What do the general public think a Rolex cost?

[Eric Chan]

Before I got into watches, I did not know actual pricing, but thought that costs would be around $10,000 and up as often times you see the price tags on the windows of AD's for the gold models and we all know they are well over $10K. Keep in mind this was over 10 years ago. It would probably be safe to assume many "non-watch" people out there would draw the same conclusion.

The majority of my friends and family are not into watches, so they don't have a clue. To them, spending $5,000 on a watch is not feasible. Out of my family and friends, only my brother-in-law has an appreciation for fine timepieces.

[azguy]

Keep in mind the average non-WIS would never by used, so in reality they are close when the start with $7-10k talk...

[Houstonguy]

At a BBQ this past Saturday I was approached by a group of friends wanting to know how much I paid for my rolex. One female friend insisted I tell her and her bf finally stepped in and said a "a couple grand" to which I replied "exactly"

As they walked away content with the answer my best friend which knows how much I paid blurted out "more like a few grand"

[GB-man]

I'd guess most people with the means to buy one, would guess in the 5k range as that was accurate not so long ago.

[scrappy]

All I know is that my friends would commit me if they found out my steel Patek cost $50k. Sometimes I wonder if they may be right lol

[Davey11]

Originally Posted by rainbowmax

Who cares?

Well said

[Mystro]

What I find truely distasteful is that most people that ask how much are usually impressed by the amount and not the actual watch. Like they are more impressed you could spend that money on a watch. Same holds true with nice cars. Its acceptable to ask how much my watch cost so can I ask the chick with the fresh implants how much for the set???? I try to avoid the price of my toys at all cost. People that know better, know enough not to initiate the question.

[wagoneer]

I wear a SubC to work and never get asked about it, not even a glance. But if I wear my 1984 two tone DJ... I get "is that a rolex?!" The point is, they wouldn't understand the value of the SubC, rather they see the gold in the DJ and assume it cost more when in reality it's worth less than half the sub.

[T. Ferguson]

Regardless of how crazy innocent citizens think we are for "spending" that kind of money on a Rolex, they are missing one very important point - what it costs and what it's still worth are not that far apart, at least compared to most things they choose to spend their money on.

[Vaxe]

Insightful thread, but with rampant inflation in the US, $10K isn't even that much of a wow factor for a watch.
A few years ago I would've guessed someone who's never owned a Rolex would say $5K, but with monthly expenses being so high, it's hard to imagine a Rolex costing only as much as your monthly credit card statement.

If you ask someone in California, they would probably answer $10-20K.

[pfg1]

Lastly I decided to ask my wife, who is colored by me going on about ref.number, bezels, dials etc., what she thought a Rolex costed prior to meeting me? She said 80-90000 kronor which is even more then what the other girls said.

Hello Moose,
I see you are in Sweden. Please explain what you mean by your wife being "colored" by your babbling on and on about watch features. Your use of the word caught my attention because I have never seen it used in that context.....cracked me up!

[fullcourt]

Originally Posted by rainbowmax

Who cares?

^^^^this

[Presa canary]

I wouldn't have any idea how to answer this. I'm surprised some do

[threemonkeys]

Originally Posted by kilyung

Ha! When I think Rolex, my mind is automatically in the USD$22k+ range. Granted, I'm addicted to gold.

Ignore Mike. He's not, shall we say, 'right'?

I can't think of a specific price point. But most people are clueless about Rolex. I think they would be surprised that many people could eventually save and afford Rolex if they chose to. But often they see more value in a new car or a vacation.

[theloxmyth]

My buddy asked and said, "$500?"

[Rootbeer]

A friend in the UK thought they were several hundred possibly even 500 pounds. He nearly fell over when i set him straight.

[The moose]

Originally Posted by pfg1

Lastly I decided to ask my wife, who is colored by me going on about ref.number, bezels, dials etc., what she thought a Rolex costed prior to meeting me? She said 80-90000 kronor which is even more then what the other girls said.

Hello Moose,
I see you are in Sweden. Please explain what you mean by your wife being "colored" by your babbling on and on about watch features. Your use of the word caught my attention because I have never seen it used in that context.....cracked me up!

First of all I don't know if "colored by" is used in the English language. It's a straight translation from a saying we use in Sweden.
Anyway what I meant is that I sometimes force my hobby on her : )
I might try to discuss with her if I should get a 4,5 or 6 digit Day-date. Explaining the case differences, brushed lugs or not, solid mid links and prices : )
So she is pretty insightful these days when it comes to Rolex models and prices.
Whether she knows it or not...

[Muzz]

I usually just respond the cost is the cost, I have no idea what you would have to pay to acquire this particular watch?

[pfg1]

Originally Posted by The moose

First of all I don't know if "colored by" is used in the English language. It's a straight translation from a saying we use in Sweden.
Anyway what I meant is that I sometimes force my hobby on her : )
I might try to discuss with her if I should get a 4,5 or 6 digit Day-date. Explaining the case differences, brushed lugs or not, solid mid links and prices : )
So she is pretty insightful these days when it comes to Rolex models and prices.
Whether she knows it or not...

Ahh, yes, now I get it.....color, as in fill her in, or inform her, discuss things, educate her.....color her.......love it!

[venom43]

Hell I ended up wearing one of my YG Rolex's...just for the hell of it one day. One of my co-workers starts a conversation about saving for one, thinking they cost a couple of hundred dollars, and another comes up and goes wow what's that cost $8,000.00. I just ended up saying bout that much. Thinking to myself if they realized how much I was wearing on my wrist they'd have passed out in shock.
The general public does not know what high end watches cost.

[MonBK]

Originally Posted by The moose

First of all I don't know if "colored by" is used in the English language. It's a straight translation from a saying we use in Sweden.
Anyway what I meant is that I sometimes force my hobby on her : )
I might try to discuss with her if I should get a 4,5 or 6 digit Day-date. Explaining the case differences, brushed lugs or not, solid mid links and prices : )
So she is pretty insightful these days when it comes to Rolex models and prices.
Whether she knows it or not...

Is that a straight Austrian/Swedish translation?

[rangercadre89]

i wore my yachtmaster 116622 platinum to college , one of my frens saw it and wanted to have a look at it, he gasped and said "woahx , rolex!! must have cost u heaps, i would say around 500 - 1000 AUD?"...i was too embarrased to tell him it actually cost 13800AUD, so i said i dont know, dad gave it to me as a gift.

[versatile1]

Here, if you mention Rolex the first number you hear is 10,000.00
Rolex? That's a Ten Thousand Dollar watch!!!

[Jake B]

Everyone around here knows what they cost. There's a Rolex AD or 2nd hand dealer every few blocks or more, like several on a block in some areas.

[datejusting]

As far as I can tell the general public couldn't care less.

[JustABreathAway]

Originally Posted by pfg1

Lastly I decided to ask my wife, who is colored by me going on about ref.number, bezels, dials etc., what she thought a Rolex costed prior to meeting me? She said 80-90000 kronor which is even more then what the other girls said.

Hello Moose,
I see you are in Sweden. Please explain what you mean by your wife being "colored" by your babbling on and on about watch features. Your use of the word caught my attention because I have never seen it used in that context.....cracked me up!

In this instance I believe 'colored' = 'has her opinion shaped by'

[HogwldFLTR]

On showing off my 114060 to a friend with whom I play music he asked if it cost over $1000; I told him over $2000 and he was willing to accept that number. It wasn't until I started shopping for one that I realized how pricey they really are.

[locutus49]

I'm drawing up the papers now and sending them to fellow TRF member Headshrinker. Any asylum preferences?

Originally Posted by scrappy

All I know is that my friends would commit me if they found out my steel Patek cost $50k. Sometimes I wonder if they may be right lol

[Friar]

Originally Posted by JustABreathAway

In this instance I believe 'colored' = 'has her opinion shaped by'

Yes, I usually think "influenced by..."

I'm not sure what folks think. The only family member I have who is into watches is one of my brothers in law who bought a Speedy moonwatch way way back then and has had it maintained by Omega. Although, my Norwegian "brother"--an AFS student who lived with our family when we were in high school, is a retired dentist and has a couple of Rolex.

I shied away from Rolex because I assumed most of the cost was advertising and hype and wasn't prepared to spend over a few grand on a watch. But after doing that seven times, I bought an Explorer and realized that it was definitely worth it. Then within a couple of months, I picked up an Explorer II from DavidSW and wish I'd started there rather than buying so many others first.

[this guy]

Originally Posted by threemonkeys

Ignore Mike. He's not, shall we say, 'right'?

I can't think of a specific price point. But most people are clueless about Rolex. I think they would be surprised that many people could eventually save and afford Rolex if they chose to. But often they see more value in a new car or a vacation.

This^.

One of my coworkers saw my 114060, said, "Oh is that a Rolex?"

"Yeah"

"Man, there's no way I'd spend that much on a watch."

As he goes on about the jet skis and fishing boat he just dropped 20k on, which will sit at the dock 8 months out of the year, and require more expensive and more frequent maintenence