Rolex vs High End Knives

A Rolex is an expensive piece of jewelry. A knife is a tool. That's as far as I've ever gotten with the comparison.
 
A Rolex is an expensive piece of jewelry. A knife is a tool. That's as far as I've ever gotten with the comparison.

There was a time that you could make the argument that a mechanical dive watch was a tool, but that's not the case any more. I agree.
 
To the OP.
Why do you feel need to compare Rolex and High End Knives?
 
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While I agree with you I sincerely hope that you reflect on this post and choose your words better in the future.

Why? Everyone's a wound a little too tight IMHO. He was a little edgy, so what? I got a good chuckle. And he's a mod.
insert: theinternetisseriousbuisness.jpg
:rolleyes:
 
Why? Everyone's a wound a little too tight IMHO. He was a little edgy, so what? I got a good chuckle. And he's a mod.
insert: theinternetisseriousbuisness.jpg
:rolleyes:



I still don't understand why there are 2 previous posters saying that Karda said something inappropriate. My reading comprehension skills must be lacking because I just don't see anything wrong??? :confused:
BTW, I don't think anyone can say that people that buy a Rolex are foolishly spending their money out of one side of their mouth and say that buying a custom knife for (could be up in the $1000.00's +) isn't doing the same thing out of the other side of their mouth. Seems awfully "judgey" to me. Who are any of us to say what others should spend their hard earned money on? Then again, maybe I am not understanding what the OP was saying. (see reading comprehension):)


ETA: In the high end watch world, a Rolex is on the lower end than many think. I am not saying they are not great watches, just saying there are MANY other options that are MUCH more expensive.
 
Karda, you really need to separate personal comments from your moderator related duties. I disagree about Rolex watches being status symbols only. They are amazingly complex works of art IMO that can be passed down through generations. If you buy them used they usually increase in value as well.

If you had to move as many posts from this member as I have, you'd have reason to comment too.
How about you not trying to moderate the moderator?

The Rolex....The Submariner and Sea Dweller specifically are really neither status symbols nor works of art, although some use them as such.
They are first and foremost highly manufactured TOOL watches, born and bred for such duty and tested tried and true by many years of experience in the field. Although i'll likely never be able to own one, I've always had a fondness for them since seeing my first James Bond movie.
 
try taking a knife to a pawn shop to make get enough money to make a mortgage payment
not gonna happen.
Rolex is like money in the bank except you get to wear it and enjoy it as it appreciates in value. Not to many things in life that allow for that.
At the end of the day to each their own, spend it on what you want. In the end YOU are the only one you have to justify it to.
 
I have owned 2008 Sea Dweller and currently own a 168000 transitional Sub made in 1987. I'll buy a Deepsea around spring this year. I am a fan of tool/diver watches and Rolex makes a tank. Custom knives are never guaranteed to go up in value but Rolex watches are.
 
A watch is a tool. A knife is a tool. However, it sound like this discussion is comparing high end watch owners to high end knife owners. The one thing they both have in common is the 'ego' factor of owning one. That is a common factor in owning corvettes, big houses, and the like. I am not criticizing the 'ego' factor because the persons that own such items are usually very successful and that very same 'ego' factor is responsible for their success. Just my $.02.
 
To be honest, Karda is right on target and fail to see the what words need to be chosen more carefully....

I am more of a watch guy than a knife guy and I have traded/bought and sold over 250 watches over the past 8 years. I am lucky enough to be able to finance some expensive hobbies (Ham radio, knives, watches). I now own a 2009 Rolex Sea Dweller, a 1983 Submariner and several Omegas, and Seiko autos.... Honestly, I like my omegas better as I think rolexes are probably the best $1500 watch someone will pay $5,000 for. Make no mistake, they are worth more now than they were when I purchased them.


I do not see the comparison with knives
 
I think some objects strike a chord within many of us. Whether it is a wrist watch, pen, knife, etc. And we want to own one or more of them.
I'm not a watch guy though I appreciate the time...hehehe...effort and quality that goes into the making of a fine time piece. I have a gold plated pocket watch that my grandfather had most of his life. I'd guess it is around 75 years old and still works great. But it is a drawer queen...no way I'd carry that in my pocket every day...We are surrounded by time keeping devices of some sort and I find no need to wear one and I'd be upset beyond words were I to damage my grandfather's watch...it was a wedding present to him.

I'm just not a fan of drawer queens of any sort. If you own a Rolex...I think most of us are using the brand to identify a high end time piece...I'd bet there are other watches that are of higher quality, more accurate, etc. but we use the name because as has been said they market quite well. I certainly do not have a lot of money to spend on a knife I could not buy a knife that would be a drawer queen. I get pleasure using the knife but at the same time I treat knives differently...I'd feel awful damaging a high quality/costly knife when I could do the same with a knife just as good for the job but less costly.
 
When I bought my Rolex, my jeweler was very upfront. He told me there were more accurate time pieces out there along with pieces that had lower production numbers etc. One other thing he said was that no matter where I went the name would be known. On that note, and as stated earlier, I had to stroke my ego and buy it. As I got older I grew tired of people looking at my wrist and that's why I got my other watch. Now only those in the know, know.
 
I would love to own a couple Omegas and Rolexs someday. But until I get my engineering degree I'll stick with Seiko and Citizen. With all the variety out there I don't think you need to spend a fortune to get a beautiful watch. I'm a little surprised to learn that ALL Rolex's will appreciate in value. Maybe I ought to sell all my gold and silver and buy a Daytona. I'm sure not making any money with precious metals at the moment. :grumpy:
 
And then there are Omega watches

Omega is an interesting addition to this thread. I owned a Rolex in the past and it proved itself to be well made, tough and reliable. Now I have an Omega Seamaster that I wear. I think it compares with the Rolex in terms of toughness and reliability, but cost much less, and people don't recognize it when I wear it. A few years ago you could buy a used Rolex submariner for about $4k if you know where to look, the Seamaster was about $1,200. So back to the comparison with knives- a person that wants to have a nice knife can buy a Sebenza, but if a person wants a nice knife but wants to spend a lot less money there are some Benchmades and Spydercos that are very nice knives but cost a lot less. For instance I've seen the Sage 2 compared to a Sebenza, for a lot less money. Fortunately you can own a Sebenza and people won't look at you funny, just don't tell them what it costs.

Like I said I don't wear a Rolex and I don't want to buy a Sebenza, but I have no problem with the people that like them and want to buy them.
 
I think your analogy is flawed and here's why. I bought my first Rolex Submariner stainless steel watch in 1980 for a little over a thousand bucks. I wore it for almost 32 years and sold it for $3000. Granted I had to have the watch cleaned and springs replaced for $600 before selling it but It should run many years for it's new owner. I can't think of many things that were a better bargain. Even expensive and desirable firearms I bought many years ago will not sell for that much of an increase. The watch was dependable and bulletproof which is why so many overseas oil men wore them not to mention not having to buy batteries overseas where they were in the sand or the jungles. there is a reason why people want them. Just my 2 cents. Always buy the best and you will never be sorry.
 
A watch is a tool. A knife is a tool. However, it sound like this discussion is comparing high end watch owners to high end knife owners. The one thing they both have in common is the 'ego' factor of owning one. That is a common factor in owning corvettes, big houses, and the like. I am not criticizing the 'ego' factor because the persons that own such items are usually very successful and that very same 'ego' factor is responsible for their success. Just my $.02.

While you do make very interesting points, I find that the "ego" factor comes directly from buying these expensive, top of the line products just to shelve them to look at.
A 1000$+ custom knife is still a tool no matter how you look at it, a 1000$+ watch is still a tool. To simply buy them to look at and not for the intended purpose (and make yourself feel accomplished by doing so) I feel is taking the fun out of having them altogether. Just my opinion though.

Plus, I'd probably rather wear a digital because I'm OCD about things like keeping track of time. Needs to be perfect.

My downhill skateboard setup costs well over 1000$ and my helmet+leather suit makes it closer to 2. High quality products are expensive for a reason. Technically in most situations your likely not going to need the best product out there for any hobby, but it's always better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.
 
My downhill skateboard setup costs well over 1000$ and my helmet+leather suit makes it closer to 2. High quality products are expensive for a reason. Technically in most situations your likely not going to need the best product out there for any hobby, but it's always better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.

Nice! I have a Landyachts Timemachine. Downhill is so much fine.


I've always preferred analog over digital. I like looking at a "spatial" representation of time rather than numbers. Sometimes I don't even have to register what numbers the hands are corresponding to. I just use the distances and arc lengths of the hands to get an idea of where I'm at timewise compared to some other known appointment time. It's hard to explain.
 
I've never owned a Rolex, and probably never will. I like quality watches, and I like a lot of other quality items... I appreciate great craftsmanship.

With anything high end, a lot of what you are buying is the name. The quality is there, at least it better be, for the price they sell for. There are many things that people claim to be the best quality watch, knife, gun, car etc. There are other makers of high end items that may be of the same quality, but for some reason, their brand doesn't catch on as well, nor do they command as much $$$.

From what others have said, Rolex watches go up in value. That is great, but it certainly doesn't mean in 20 years, they will continue to do so. Who knows, they may even drop in value. There isn't a person alive that can guaranty that it won't happen...

Things go in cycles. I was a serious collector of early Winchester rifles, and Colt pistols. When I started, the prices were still very reasonable. Slowly over time, the prices increased. Then they reached a point where they became rediculous. It wasn't because there were no more of the guns around, and it wasn't because they were so much better than others. Now many of the collectors are getting up in years, and some have passed on. In a lot of cases, their relatives want nothing to do with these guns. They would rather have the cash, and rifles with plastic stocks, and they really don't care about the history aspect.
Many of the prices have leveled off, and in some cases they have dropped. The younger generation isn't as interested in these guns, and they certainly don't want to collect them, so as time passes the value of these guns will continue to drop. The prices are still very high, and for the people that are interested in collecting, they are on the wrong end of the curve. They won't see the big profits when they sell these guns, that many of us enjoyed in the past...

Karda mention Corvettes holding and increasing in value. At one point, the older Corvettes continued to climb in price, with no end in sight. It was actually beyond rediculous. It became a game for people that had more money than they knew what to do with. It wasn't so much they wanted the cars, it was more that they didn't want someone else to have it, and they were paying whatever it took to make sure they didn't get it. Basically acting like little kids, only with copious amounts of money.
Much like the guns I mentioned, Corvettes have peaked, and have been going down the last several years. The thing that is so funny to me is, those same people that over paid for these cars, will now lose money on them when the resale them. Unfortunately, a lot of those people have so much money, it really doesn't affect them.
The newer (2-3 years old ) Corvettes are much better cars than the old cars, and they cost about the same as a very nice 63-67 Corvette. That said, the newer Corvettes are terrible investments. I learned a long time ago to buy what I want and like. Not on speculation that they will be a good investment.

If people want to buy and enjoy something that may seem over priced to some people, go for it. It's your money, and there is no reason they should have to try and rationalize it to others...
I also learned something else many years ago. Just because people wear a Rolex, or drive a Porsche, or have a huge house, it doesn't mean they have money. I know a few people who would be considered very wealthy, and have met others through them. The ones that actually got wealthy on their own, from hard work, and not wasting money, usually don't have expensive material possessions.
People that inherited their wealth, seem more apt to have fancy watches, cars, and houses etc...
 
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