Oh yes, that's a given. But also relatively easy. With respect, "every Tom, Dick and Harry"
are doing it. The difference with Rolex is the aura of exclusivity they create (and this by a brand that churn out maybe a million watches a year; any scarcity is of Rolex's own choosing.)
Just to be clear: I never said, and do not think, it is OK.
Yes. It's about people agreeing to assign a worth to something that is in no way related to any intrinsic value (parts, labour, R&D, retail overheads, profit margins etc). It's a con trick that people knowingly and willingly collude with. See my earlier analogy with money.
I'm not worked up, I just see through it and don't wish to participate in it.
As an aside, I don't think that watches will hold their value in the long term simply because of demographics. An example: an old chap in my fishing club has a 1953 Velocette. He rides it to the club and it's in good, solid condition, regularly used and maintained. He was saying that its value rose steadily as the men who either had one for wished they'd had in the 1950s reached peak purchasing power -- and then declined as they got too old to ride and even sold the ones they'd bought.
Do you think people who've never grown up with wristwatches, much less mechanical wristwatches, will want to spend a large sum on one in 10, 20, 40 years' time? Maybe, but as jewellery / status symbols / collection pieces.
I'm 47 years old. I want a pension in 15-20 years' time. I'm not investing in watches.
£100k = decent collection of Rolex watches. New and/or old. Chronos, divers, whatever. Some classics (1016? 5513?), box and papers? Nice to wear and look at. Not much in the way of on-going costs (insurance? servicing?). And hope the value continues to rise to make it a good investment.
-- or --
£100k = buy-to-let property = £500 pcm rental income + outright ownership of a real, habitable bricks and mortar house. Even if the house ended up worth the same or even a bit less than you paid for it you're still up on the deal. And you can live in it.
But I've said all this before:
https://forum.tz-uk.com/showthread.p...phics+property