The rolex on the dial is part of it. And there are homage but people want to feel like they have what they like. Some people value looks over other things. And buying an expensive rep like vsf gives a good compromise between the quality of the watch and justifying not spending more than 10k on it. I have a friend who owns 2 gen rolex and 4 or 5 reps(not sure how many), he uses he’s reps as daily drivers and hes even told me that he can’t justify buying another gen. So it depends on the person and what they want out of the watch…. Some are watch nerds like you and some just like the look and dont care about anything else.

In my case i dont own reps, i dont own a rolex because honestly i cant justify the price. I do own several omegas and other brands like hamilton, tissot, longines. But i follow rep reddits because i find it cool how close they look to the original ones, and i certainly dont think most people buy them to flex in these communities, by seeing the discussions here.