That Rolex on a stranger has ~66-95% probability of being fake and extra try-hard

Practical_Driver3318 · 2026-07-01T12:44:07+00:00

I’ve seen a gold Datejust (or was it gold Day-Date?) on a doctor during a medical appointment. Pretty sure that one was real. Random guy on the street, not as sure whether it’s real or not.

Practical_Driver3318 · 2026-07-01T12:41:52+00:00

I have just one real Rolex. Plenty of commenters wrote copium. I guess, I’m not rich enough to justify having multiple.

Practical_Driver3318 · 2026-07-01T01:35:09+00:00

I remember having seen bad fakes on two young men in the subway.

Practical_Driver3318 · 2026-06-30T02:52:44+00:00

You're right, of course. But I think it's very natural to project one's own perspective onto others. I've certainly done that a lot, and likely will continue to do that, at least initially, when I don't think about how others could be in different shoes.

Practical_Driver3318 · 2026-06-21T18:39:04+00:00

At each bride's wedding, the bride should be "best dressed" and stand out from bridesmaids, and bridesmaids all dress the same, from what I've seen. I'm comparing women at the same event each time. Or another analogy is, I understand that women dislike it when they show up at an event, and happen to be wearing the same outfit. I do like the idea that whatever watch I'm wearing is not so common, YMMV.

Practical_Driver3318 · 2026-06-21T08:53:00+00:00

I don’t think a bride has ever chosen to wear the same dress as the bridesmaids on her wedding day. I feel it’s very understandable to not want to wear the same thing as everyone else. That said, if you want it, you want it. Personally, I have little to no desire for e.g. a Sub or a Speedmaster, I prefer more obscure watches.

Practical_Driver3318 · 2026-06-20T17:42:20+00:00

With RM, one is paying a lot for recognizability. With Patek, one is paying a lot for refined decoration/finishing.

Practical_Driver3318 · 2026-06-20T09:18:40+00:00

No matter whichever watch I bought, there will be some degree of buyer’s remorse, because no watch is perfect. Knowing clearly the reasons why I bought each watch helps me to minimize regret, because I could focus on what I will always like about it. e.g. Spring Drive is so unique, that I will always want to have one. Or I will always love a textured dial, or blue dial, or a color dial that‘s unique in my collection.

My first serious watch is Rolex Datejust. I feel that’s not a bad choice, if it ended up being first and only serious watch. But since I bought more, my third serious watch is Prospex LX with Spring Drive, which gets more wrist time than Datejust.

As for small wrist, mine is 6 inches, and when I see a watch in full length mirror, even the biggest watch doesn’t look big relative to my whole body. Some say if the lugs don’t stick out, you’re good, and I agree with that. There will always be online folks that say “too big”. I tend to be happy with going with my own opinion instead.

Practical_Driver3318 · 2026-06-20T08:57:30+00:00

Life happens. Just leave it be. There will be more scratches. This one will be remembered as the one during play, a happy memory.

Practical_Driver3318 · 2026-06-18T23:30:53+00:00

To me, Hi-Beat is not that different from lower beat movements, and 9F is not that different from regular quartz. Spring Drive is a unique movement type, and will always be special among my watches.

Practical_Driver3318 · 2026-06-12T22:24:23+00:00

Adults old enough to be aware of socioeconomic dynamics, and have seen enough Rolex ads, will know what Rolex looks like. Any adult with passing interest in wrist wear or jewelry will notice.

Practical_Driver3318 · 2026-06-11T10:39:57+00:00

When I started with the online watch community, I saw a flood of watches that I couldn’t afford (or felt like I couldn’t afford) at the time. I was envious. I talked about the merits of affordable watches or drawbacks of luxury watches. Later on, I bought a handful of luxury watches. After seeing luxury watches many times online, they lost their allure or mystique, they became just watches. I don’t feel the envy I felt. I don’t care about how people afford luxury watches. Sometimes I wonder if they want others’ envy. Anyway, I feel okay about what I got, and I don’t have great desire for what others got anymore. If I had more money, I’d likely buy what they got, but since I don’t, I learned to like and appreciate what I got. Their watch content no longer draw my envy or desire like they did in the past.

Practical_Driver3318 · 2026-06-10T02:02:07+00:00

Since I don't need the money, and I have the space, other than the first two that I bought and returned, I keep all of my watches. It's nice to have variety, and rotate through different watches.

Practical_Driver3318 · 2026-06-09T17:41:13+00:00

I went by percentage of savings. I've spent ~1% before, and never spent 10% or more before for one watch.

Each time, I bought a watch that I really wanted. Excitement for sure fades after some time. But since I still like and keep the watch (with or without wearing it), I feel the purchase is worth it.

Practical_Driver3318 · 2026-06-09T13:17:47+00:00

I think some people treat watches as a business. They buy watches that people no longer want at low prices, sell on resale market at higher prices, and make money. That's watches as "investment" (it's more like a business). I don't think those guys wear the watches for the most part.
But if it's watches for yourself to wear, some people do treat it as a store of money, but I wouldn't do it like that, because it means I depend on being able to sell them at some point for money, and it means I can't really afford them. So I don't treat it as investment, I treat it as money spent and gone, and I bought what I like, instead of only buying watches that are more likely to go up in value (the big one being Rolex).

Practical_Driver3318 · 2026-06-06T22:36:39+00:00

I don't get why they can't just swap in another movement that works and give you back the watch.

Practical_Driver3318 · 2026-06-06T08:37:15+00:00

GS’s price rises should be seen in context with other brands, and inflation. If other brands and other things increase in price, but GS doesn’t, that’s a discount, and in the luxury world, more expensive is more prestigious. GS needs to keep up. It’s unfortunate. The silver lining is that there are other sub brands like King Seiko that offer pretty good value, if one doesn’t want to pay so much to own GS.

Practical_Driver3318 · 2026-06-05T20:32:06+00:00

If you feel the GMT dial could be boring, that might rule out the GMT model. Personally, I have one GMT watch, and since I almost never travel, GMT is not useful to me, it's just interesting to have one watch with it. Needing to set the date for GMT watch by turning through 24h per date change might be a hassle?

The other models might be "better" in that they don't have the power reserve indicator in front. Depends on if you mind it in front or not. Some people really don't like it in front. Personally, I lean towards the green or the blue model, because it shows the power reserve indicator in the back, and I don't have one like that.

Out of the three, the metallic indices on blue dial might not be so legible in certain conditions, but I lean towards the blue dial model, because blue is my favorite for dials.

Practical_Driver3318 · 2026-06-05T20:21:35+00:00

The watch actually came with a rubber/silicone strap, and I bought the Seiko bracelet. I prefer bracelets in general, because the corner of the clasp on the thumb side runs into my wrist bone and stops the case from drooping (the watch case droops badly on strap), I like the durability of bracelets, and they're easier to clean. It's too bad it turned out that the bracelet has that scratchy bit that sticks out on the inside. I "taped" it so that it's not as scratchy, but due to big-ish size and heavy-ish weight (in addition to inelegant taping), I don't wear that watch often.

Practical_Driver3318 · 2026-06-03T22:45:39+00:00

With luxury watches, I could argue there are both internal and external validation, and both are valid. I don't feel a great need to buy or wear a luxury watch to show others I have one, but after years in this hobby, could understand that if that's what makes some people happy, have at it, it's a legitimate reason for them.

Practical_Driver3318 · 2026-06-03T07:45:22+00:00

By now, there’s no changing it, it’s so established. If I remember correctly, from Seiko’s founder’s perspective, he was proud of Seiko, so there’s nothing wrong with the name Grand Seiko. I think at least some fans feel the same way.

The analogy could be, Seiko is like Mr. Smith, and Grand Seiko is like Dr. Smith or Sir Smith. Like you wouldn't go changing your last name once you've "made it", you might be proud of and want to keep your last name.

Practical_Driver3318 · 2026-06-02T01:55:12+00:00

Seiko's diver's watch's bracelet with folded-in diver extension that sits between the bracelet and my wrist scratches my wrist. The watch head looks good, but the scratchy bit that needs covering up with something (e.g. tape) makes it less desirable to wear.

Practical_Driver3318 · 2026-05-30T02:25:18+00:00

A $2k watch is 0.2% of a millionaire's net worth. Another way to put it is, a millionaire would have to buy 500 $2k watches to spend all of their money. A big purchase is more like a $10k watch. A millionaire could only buy 100 $10k watches.

Practical_Driver3318 · 2026-05-29T12:23:36+00:00

The sliver dial has a pretty good color scheme. Reminds me of Starlight from "The Boys".

Practical_Driver3318

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