How often do you see ANY nice watch in the wild?

Posts
132
Likes
210
Just left a meeting where the guy to my right was wearing a 90's white gold Daytona, and the guy to my left was wearing and 80's Sub. All I could think of was this thread!
 
Posts
396
Likes
1,540
I flew to London on Monday and the little old lady (probably in her late 60s early 70s) sitting next to me had this Rolex on. Needless to say I was highly impressed and she worn it well.
 
Posts
4,364
Likes
22,572
Looking at installing solar on our warehouse and the guy I met with today had a 2-tone Sub.
Yuck...disqualified for lack of taste.

Just kidding. Still a very nice watch, but not my cup of tea.
 
Posts
16,754
Likes
152,092
I flew to London on Monday and the little old lady (probably in her late 60s early 70s) sitting next to me had this Rolex on. Needless to say I was highly impressed and she worn it well.

Heh less of the old, i'm in that bracket apart from the lady 😉
 
Posts
4,642
Likes
31,207
Spotted at the basement poker table last night:


My lucky charm:
 
Posts
663
Likes
4,772
Obviously, at meet-ups I see many, but not so much in the wild.

When I have seen a nice Rolex or a vintage Omega or something interesting, it's a rare occurrence. Maybe once a month. A little more often if I head downtown (Vancouver, Canada). Especially in hotel lobbies. Maybe the locals here don't rock watches as much (other than Apple of course).

Every once in awhile I run into someone randomly (e.g. the ski lift in Whistler) with something cool. Saw a yellow gold Rolex on the hill a few weeks ago. And a nice Speedy while hiking in the Sea-to-Sky backcountry. Who'd have guessed?
 
Posts
298
Likes
2,707
I attended an industry conference this past week, and I had quite a good time checking the wrists of my fellow attendees between sessions and during the social functions.

I saw a number of Rolex subs, including steel with the black bezel & face and one two tone with a blue face. I saw one Breitling Navitimer and one Galactic or Chronomat. I also saw one Seamaster 50th GMT, and I caught a 2254 with the sword hands on another attendee.

The icing on the cake was that at the opening evening "soiree" a dinner tablemate wore a Rolex Sea Dweller.
 
Posts
848
Likes
1,745
During my annual retina exam on Thursday I spotted that my ophthalmologist was wearing a Tudor (not sure which model). It didn’t get me any extra points on the eye exam though!
 
Posts
1,301
Likes
2,575
40 years of watch collecting and other than Rolex's I've seen less than a dozen really expensive watches. Two weeks ago I saw a young Asian women on a Melbourne, Aust tram on Collins St wearing a solid gold PP Nautilus, it was real and it was spectacular.

Collins Street is the street you'd be likely to find one, many exclusive shops along there including Omega and Rolex.
 
Posts
16,741
Likes
47,363
MV-22 pilot was rocking a Speedmaster X33 at a meeting the other day.

Got chatting and it’s a X33 with his squadron engraved on the case back.
Lieutenant Colonel by the way 🤦

20 of them got one 10 years ago from the Omega program that does case backs for free if they order 20
 
Posts
4
Likes
3
I never see anything in the wild except a Tag here and there. I wish I knew some people in real life who shared the hobby!
 
Posts
54
Likes
35
Rolexes periodically, a Speedmaster reduced every once in awhile
 
Posts
1,980
Likes
3,344
Was chatting to a colleague the other day and noticed she was wearing a nice 70s vintage automatic Seamaster - turns out her husband got a new Seamaster as a wedding gift so gave his vintage model to his new wife. Nice touch, and looks cool on her wrist
 
Posts
15
Likes
83
I work in the tourism industry in Dubai and nearly every hotel sales manager is rocking a Submariner. Otherwise, Dubai is pretty wild for spotting watches-- lots of Panerai, AP, Rolex, and Hublot. I'd probably be more impressed if I knew what I was looking at a bit better.
 
Posts
3,388
Likes
8,554
At work I don't wear expensive watches, they risk to get scratched or covered in blood...
So lion-taming is not a suitable career for someone with a taste for expensive watches?
 
Posts
732
Likes
2,972
Well, not that I see nice watches all the time but I do see Rolex occasionally, and I got to know one of my best friends by commenting his Breitling Navitimer while wearing my Speedy.
 
Posts
148
Likes
160
It's always fun when this happens. My husband and I often strike a short conversation with strangers while in line at the grocery store in our neighborhood. Usually, we see a Rolex on the wrist. The latest one was in our neighborhood French bakery, where we spotted a Sunday golfer wearing a 5-digit Submariner. My husband and I were wearing our Tudor Submariners, and it made a nice, short encounter at the bakery.
 
Posts
1,706
Likes
5,682
One of the things I love about living in LA is the watches I get to spot on the regular. And I’m full on shameless - I’ll talk to any stranger if they’re wearing a watch that catches my eye. From the young mother at the farmer’s market wearing a vintage Rolex oyster, to the hipster bartender wearing a Casio A168. My watch madness does not discriminate!
 
Posts
376
Likes
3,072
One of the things I love about living in LA is the watches I get to spot on the regular.
Agreed.
I work in DTLA and live in OC and I do see someone sporting a Rolex quite often. Actually, I think I see more Rolex than Omega or any other brand for that matter, especially in OC.
 
Posts
148
Likes
160
One of the things I love about living in LA is the watches I get to spot on the regular. And I’m full on shameless - I’ll talk to any stranger if they’re wearing a watch that catches my eye. From the young mother at the farmer’s market wearing a vintage Rolex oyster, to the hipster bartender wearing a Casio A168. My watch madness does not discriminate!
Agreed.
I work in DTLA and live in OC and I do see someone sporting a Rolex quite often. Actually, I think I see more Rolex than Omega or any other brand for that matter, especially in OC.

Unfortunately, precisely because we live in LA, I feel that the occurrence of seeing somebody sporting a fashion watch is really, really high too! This goes to many of my ladies out there. Michael Kors, Coach... oh my, the list goes on. I do find respectable ones like the Cartier Tank, but still quite rare. Few instances I have come across an older lady with a Patek at the groceries and farmer's market, but too much of the fashion watches!