As an somewhat unbiased outsider that has only been into watches since 2009 but has a lot to do with horology, I can’t see the worth in rolex, I can see the heritage and excellent workmanship, but the design seems very standard, run of the mill, all most 9 to 5 like, rolex kind of reminds me of the Toyota corp, I liked there old stuff but not the new stuff! And I wouldn’t ever buy any of their current products!

Well, to some extent, Rolex founded the standards by which we appreciate the design of a wristwatch these days. The Submariner does not look like any other dive watch... Any other dive watch looks like the sub.

In that way, Rolex's pieces may look standard... But "original" in the true sense of the term might be a better description.

Aside from that, Rolex has a singular and rather successful approach to positioning itself in the market. One could call it blue collar luxury. They have succeeded in becoming the pinnacle of what average joe could aspire to, thus finding a perfect balance between being widely known and progressively leaving the pack towards the upper side of the market.

I can understand the perception issues that Rolex has in the eyes of some WIS folks - i.e. as the post above says, a lot of people who know very little about watches think that Rolex is the best watch brand in the world and obviously therefore the first choice in terms of what they buy when they come into a bit of money.

It's also no secret that I'm not a fan of some of Rolex's practises such as restricting supply of watches to keep the illusion of rarity (despite being one of the most prolific watch makers in the world) and thereby keep the prices high, etc.

However, once you accept that they are often seen as "the overly obvious choice", and that they have very successfully cultivated an image that other brands would kill for, it's actually very hard to fault their watches. The simple fact is, they make very very good watches, and provided you like the style, it's hard to understand why any WIS wouldn't want to own one at some point.

The designs rarely alienate existing owners due to their tectonic-plate-movement speed of evolution, and their faultless brand strength and perception means they attract new fans by the truckload, all keen to buy into the kudos.

Additionally though, the image is more than backed up by quality of the product. Superb fit and finish, in-house movements (that have been around for years and are very stable and reliable), and pretty much in-house everything else too..... they even make their own sapphire crystals.

I've owned one Rolex myself and only sold it because it had the horrible tin-foil bracelet of yesteryear. If it wasn't for that I'd definitely still own it as I buy watches for me, and not for impressing others. They may not be the absolutely pinnacle of watch-making that a lot of non-WIS think they are, but they are extremely hard to fault. As long as you like the styles, Rolex are something of a no-brainer in the market they operate in.