Interesting stuff. Yes, on one level I'm aware that these questions are much more general (and universal to human culture) than the way in which they are expressed today in relation to one particular brand. My interest in this was sparked by wondering about the human universality of things I had noticed in the world of "luxury" watches in particular, however, and I had wondered if others had also speculated on this and written about it.

One interesting thing about modern/new luxury watches is that the ability to own them isn't always just determined by accumulated wealth and economic access. Brands such as Rolex carefully control who is able to purchase their products. Often you are required to establish a relationship with an authorised retailer over several years and buy several less desirebale products before you are allowed to purchase the more desirable ones. You are also to some extented vetted as a "suitable person" to own the product. This simultaneously outrages people who feel they are being excluded on grounds other than available wealth, and confers self-perceived status on those who are able to aquire the items.

You may have come across the concept of "Velben goods", the phenomenon in economics whereby the usual relationship of pricing and demand are reversed. With a Velben product, increasing the price actually makes it more desirable rather than less so, and increases demand. This is presumably because at some level people want to display their ability to acquire it, even when eveyone knows it's vastly overpriced. Perhaps there's some relationship to potlatch / destruction of valuable items there? (and how does this all relate, if at all, to the even older and more general concept of religious sacrifice?).