Rolex vs High End Knives

Rolex Centers in Asia will not accept a Rolex that has been tampered. If it contains non Rolex parts, they will just return the whole thing back.
It is also 2 years here.
 
Chief said:
If you have a cellphone, you don't need a watch. A $20 knife from Walmart cuts just fine and a Prius will get you from A to B with a minimum of fuss.
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Chief,

I need a watch. In my line of work, I need to time certain things. I need to time how many times a person fidgets, changes position in a chair, says "um," or any of a number of things, and the time frame is 60 seconds. I need to take pulses, but much moreso I need to know how long it takes for somebody to become agitated while I'm taking their pulse. I use alarms on my watch to disengage from conversations, to remind myself of a group of tasks that have to begin at intervals, how long I have been talking to any one person, etc. It is absolutely astounding how much I use my watch. My cell phone is no substitute for a really awesome digital watch that keeps perfect time and has tons of alarms and timers. I cannot do my job well without those time management tools.

I have an 8-step interval timer built into my watch, and I use it for grilling hamburgers on a WeberQ 220. This is for Costco 1/3lb sirloin burgers.

1. Ten minutes for the grill to get hot
2. Six minutes for the patty to cook on one side, and to push down the toast button on the toaster oven to toast the bun on low
3. One minute until I put a slice of cheddar on the patty that got flipped at six minutes
4. One minute to butter the bun and put it on the grill
5. One minute to take the bun off, put the patty with the melted cheese on, and hit it with some thousand
6. Two minutes to rest
7. One hour for grill to cool before pulling the cast-iron surface to the sink to scrub and re-coat with vegetable oil
8. Five minutes to run the grill on medium to set the vegetable oil as cast iron seasoning, then shut er down.

Do that with a rolex. Even for $20K, you can't find a rolex that is going to help you with that task list. Rolex watches absolutely suck as timepieces. If you want to wear a masculine piece of jewelry, then indulge yourself. There is no argument against that. It's your money. If you use a watch for work then rolexes are beyond useless. You might as well throw it in a river and use a sundial for all the help those abominations provide.
 
You a nurse or a cop?
 
Peak_Oil said:
Do that with a rolex. Even for $20K, you can't find a rolex that is going to help you with that task list. Rolex watches absolutely suck as timepieces. If you want to wear a masculine piece of jewelry, then indulge yourself. There is no argument against that. It's your money. If you use a watch for work then rolexes are beyond useless. You might as well throw it in a river and use a sundial for all the help those abominations provide.
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Rolex watches are actually great timepieces. Just because they don't have the bells and whistles you want or need doesn't negate that fact.
 
I had a Rolex since I was 19 and went to work in Africa I loved it but due to a bitter ex while I was in Afghanistan she smashed it and burned 1000s of dollars of suits. I was heart broken.
 
Sorry about your loss(es)

 
It was an older submariner it was beat up a bit as it was my war watch and given to me as a gift with a busse. So it killed me to loose that watch since I'll probably never get another 1 ... The suits I could care less about. Charlie Mike I've seen your watches posted and cried and died a bit inside just beautiful watches man!
 
This is the only one I own these days... DSSD

 
338375 said:
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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It's all gone by the third generation.
 
I'm thinking "Peak Oil" is a play on Police Officer ;)
 
dma1965 said:
I own several knives that cost much more than I need to spend on them to do the job I need. A $10 rough rider will deliver what my $100 GEC will. If I want a bit better quality, a $20 Swiss Army Knife will also do the job, and also outlast any GEC under abusive conditions.

I used to be a chef, and always wore, and still wear, a watch. The most I could get out of a watch was 2 years of abuse before it broke, usually ending up with a cracked screen or seal that caused it to fogg up and die. When I left the cooking world, I noticed I could go about 3 years in the "normal" world. I decided to splurge on a used Rolex. That was 8 years ago. I have had it cleaned once, but it has never stopped working, fogged, or even begun looking like it has aged a day since I got it. I never take it off, unless I am putting on another one of my Rolex watches I have since purchased, or when I shower, because I use the shower to wash it daily. I have dropped it, banged it into things, and generally treated it like nothing matters. Despite having owned many watches...including many high end watches, nothing has come close to taking the abuse a Rolex can and still keep working.

Additionally, my first Rolex, which is a 1980's era GMT Master, cost around $1500 new. I paid $3500 for it used. I recently turned down an offer of $5000 from a watch dealer! A new one costs around $7000 today. Every Rolex I own has risen in value since I purchased it. Try that with your cell phone or Walgreens watch.
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I own several knives that cost much more than I need to spend on them to do the job I need.
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I think that pretty much captures the spirit of this thread.

OK, let's try it. I bought my Timex Ironman 100 lap from Big 5 sporting goods eight years ago for $30. I have had the battery replaced three times for a total cost of $120 (give or take). I'm into my watch for $150. You are into yours for $3500. My cost of ownership is about 4.3% of yours. Do you think you got 22x as much time-telling out of your watch compared with mine? Tonight I took my family to the pool and played for an hour and a half. The velcro strap on my watch threatened to come loose at one point when my daughter threw diving rings into the deep end for me to get. Would you hesitate to put your $5K watch through that much chlorine? I didn't think about it for a moment.

I banged this watch on steel bars, wore it in the shower, chopped wood with it on, etc. Unless you use your watch to pound nails in, your watch didn't get any harder use than mine did.

If you like your watch because it looks amazing then I have no argument for you. I have some expensive things that I simply enjoy far beyond their utilitarian purposes. That's fine.

Greater Fool Theory says that somebody might buy your watch for some hypothetical amount, but until you actually exchange your watch for currency it's all just a dream. You have to collect on it for it to be good. As far as I know, you bought a $1500 watch for $3500, and have not sold it for market value.

I've been selling my .22LR on Gunbroker all day long for at least $55/brick when I paid $16 for it. Now I'm not getting bids at $55. Guess what? It's not really worth $55 a brick anymore.
 
You mean I'm not supposed to be going underwater with a watch rated to 12,800'?
 
I see a lot of people confusing inflation with appreciation in this thread. $1500 used to buy a heck of a lot more than it does now. Do Rolex watches really appreciate, or just about stay the same? Also, take into account the fact that more Rolex watches are made every year than before. Sooner or later, the market will become flooded with Rolex watches, and you'll probably be able to buy used ones for around $1500 again, even with the devalued dollar.
 
Peak_Oil said:
The velcro strap on my watch threatened to come loose at one point when my daughter threw diving rings into the deep end for me to get. Would you hesitate to put your $5K watch through that much chlorine? I didn't think about it for a moment.

I banged this watch on steel bars, wore it in the shower, chopped wood with it on, etc. Unless you use your watch to pound nails in, your watch didn't get any harder use than mine did.
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Lol, I own a $200 Seiko dive watch that doesn't have a crappy velcro strap that gets loose when it gets wet. I also swim with it, shower with it almost every night, chop wood, hammer on steel all day, etc. Never misses a beat. I bet I could pound nails in with it too. And then 10 or 15 years down the road when it's time for service, I can send it off and it will come back looking like new. So there!

Some people never own anything nice in life, because they are too busy judging people who do have the nice things in life. Maybe if you spent a little more on a watch, you'd realize what it's all about...Nobody is going to want your crappy Timex when you're dead. It's gonna end up in the garbage. It has no soul, and no value, and nobody cares about how good you think it is.
 
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And... no... I don't hesitate to wear my $12,050 Rolex swimming in chlorinated pools, or anywhere else. It only comes off my wrist to skip the date ahead on 30 day months.
 
The-Stig said:
Lol, I own a $200 Seiko dive watch that doesn't have a crappy velcro strap that gets loose when it gets wet. I also swim with it, shower with it almost every night, chop wood, hammer on steel all day, etc. Never misses a beat. I bet I could pound nails in with it too. And then 10 or 15 years down the road when it's time for service, I can send it off and it will come back looking like new. So there!

Some people never own anything nice in life, because they are too busy judging people who do have the nice things in life. Maybe if you spent a little more on a watch, you'd realize what it's all about...Nobody is going to want your crappy Timex when you're dead. It's gonna end up in the garbage. It has no soul, and no value, and nobody cares about how good you think it is.
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I'll give you an example of my personal overspending. I don't care for the way "factory farmed" chickens are raised for egg production. There is a company that produces eggs from free range chickens with an antibiotic-free vegetarian diet, who have access to the outdoors. They have a picture of a little blue eyed blonde toddler girl hugging a chicken. I try to buy backyard-chicken eggs from neighbors when I can because I think the quality of those eggs is far superior to the thin-shelled and washed out yolks I get from factory farm operations. In the middle is this one particular company that is within my usual commute, so I pay about $4.75 for those eggs instead of $1.89 for a dozen factory farmed eggs. It comes to about $3.50/lb for protein when I buy the more expensive eggs. I think I get a boost in quality, and I like the way I feel when I buy eggs that were produced without putting the animal through a bunch of unnecessary stress during its short life. So, at least some of my money goes to things that have value that the greater market doesn't realize. I understand that. I'm probably being a little wasteful. When I make sausage and egg breakfast rolled tacos for my family, there's probably a dollar's worth of Feel Good that went into it because I got my eggs from a place that I like.

Somebody earlier said that Rolexes are the baseline utilitarian watch for those in the know. This is where the huge disconnect comes. Mechanical watches are obsolete. Their time has come and gone. They are the buggy-whip of watches. They are the butter churn of watches. Thank you for your last bit there. I am judging people who have "the nice things in life." That's true! That's kind of the whole point of this thread. I am judging people based on their assessment of the value of things. I chose Rolex watches, but it might as well have been anything else. For example, google "the $485 volume knob" for the audiophile in your life. It's one of those purchases that is astonishing to read about. People actually bought a wooden volume knob for their stereo equipment to dampen some kind of vibrations that would affect the sound quality somehow. If you bought a $485 wooden volume knob for your stereo, you don't have the ability to reason well. It's as simple as that.

Consider this hypothetical ostentatious display of wealth for timekeeping purposes. Pay a man minimum wage to tell you what time it is every time you look at him. Give him a cheap digital from Walgreens. Go into a business meeting and look at that guy every time you want to move things along. He just looks at the watch and recites the time. "The time is 3:42 at the beep. Beep!" If you go to a movie you have to buy a seat for him. Same on a plane. It would only get better if you flew first class and had to buy a seat for your "watch." That would at least have a point. It's a waste of money and it's a waste of the hours in the day for the poor guy who recites the time when you poke him. Still, it says something to people who you negotiate with. There is still at least SOME value in it.

Nobody is going to want my crappy watch, and nobody is going to want to sift through the pile of turds I leave behind after I eat my fancy eggs. What do I care about that. Nothing. I appreciate the eggs I buy. I appreciate the value in the watch I floss. I'm just better at assessing value in things than your average Rolex customer.

Present company excepted, of course.
 
338375 said:
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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The wealthiest self-made man I know pulls down an estimated $2-4 million a year for himself after overhead. He rolls a Honda. It's a nice Honda, and it's still a Honda. He doesn't care. It's reliable transportation and that's what he wanted. I remember him telling me how hard his hands shook when he was writing the check for his house. He bought a rental property house because he liked the neighborhood, but the place needed some work and updating. I did little stuff for him here and there, pressure washing the paint and dragging hoses around and whatnot. If I ever thought he would be the titan he is now... it's just amazing. Compared to him, I haven't done anything in the business world. That's fine though. He found out what his talents were and he got what he was worth. He didn't need a Ferrari to tell him what was up.

Another guy I know has a liquor store and a Rolex. He was a little offended when I asked him if it was real.
 
Peak_Oil said:
Mechanical watches are obsolete. Their time has come and gone.
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Excepting when and where you need a tough watch (and many mechanical movements are as tough as nails and some are inexpensive) with no worries of a capacitor failing or losing capacity and a battery needing replacement. Your argument is as broad as saying wooden pencils, revolvers, bicycles, etc. are obsolete and their time has come and gone, but as your millionaire friend apparently thinks, sometimes reliability is paramount.
 
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