One of my hobbies and passions for years has been Swiss watches. Particularily Rolex, Baume & Mercier, Patek Philippe, etc. I own a number of them, and actively participate in a couple of watch forums on the internet, and it's always a jealous point of contention (particularily with Rolex) that the people who wear them do so because we are all insecure and attention seeking assholes. Well, I decided to test the theory of "product recognition" as I was driving Uber. So, I took a couple of my pieces out of my safe and started wearing them daily while driving.
Pics of the watches I used are attached. The gold one was not used in the survey as I had just sold it.
I would not have done this in LA or Chicago FWIW......LOL !! I am in Canada where we all say "sorry" to everyone all the time.
FWIW in the article, the term "WIS" means "Watch Idiot Savant".......or someone who is actively passionate and knowledgeable about them.
Any other watch nuts here ?
Objective
To confirm or dispel the preconceived notion that the general public can easily recognize ROLEX wristwatches, and that they will act and/or respond differently, and in an obvious manner, to the wearer of same.
Methodology
Utilizing my position as a driver for a ride sharing service grants me the exposure to a wide cross section of the general public on a daily basis. Each day for 3 months I would wear a genuine ROLEX watch, and part way thru the collection of data, I would change ROLEX watches for one of a different design and metal composition, as well as, I would also wear a "control" timepiece, which was a non-Rolex item.
The ROLEX watches worn were a reference #126300 Datejust 41 in steel with a Jubilee bracelet, smooth bezel, and Rhodium dial, and then a reference #116713LN GMT Master II in two tone Gold and Steel. At the time of the survey I did not have any full gold pieces in my collection, however, as two tone watches are commonly derided as being "too flashy" I decided that this would suffice. The control watch was a TISSOT PRC200 chronograph in polished steel, with a custom bright yellow ostrich leather band and deployment, made by Aaron Bespoke in Montreal.
A sample base of 1,000 riders was to be tabulated, as this size is what is most commonly utilized by major polling firms such as Gallup and others, and their reactions and responses, if any, recorded for future use.
I operate my vehicle from 4:00 AM until 6:00 PM in the middle to upper class demographic areas of a city, with contains a metropolitan population of approximately 1.3MM inhabitants. The vast majority of my clients are business travellers, business people, retail/service employees and students, as well as those of an undetermined nature. The mix of female to male riders is 50/50.
This survey was done during the warm summer months, and at all times a short sleeve shirt was worn, so that I could expose the timepiece to the rider in a non-obvious manner.
At all times my hands were positioned at 10/2 o'clock position on the steering wheel while in motion, but when stopped, I often placed my left hand at 12 o'clock on the steering wheel if the rider was sitting in the right rear seat (60%) of my vehicle. If the rider was in the left rear seat (10%) I would place my elbow on the window frame and rest my head on my hand. If the rider was in the front passenger seat (30%), no special considerations were taken to offer unobstructed views of the ROLEX, or the control watch.
At no time did I verbally mention any timepiece I was wearing, and only upon a direct comment or question from a rider, did a discussion take place.
I briefly glanced at each rider thru my dark sunglasses numerous times to see if they were focused overtly on my wrist while the vehicle was safely stopped. Other than noted below by those who made comments to me, no one seemed preoccupied with what was on my wrist at any time.
RESULTS
A total of 1,076 riders were tabulated.
9 made direct verbal comments to me while in the vehicle (00.83 %)
5 of them were wearing a ROLEX while doing so (00.46%).
1 was wearing a Panerai.
The remaining 3 knew the make and model of the subject watch, but were not wearing what we would consider to be a higher end SWISS luxury watch brand at the time.
No one made derogatory comments, or discussed the cost of the watches at any time.
No one seemed to focus their gaze on my wrist at any time except the WIS in my vehicle.
17 people commented on the yellow strap on my TISSOT within the 2 weeks that I wore it during my driving (1.59 %).
CONCLUSIONS
People will notice that you have something on your wrist, as evidenced by the commentary regarding the bright yellow strap on my TISSOT. I received 10 times as many comments on the watch strap alone, as I did on any of the ROLEX timepieces that I wore.
An overwhelmingly vast majority of people absolutely CANNOT tell the difference between a $15,000+ ROLEX and a $150 Michael Kors/FOSSIL/Invicta/Steinhart, etc, mall watch, nor do they even care.
If they do notice, they won't say anything unless they have a direct interest in watches, but most likely no commentary or further interaction will be forthcoming, unless they are a ROLEX wearing WIS. In this case, you can expect a healthy and interesting discussion.
There are not a lot of ROLEX wearers out there in the general public in the demographic I transport. In fact, it was much smaller than I expected, especially if the sales hype surrounding the brand, and the perceived inventory shortages at Rolex dealers are to be believed.
If you like expensive Swiss watches, buy them solely for yourself, because no one else is going to know or care that you are wearing one on your wrist. The only statement you are making when you do so, is to yourself. And, that is why we all buy nice things for ourselves, to make us feel good, regardless of what they are.
Having personally owned numerous full yellow gold ROLEX pieces, and worn them daily for two years, I can state that the results shown in my survey, had I utilized one of them, would have been the same, as no one ever made a comment about my watches, unless they they personally owned one themselves.
Pics of the watches I used are attached. The gold one was not used in the survey as I had just sold it.
I would not have done this in LA or Chicago FWIW......LOL !! I am in Canada where we all say "sorry" to everyone all the time.
FWIW in the article, the term "WIS" means "Watch Idiot Savant".......or someone who is actively passionate and knowledgeable about them.
Any other watch nuts here ?
Objective
To confirm or dispel the preconceived notion that the general public can easily recognize ROLEX wristwatches, and that they will act and/or respond differently, and in an obvious manner, to the wearer of same.
Methodology
Utilizing my position as a driver for a ride sharing service grants me the exposure to a wide cross section of the general public on a daily basis. Each day for 3 months I would wear a genuine ROLEX watch, and part way thru the collection of data, I would change ROLEX watches for one of a different design and metal composition, as well as, I would also wear a "control" timepiece, which was a non-Rolex item.
The ROLEX watches worn were a reference #126300 Datejust 41 in steel with a Jubilee bracelet, smooth bezel, and Rhodium dial, and then a reference #116713LN GMT Master II in two tone Gold and Steel. At the time of the survey I did not have any full gold pieces in my collection, however, as two tone watches are commonly derided as being "too flashy" I decided that this would suffice. The control watch was a TISSOT PRC200 chronograph in polished steel, with a custom bright yellow ostrich leather band and deployment, made by Aaron Bespoke in Montreal.
A sample base of 1,000 riders was to be tabulated, as this size is what is most commonly utilized by major polling firms such as Gallup and others, and their reactions and responses, if any, recorded for future use.
I operate my vehicle from 4:00 AM until 6:00 PM in the middle to upper class demographic areas of a city, with contains a metropolitan population of approximately 1.3MM inhabitants. The vast majority of my clients are business travellers, business people, retail/service employees and students, as well as those of an undetermined nature. The mix of female to male riders is 50/50.
This survey was done during the warm summer months, and at all times a short sleeve shirt was worn, so that I could expose the timepiece to the rider in a non-obvious manner.
At all times my hands were positioned at 10/2 o'clock position on the steering wheel while in motion, but when stopped, I often placed my left hand at 12 o'clock on the steering wheel if the rider was sitting in the right rear seat (60%) of my vehicle. If the rider was in the left rear seat (10%) I would place my elbow on the window frame and rest my head on my hand. If the rider was in the front passenger seat (30%), no special considerations were taken to offer unobstructed views of the ROLEX, or the control watch.
At no time did I verbally mention any timepiece I was wearing, and only upon a direct comment or question from a rider, did a discussion take place.
I briefly glanced at each rider thru my dark sunglasses numerous times to see if they were focused overtly on my wrist while the vehicle was safely stopped. Other than noted below by those who made comments to me, no one seemed preoccupied with what was on my wrist at any time.
RESULTS
A total of 1,076 riders were tabulated.
9 made direct verbal comments to me while in the vehicle (00.83 %)
5 of them were wearing a ROLEX while doing so (00.46%).
1 was wearing a Panerai.
The remaining 3 knew the make and model of the subject watch, but were not wearing what we would consider to be a higher end SWISS luxury watch brand at the time.
No one made derogatory comments, or discussed the cost of the watches at any time.
No one seemed to focus their gaze on my wrist at any time except the WIS in my vehicle.
17 people commented on the yellow strap on my TISSOT within the 2 weeks that I wore it during my driving (1.59 %).
CONCLUSIONS
People will notice that you have something on your wrist, as evidenced by the commentary regarding the bright yellow strap on my TISSOT. I received 10 times as many comments on the watch strap alone, as I did on any of the ROLEX timepieces that I wore.
An overwhelmingly vast majority of people absolutely CANNOT tell the difference between a $15,000+ ROLEX and a $150 Michael Kors/FOSSIL/Invicta/Steinhart, etc, mall watch, nor do they even care.
If they do notice, they won't say anything unless they have a direct interest in watches, but most likely no commentary or further interaction will be forthcoming, unless they are a ROLEX wearing WIS. In this case, you can expect a healthy and interesting discussion.
There are not a lot of ROLEX wearers out there in the general public in the demographic I transport. In fact, it was much smaller than I expected, especially if the sales hype surrounding the brand, and the perceived inventory shortages at Rolex dealers are to be believed.
If you like expensive Swiss watches, buy them solely for yourself, because no one else is going to know or care that you are wearing one on your wrist. The only statement you are making when you do so, is to yourself. And, that is why we all buy nice things for ourselves, to make us feel good, regardless of what they are.
Having personally owned numerous full yellow gold ROLEX pieces, and worn them daily for two years, I can state that the results shown in my survey, had I utilized one of them, would have been the same, as no one ever made a comment about my watches, unless they they personally owned one themselves.