Nope, I don't feel any different whichever watch I wear?!
This mite seem a bit unusual but when ever i put on one of my rolex's and go out im seem to feel different, maybe its the fact that im not a wealthy man and when i wear one of them i feel different about myself.
its hard to explain its not a 'look at me with my rolex' thing, as i dont tend to start flashing them about and only and mention it if someone asks. so its not vanity, like i said its hard to explain.
does anyone else get the same sort of feeling when they slip a rolex over there wrist or is it just little-man syndrome which only i suffer with maybe, im still debating with myself
i think its just the feeling of putting on a watch of that quality and feeling good about it and yourself, i mean i sure thats the point of buying a relox ( the feel good factor once its on )
Nope, I don't feel any different whichever watch I wear?!
Yes.
Rolex: Rohypnol on the wrist.
yes its not just me, im mentally sound then.. i know its not a vanity thing as my three rolex's are all vintage and nothing special or to boast about, heres a photo one
it has to be the watch making me feel good about myself, it is like a drug wearing a rolex i make you right GraniteQuarry
It is very common nature to have something new or slightly luxurious that makes us feel good, be that a car, watch, clothes, fine meal etc. Everyone is different in life and some need the label on the outside to feel good, nothing wrong with this as if they can afford to do it and it pleases them then no one is being done any harm and its potentially increasing their self worth.
If owning a luxury watch, car, etc makes you feel different (in a good way) then enjoy that feeling as it doesn't happen to everyone
RIAC
Prestige.
R
Ignorance breeds Fear. Fear breeds Hatred. Hatred breeds Ignorance. Break the chain.
Lets put it like this... i do not get the same feeling from my Omegas, for example.
On the day I bought my Rolex GMT, aged 26, I must admit I did feel the proverbial "million dollars" wearing it on the train on the way home, and then at the university where I was a mature student. Nearly thirty years later, that effect has worn off somewhat. I enjoy wearing it, but I don't have a sense of being a different person, or see myself differently. The self-love doesn't come off when the watch does :D
Rush drummer Neil Peart wrote this about his material possessions, years ago:
"As a general thing, I try to avoid talking about the material things I have been fortunate enough to acquire, not wanting to seem to brag - and definitely not wanting to arouse in others the evil worm of envy. One psychologist theorized that the possession of material things was a prop to make you feel good about yourself—but I thought that theory went two words too far. For me, owning a fine car, a fine watch, or a fine set of drums just makes me feel good, period".
Nice sunglasses, nice wallet, nice pen, nice suit, nice shoes, nice lighter, nice wine. Of course they make you feel good, that's what they are for. The trick is to learn to keep the smile on the inside and not rub peoples noses in it :-)
And as for staring at a new watch on your wrist - good grief - OF COURSE WE DO IT - just have a quick check to make sure no-one is likely to catch you at it.
When I first started to wear rolex I felt really proud of the fact I had worked hard enough to allow myself such an expensive luxurious watch. I would treat the watch like a baby and only allow myself to wear it on days off work. I woukd wrap it up in a soft microfiber cloth when it was not being worn and would treat it like it was a baby. I bought and sold a few rolex, and soon realised I was only getting shut of them because I was not wearing them.
I then realised this was all rather unhealthy and I must get over the fact that is only a watch, if it gets scratched or marked then it's nothing important. It's just a watch, a fine watch that has been designed to outlast it's owner. There are much more important things in life to treasure and to put so much thought and energy into than a bloody watch.
So now I have one watch, a rolex and I wear it every single day of my life for every activity including activities that may put it at risk of damage. And guess what it still looks fantastic.
It may make you feel good wearing it and I hope it does but in my opinion the feeling won't last. It's like buying a new car, that smell, the new car feel... feels great doesn't it.. until the kids get it dirty and the bird shits all over it.
The human mind is designed to always want more. One more watch, one more pair of shoes, we get the new item, we feel good then it's not long until the whole process starts again. It's called desire, once we can notice this desire and ignore it only then can we truly appreciate what we already have.
Nice quote from the drummer! However, I guess what would polarise me, is why it makes you feel different. For example, the one that gives me a frisson every time it I wear it is the Speedmaster Pro. I don't think I have ever worn it without thinking something like: they wore a watch just like this on the fucking Moon! This never fails to get a high five from my inner child who was glued to the radio and the television at the time.
The issue, and for Rolex, it can be an issue, is that for some, and it is only some, the pleasure is not in wearing the watch, but in others not wearing it. I guess that's my bottom line: if you are enjoying the thing in itself for itself then that's great and Neil can do a cow bell solo, but if there is any sense of comparing the contents of your wrist to another's, then that just sucks.
As Hamlet said: 'there is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so'. he could have been wearing a Rolex. In fact, in the recent show at the Barbican, it was an Omega if my eyes didn't deceive.
I had some suits made for me a few years back and I will admit to still feeling a small sense of occasion whenever I put them on. Maybe I do walk just that little bit taller. I don't think that reflects any insecurity on my part but I take pleasure in them. An old colleague used this expression that has stuck in my mind - "It's about having and enjoying things of beauty because of how they speak to you rather than what they say about you".
SGR
Placebo effect, golfers use it all the time with different putters. Long and the short of it is if the watch makes you feel better then wear it, in reality it makes no difference to your well being what so ever.
My old Dad won't leave his house without his shinny pebble in his pocket, its the same thing. Would Terry Wogan be seeen without his toupee?
Its all subjective, and some people get more or less satisfaction on the same thing. However, Rolex's marketing has made them quite a symbol.
These are are both v good points. For years I aspired to own an expensive watches. I took along time to decide between a Rolex Submariner and an Omega Seamaster to be that watch. Then I noticed the Explorer II and knew I really wanted to own that watch. I couldn't really afford one, but felt that it would make a difference if I owned one. Any way, I bought one mostly on 0% finance - I wore that watch almost everyday for around something approaching 5 years, and it felt good/right every time I put it on. Years later I felt the same about buying my old Porsche Boxster S - it just feels good to drive everytime I get in it.
Ive owned more expensive watches, and more expensive cars, but those two stand out as providing something more than their purchase prices, if that makes sense - and it didn't matter that both had slight image problems with the circle in which I associated.
These days I don't get the same feeling from putting on any of my watches, or anywhere near the same rush when buying a new watch - but I still like the feeling of a new item of clothing that I think looks great and fits just right.
We are a strange mix of very complex and very simple beings at the end of the day ;)
It's just a matter of time...
Re: d - "It's about having and enjoying things of beauty because of how they speak to you rather than what they say about you".
Truer words were never spoken.
Many here should be made to write this hundred times, so they can get it through their heads. You don't wear a watch to make a statement or announce anything to the world. You do it for yourself and your pleasure.
To the OP- Feel special. And, don't worry - it doesn't make you a small man.
On the contrary, people who try to make you small for feeling thus are indeed small.
Just noticed the Op also owns a Relox, and gets a lot of pleasure from this too ;).
It's just a matter of time...
No different to getting a new haircut or a new suit - just a lot more expensive.
Sadly I don't own one but trying one on made me feel like a worthwhile human being, at last...
Really... what a question...
M
Wearing *any* of my watches makes me feel different, and all in a good way. I wouldn't be happy to spend that much and find an entirely inert presence on my wrist :)
In a sense, this is a case of casting a kind of spell on yourself, or creating a little ritual. It's common in all cultures, and depends on the object acting as a symbol, onto which you project some power. An example would be the Queen or King putting on the crown during a coronation. With that, they are transformed, in their eyes and those of everyone present. It helps that the crown is covered in gold and jewels, it is a rare object with some actual power, it's worth a fortune and that gives it some presence. Perhaps it's no coincidence that the Rolex logo is a crown. But it happens in lots of other more ordinary ways too, such as putting on a uniform, or wearing a bow tie.
But it all depends on how you feel about that symbol of course. For me Rolex doesn't automatically achieve that. I didn't grow up wanting one. Their brand recognition gives them a certain strange power, like the 'one ring to rule them all' they have a certain aura that can twist people's minds! But that's a double edged sword. Personally I prefer beautiful vintage pieces that I wear in spite of this as much as because of it, it's more ambiguous for me. Leaving Rolex aside though, I can imagine that a white gold Calatrava would still give me a bit of a Ready Brek glow, at least until I got used to the idea. It's probably part of what would make you choose any watch in the first place, the belief that you may feel different wearing it. It's certainly the case for the many who own watches that might make them feel just a little bit more like James Bond. But how much it actually does depends very much on how much you beleive it will.
Last edited by Itsguy; 26th October 2015 at 12:23.
im going to have to take that quote and claim it as my own, only joking but i will remember it
it does not make me think im better then i really am but remember iv only had my rolex's about 6 months and dont wear them every day maybe once twice a week, i have some nice Seiko beaters.
so the fact i have only had them a few months and there not worn very often only when i go out somewhere nice or im getting dressed up i still get a buzz from them.
maybe i do stand a bit taller when im have one on but that dont mean im a material person it just means i still get a buzz from wearing a nice vintage rolex,
its all still fresh to me and maybe in time like the seahound above i wont give a monkies but until that day im going to enjoy the buzz and stick two fingers up at anyone who says anything against it
Well they wouldn't recognise one from more than 5 foot away, but may have a guess (thinking, real, fake or not bothered) if sat at the same table.
It's just a matter of time...
Interesting topic. Yes, is the answer. It gives me a confidence boost whenever I've got a challenging meeting or event to go to, and if I ever start feeling stressed about work, or anything else, I look down at my wrist and remind myself that I've made it. I've arrived. I'm wearing a freakin' Rolex!
I want to say no but the little boy inside of me still gets excited wearing one. But I do feel the same way wearing my JLC that bearly gets any acknowledgement from others.
The only difference I feel is that I have to be less delicate with it when compared to wearing a JLC, iwc, pp etc. I know how well built and robust they are especially the sub and I know the little bumps, knocks won't worry me as much. In terms of feeling better about myself etc, probably not.
Sure. To say that I don't feel any differently wearing my Rolex than I do when wearing my Vostok would be disingenuous. If the Rolex didn't do something for me emotionally, then having thousands of dollars (or pounds) tied up in it would be sheer lunacy when there are so many other similar options out there for a fraction of the cost.
But I didn't buy the Rolex until I was ready to buy it - not until I had made my peace with why I wanted it. I spent the first ten years of my career as a watch collector vocally and publicly hating on Rolex anytime the subject came up. But then I realized that the things I thought I disliked so much about the brand (price, snob appeal) were essentially non-issues - because the watches held their value, negating the price argument. And because most people didn't even notice what watch I was wearing most of the time, why not wear a Rolex, if I wanted to wear it because I appreciated the build quality and heritage and not because I wanted to show off? Beyond that, I simply got tired of answering this question from non-WIS types: "Do you have a Rolex?" I would never buy something just because some stranger expected me to own that item, but if there was no legitimate reason for not owning it - and I had decided I wanted it - then what was I waiting for?
In short, yes. I get a lift out of wearing it. If I didn't, or if I ever stop getting that lift, then I should sell it, because it's a lot of cash to have tied up in an object. But if I don't have a pressing need for that cash, it may as well be on my wrist as in the bank.
I've had to stop wearing Rolexes.
Every blooming time I put one on, my gentleman's sausage gets bigger, I get taller and even more devastatingly handsome and charming and supermodels in supercars screech to a halt beside me begging to be ravaged on the spot which, in central London, is rather frowned upon by the constabulary.
A lot of funny responses.
I thought it was a wierd post too but when you read it carefully, it is not really what you think.
It is an innocent sense of enjoyment at wearing a nice watch.
Something to be celebrated and not ridiculed. Otherwise, you are in the wrong hobby.
I like vintage and fairly unique Rolex watches. But I must say, Rolex watches are the ones I probably enjoy the least wearing. I see them everywhere (especially subs) and they're the ones that get recognised most often by people (who probably assume I wear them because I must think I've finally joined a club of some sort). Not to mention those who, upon hearing that I like watches, immediately proceed to ask "ooooh, do you have any Rolexes?". So yeah, sometimes I do feel different when I wear one. But often not in a good way unfortunately.
Well done, you effectively 'grew up’ to a point where rationale overtook prejudice: some people go through their entire lives without doing so.
I think we as enthusiasts tend to over-rate the general public’s interest and recognition of watches. I rarely travel with a Rolex now, but people who know me were aware that I had worn Submariners for many years. On a recent trip I was asked twice if the watch I had on was another Rolex, but it was actually my Voyager, on other occasions I’ve worn a Sub on a NATO & no-one seemed to notice what brand it was.
R
Ignorance breeds Fear. Fear breeds Hatred. Hatred breeds Ignorance. Break the chain.
I used to feel this way - it faded after a while, and I just wore mine every day for years. Then I started mixing in circles where sometimes a display of wealth seemed inappropriate - to the point I realised a Rolex no longer felt right, and actually was no longer a reflection of my personality - so I flogged it and have never missed that feeling at all. I used to be very 80's flash but I'm now almost embarrassed by fancy brands (much prefer a VW to a BMW for example) - just not my bag any more, but I can identify with the feeling!