Rolex (or anything for that matter) is if someone walks up to you, looks you dead in the face and says “Hey! nice Rolex” ?

And that when people treat someone differently because of some outward characteristic, they always announce that’s what they are doing?

You can’t possibly believe that. Or you’ve led a very sheltered life. I’m going with “intentionally obtuse”

[Kevin of Larchmont]

Originally Posted by bluestreak

So you’re saying, the only way you can get some type of status benefit from wearing a Rolex (or anything for that matter) is if someone walks up to you, looks you dead in the face and says “Hey! nice Rolex” ?

And that when people treat someone differently because of some outward characteristic, they always announce that’s what they are doing?

You can’t possibly believe that. Or you’ve led a very sheltered life. I’m going with “intentionally obtuse”

I don’t seek a status benefit from my Rolex or from any other object but now I have a clearer picture of your perspective. I don’t seek to be treated differently because of my possessions because I know that treatment can be either positive or negative. Where I live nobody cares about my watch or my vehicle, whatever status I have earned here is based on how I treat people. It’s true that I might lead a sheltered life but thankfully I can always come here to visit what I am sheltering from.

Carry on.

[Animo Felonico]

No disrespect but what is the point of this post? Maybe I am cranky today, but yes, Rolex is a status symbol. In other news, sky is blue, fire is hot.

[Yobber76]

Originally Posted by Marcjvr

What about omega and Tag heuer? Oris? Hamilton?

Where is the line then?

How much does the watch have to be worth strapped to your wrist for people to say “oh wow look at that symbol of status” ?

Just curious

Interesting point.
Of all of my watches the two that have garnered the most attention and compliments from people is my Tag Heritage Chrono and my Breitling Superocean Heritage. Why?
Cause their bigger and blingy compared to a Rolex sub or GMT.
I don't think in these cases it is about the cost of the watch. Most people wouldn't even know those companies if they didn't know watches.
But if those same watches were made by Rolex, they would be perceived as expensive and luxury items.
There is a status in the name recognition.

[Mick_Tock]

Rolex is only a status symbol if you choose to flaunt it when around other people with the purpose of impressing them. I remember a poster on this forum bemoaning the fact that he never wore his Rolex's during COVID as he never went out. I don't get this. I enjoy nice watches for my own satisfaction, whether at home or outside. Indeed I'm more likely to keep it concealed when out, so as not to attract unwelcome attention.

[Krash]

Originally Posted by Mick_Tock

Rolex is only a status symbol if you choose to flaunt it when around other people with the purpose of impressing them. I remember a poster on this forum bemoaning the fact that he never wore his Rolex's during COVID as he never went out. I don't get this. I enjoy nice watches for my own satisfaction, whether at home or outside. Indeed I'm more likely to keep it concealed when out, so as not to attract unwelcome attention.

Rolex is a status symbol regardless of its on your wrist or at home in your watch box.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[eugenetsang]

Originally Posted by Krash

Rolex is a status symbol regardless of its on your wrist or at home in your watch box.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Agreed 100%.

if not, why not purchase an Invicta dive watch? It costs $100, rotating bezel, and automatic. Looks similiar to a Rolex sub.... Oh wait... because Invicta doesn't have the same luxury status appeal...

[Scapegoat]

A gift to myself, a target I set to achieve.

Not for status, but reminder of my effort.

[geoach]

Originally Posted by Animo Felonico

No disrespect but what is the point of this post? Maybe I am cranky today, but yes, Rolex is a status symbol. In other news, sky is blue, fire is hot.

it sure is... anyone who has one like me KNOWS it's a status symbol.......what make it more is the clothes ones wearing

[jrs146]

All brands reflect some sort of status. It can sometimes be hard to separate what a brands perception is to others and our own individual value of that brand. Whether we allow ourselves to be influenced by the external status perception or not is the only real issue and I’d argue there’s very very difficult to separate. Also, status symbols change depending on the social network you may be in at the time. There are many places where a Rolex is not only not a status symbol but a symbol but the opposite. Of course those times are fewer and far between but certainly there are many places where a Rolex is not that impressive. So it’s all relative!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[eugenetsang]

Originally Posted by Scapegoat

A gift to myself, a target I set to achieve.

Not for status, but reminder of my effort.

Then why not purchase a cheaper brand watch? Say, Timex? It will still remind you of your effort right?

Rolex costs over $8k... $8k+ is a lot of money... a lot of money usually coincides with status.

[DoubleDeac]

Another way to look at this is to consider what Rolex as a company is trying to sell - not just to people who are actually buying the watches, but to the entire world who doesn’t have a Rolex. We can all agree that it tries to curate a certain image by sponsoring athletes in “high brow” sports and endeavors. It sponsors golfer, tennis players, pianists; it doesn’t sponsor skateboarders, football players, heavy metal guitarists, etc no matter marketable they are. This results in a brand image of high class, prestige, success, status, what have you.

So it doesn’t really matter what our motivations with the watch is, Rolex ensures that this prestige image is baked into their watches before it hits your wrist. To deny this is to deny the effectiveness of marketing and how the human psyche works.

One more thought experiment. If Rolex is just another watch and it truly is a piece of metal that serves a function and no more, then would you feel safe walking down a high crime area with a short sleeve and your Rolex on full display?

[Sgooter]

I don't know what my status is, but I think it was ok before Rolex. Who knows, maybe I give Rolex status.

[INC]

TLDR about "what is a status symbol" & Rolex

I think for an absolute outsider, Rolex means that the person who wears it is "certainly rich". This does not mean that Rolex is a status symbol, but that people have no idea that it is actually a mass-produced watch.

For a somewhat knowledgeable person, the TERM Rolex MAYBE means those models that have a NICKNAME, or have meteorite dials, or PM versions of some sought-after model, such as a Platona. In such a case, the knowledgeable person knows that whoever has one of these is truly wealthy and demanding, because these watches are really not available and affordable to everyone.

However, I think HERE, in this place, what should be understood by "status symbol" is someone who has been buying their Rolexes from an AD for decades, and whom Rolex itself considers to belong to a special category of customers. They are mostly the ones who can obtain off-catalog models at all.

So it's not really the ownership of a Rolex that can be considered a status symbol, but the fact that someone can buy any Rolex they want because their AD will happily set it aside and sell it to them.

This is truly a status thing. However, it is only symbolized by the watch. That is why you can almost never tell what status someone has in life just by wearing a Rolex! It is NOT about money, it is about the ability that these people have achieved in their lives. Which is really not easy these days because we do not live in the same time as those who bought Rolex a few decades ago. When they had a lot on their minds, they just did not buy a watch because it expressed their status. Back then, they simply bought the watches they loved.

In my opinion, therefore, those who are searching for the meaning of this are really searching for the "meaning of life" or the "meaning of Rolex." They are the ones who desperately need an ideology to explain to themselves why it is worth spending a lot of money on a mass-produced watch based on decades of technology.

[Oystersteel92]

Originally Posted by brandrea

IMHO, Rolex has built its brand around being an aspirational purchase … the “I’ve made it” symbol of success.

When I was young the successful men I admired all wore Rolex. Mostly DJs but also Subs. This was at the height of the digital watch quartz era.

Originally Posted by Mystro

Of course Rolex is a status symbol. Rolex has marketed it that way and has very cleverly kept that idea alive in very subtle and not so subtle ways. It’s just advertising that has caught on to popular acceptance.
Why is this undeniable connection with the brand and “status symbol” so uncomfortable for some is puzzling??? There are many other fine watch brands that don’t embrace the “status crown” so unapologetically. It is what it is and the “status” image comes strait from Rolex themselves.

Ads like this were all over National Geographic when I was young, and Playboy too, when I could score one. I still think nobody is better in a one sheet than the Rolex marketing department.

Then there's the product itself, which is undeniably tough. A successful man can buy a Rolex President and wear it in the office, with a tuxedo, or snorkeling in Florida on vacation. Try that with most other watches and see how far you get.

[Joearch]

Originally Posted by Daytona king

Perfectly said.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Those are the most aspirational fingers I’ve ever seen.

[Joearch]

Originally Posted by Sgooter

I don't know what my status is, but I think it was ok before Rolex. Who knows, maybe I give Rolex status.

My position exactly. I have been a brand ambassador for a a number of years for Rolex, which has resulted in multiple folks seeking out their own Rolex watch.

[AF_Rob]

One only has to go to their own website to know they are meant to be status symbols. Rolex marketing is dripping with it.

Speaking for myself, I got my first Rolex in my 20's and would be lying if I didn't buy into the marketing, at least a little bit. After many years flipping through adverts targeted to the traveling, sporting professional, I couldn't resist.

Now in my 40's, I wear them for me. If it's something attached to my body, it might as well be the best I'm willing to pay for. Now, that's mostly Tudor money.

As cringy as some of these responses appear on the surface, at least they're honest.

[Daytona king]

Originally Posted by Joearch

Those are the most aspirational fingers I’ve ever seen.

What do you mean? Im not sure what post or reference you are referring to.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk