What time do you wear?

How to respond without sounding like an elitist snob? Lets just say that Rolex sells about 600,000 watches a year. Yes they are good watches but they are about as common as say Denon or Bose receivers. Not saying that Rolexes are as over hyped as Bose, but they do spend quite a bit on marketing and have cultivated very strong brand equity over the years. The smaller boutique watch houses such as IWC, Jaeger, Patek etc, put out far less volume and use old world craftsmanship and engineering that watchfiles will appreciate. Yes "cool" is in the eye of the beholder, I think watches are cool, others may not and don't see the purpose when a $20 Timex probably keeps better time. I don't wear a watch because I want people to think I'm wealthy (and I'm not), I just love the way it looks and how it feels on my wrist. To put it into your terms, some Agon members may drool over a $85,000 Kondo amp, but the general public will think you're quite insane.

Newbee: a friend of mine has a Sinn Chronometer, beautiful watch!

Swiss Army- silver w/ a white face.

The smaller boutique watch houses such as IWC, Jaeger, Patek etc, put out far less volume and use old world craftsmanship and engineering that watchfiles will appreciate.

I guess it is all how one wants to view it. One could make a point for the state-of-the-art factory that Rolex has. (Before I go any further, let me make it clear that I have nothing against the brands you list, all wonderful pieces and I'd be glad to wear them.) I would be willing to bet some of these "small" boutique companies would love to be selling at the level of Rolex. Furthermore, I am not sure of what craftsmanship and engineering you are alluding to.

In my opinion Rolex takes a lot of heat for two main reasons, some of the people who purchase them, as Newbee alluded and because they are "on top", if you will. On top in that they are a household name and a leader in sales, in regards to mechanical watches. No matter what the topic, those "on top" always have a target, any issue good or bad is amplified.

As you stated, Rolex sells a lot of watches, not just because people want to say they have one, although that happens, and kudos to Rolex for building such a name, but there are many that buy them for what they are, an extreemly good mechanical watch, all with in house movements. Spend some time on Timezone.com and you will see that the Rolex forum is the most active with some passionate and (very) knowledgeable people about the brand.

Cell phone w/ satellite correct time. And I get to call for pizzas.