A lot of people seem to think that if they buy a nice/expensive/luxury watch that this will impress people. This is simply not true and a very shallow way to look at the world.
No one is going to be impressed because you have a watch. Maybe some watch nerd will be interested in the watch, but that will be the height of it. If you want to impress people, be a good person. If you happen to wear a nice watch while you do it, then that is cool.
Only Buy Watches For Yourself
You should never buy anything, especially watches, if you are looking for some sort of validation from anyone else. You should only buy things for your own pleasure or necessity.
You really shouldn’t worry about what anyone else thinks or might say because you have a certain watch. It makes no sense.
The world is full of watches and full of people, so you are probably going to find just as many people who like the watch as those who don’t. What happens if you meet someone who says they don’t like the watch? Are you suddenly going to throw it away? Of course not, because you like it!
Likewise, if I tell you a watch is amazing and the coolest thing ever …but you think it looks awful, are you going to buy it? I should hope not!
This would be the equivalent of me telling you that eating dog poo is delicious and you should do it too. My hope is that you will tell me I’m crazy and stick to eating real food, rather following along to look cool. While buying a watch is maybe not this extreme, it has still the same sentiment.
If you like the watch, buy it. It doesn’t matter what anyone says, you are the one who has to wear it and look at it, and so only you need to like it. No one else’s opinions matters.
(You can read more about – Will Wearing Watches Go Out Of Style?)
No One Will Notice Your Watch
I think it is really important to remember that the majority of people don’t care about watches and won’t even notice you are wearing one, let alone be impressed by it.
Maybe they notice it; maybe they even think it’s nice. Maybe they even comment on it, but it’s literally nothing to them. It’s “just” a watch.
A watch is like shoes to most people; it’s just something you wear. Think about how you see shoes in your daily life (this will not work if you are really into shoes). For most of people you interact with you probably don’t see their shoes.
You don’t even glance down and if you do it probably doesn’t even register in your brain. On the odd occasion that you do notice your friend’s shoes, you won’t say anything. You don’t form an opinion on them. You merely glace down at them and notice they are wearing shoes and maybe notice the colour and the brand. That is as far as it goes.
This is how most people see watches and this is why they are not impressed by them.
It Doesn’t Matter If It’s A Luxury Watch Or Not
If you think wearing a high end luxury watch is going to change things, you are wrong. It doesn’t matter if you have a £100k watch; no one is going to notice it any more than if it was a£ 10 watch.
Luxury doesn’t make any one notice it any more. If we go back to shoes, I know the brand name “louboutin” I know they are a luxury brand and I am sure they are expensive. However, you could be wearing them and I would have no idea. This is the exact same with luxury watch brands. Most people will have heard of Rolex, but probably wouldn’t even recognise one from a far way. They would literally need to see the logo on the dial and no one is getting that close!
What To Do If Someone Is Interested In Your Watch
Occasionally you will find someone does notice your watch which usually means one of two things. They are either a thief or they are a watch nerd.
Let’s be clear, neither of these two will care about you and won’t be “impressed”. They will be impressed with the watch itself and its beauty. The fact it is attached to your arm doesn’t affect anything.
Most Watch Collectors Are Men
We also need to remember that the vast majority of watch collectors are men, of course some woman will be, but for some reason it is mostly men.
Basically what I am saying is …if you are trying to impress woman with your watch, you are probably just going to find it doesn’t really work and its only attracts a small group of men obsessed with watches.
If you do suddenly find a woman showing interest in a watch, she is either one of the few who like watches, or she is a well trained gold digger, both these woman are interested in your watch (for different reasons) and not you.
Impress Them With Your Personality, Not Your Watch
If you are looking to impress someone, use yourself, not your watch.
Your personality is so much more important. Your behaviour, actions and manors are going to actually leave a lasting impression on someone. What happens if you are out and about and bump into someone when you are not wearing a watch? Are you suddenly less of a man? Of course not, you are still you. The luxury watch that you’ve left at home that day does not change that.
If you try and think of it from the other angle you might see how personality is more important than your watch. Imagine you where in a coffee shop and the server was awful, but he was wearing a watch. They laughed at your order and said it was disgusting, called you fat and then spat in your coffee before telling you that they hope you choke on it.
Maybe a little dramatic for a coffee shop, but are you going to leave thinking “wow, that was a bad experience” or are you going to leave thinking “I think that guy was wearing a vintage Patek” and just ignore the abuse?
If you only noticed the Patek you really need to have a word with yourself! For most of us, no amount of luxury watches would cancel out that kind of behaviour.
A watch doesn’t make you impressive, how you act does!
(You can read more about – Will Wearing A Watch Make You Attractive?)
Conclusion
Hopefully now you will see that most people will not even notice your watch, let alone understand its value and this means they will not be impressed by it. Just focus on being a good person and this will actually impress people.
There is nothing wrong with having nice watches, just buy the watches that you like and that impress you. No one else’s opinion matters. If someone else happens to like your watch too, then that is cool but do not try and seek out this validation, it is not going to work.
(You can read more about – Watch Wearing Mistakes You Should Avoid)
Ian is the main writer at Horology Dream and is a lover all things watch related.
He has been a watch collector for over a decade and brings his knowledge and experience to this site to help you on your own watch collecting journey.
You can connect with him on Social media and talk anything watches or read more about him on his Author Page.
