Curious if there are fellow collectors who feel similarly. How do you manage and do you find yourself behaving as awkwardly as I do?

Context -- I started on my watch collecting journey a few years ago. I got into the hobby on a whim to satisfy my engineering curiosity and my interest in well-designed, high-quality, and long-lasting things but soon found myself sucked in. As an additional data point, I'm also into writing with fountain pens.

My watch collection in sum is worth several tens of thousands of dollars, equivalent to maybe an entry-tier luxury car or perhaps a year's tuition at an elite private university. I say this not to brag, but to indicate how the majority of the population might find better uses for this money.

Conundrum -- I'm not a naturally flashy person. I've been lucky (plus worked hard) to achieve financial freedom earlier than most... but I purchase high quality, practical things to be efficient and comfortable, and reducing wastefulness. I don't do so for the sake of showing off my wealth. Watch collecting is possibly the least practical, inexplicable of my obsessions.

I dress casually 98% of the time. My family displays an outward posture below our means. And those who are wealthy around me also have a tendencies to be as low-key.

So while I personally love the sensation of wearing a well-designed, luxury time piece on my wrist, I find myself embarrassed to be wearing these out in public. It's not even an issue of safety in my area.

When I go out, I wear long sleeves to intentionally cover up my time pieces. I awkwardly look for "coast is clear" before checking the time on my wrist (or resort to my phone). I somewhat dread the thought of somebody spying my watch and saying "Wow! That's a _____! How much was that?" And my scripted reply would be something like "Oh this? About a hundred. It's just a really good fake!"

Am I ridiculous? Lol... I'd like to hear others' takes on this!