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

im in health care, so every other day. some doctors have decent watches but many of them belong to my patients. we have one guy who is a billionaire and brings multiple pateks in when he comes to visit. but it isnt unusual to see datejusts, gmts, subs, omegas. very infrequently we will have the occasional jlc, usually a master control

Worked for the Senate in DC for many years, and saw a lot. Mostly Rolex on the wrists of lobbyists, former lobbyists, a few Senators, and, interestingly, military officers.

However, there were a few outliers. A former colleague had a very nice Reverso. A friend had an old AP.

And one time I did see a guy in an elevator in the capitol wearing a UG evil nina. This was probably 2013 before they went bonkers.

On the way home to Denmark, leaving London for Gatwick by train, I complimented a stranger sitting opposite me on his lovely Rolex GMT Master. Turned out it was his from new, having bought it in 1987. That watch had been through more than a fair bit, being his only watch in all those years and he's now put down a deposit for a new model. Had a short chat, great guy 😀

I posted this in the WRUW thread but it applies here too. I saw this nice little 1950s bumper with a nice waffle dial on my friends wrist at work. He told me his dad bought it in the PX while deployed in the 50’s. I thought it looked correct to me but I can’t help but think the minute track may have been repainted and possibly some of the text on the dial but I’m more of a modern omega expert. I made him take it off so I could snap a quick pic since I never get to see any cool vintage pieces in the wild only the modern ones.

I've seen a few Tag Heuer's here and there at work related engagements. Saw a gold Submariner on one of the Exec's wrists one time and said "Hey, nice submariner!" and got the "No, this is a Rolex." reply. =/

Most of the time I only see people wearing Fitbits these days.


RC

Rolex, Rolex, Rolex... boring.
Smart watch, Smart watch, Smart watch...sad.
I guess I'm not hanging out in the right places...i'm working on it.

Have fun
Karl

How often ?
On a daily basis 😁

Well you are in London, of course you decided against it 😁

I am the only one around here that wears anything interesting. Mostly millennials who wear nothing, or a smartwatch (Ugh!). When asked, and I respond automatic, I get a weird face like they don't understand.

Heavy sigh and explanation that, 'YES', watches used to be mechanical, and 'YES' it still tells time, and 'NO' it doesn't do anything else.

I am becoming a dinosaur.

I saw a guy with a stunning gilt 5508 sub on the subway the other day... that said pretty rare I see amything cool

Last night I stopped into a local pub. I ran into a few friends I was wearing a Chrono. One of my buddies noticed my watch and asked about it. Another buddy said I'm wearing an old Chronograph that belonged to my dad.
He sure was it was a pre Daytona Reference 6234. My friend did not know what he has. He mentioned he did not think it was worth much. I told him you better think on that again. I told him the ball park value his jaw dropped

The lady on the table next to me in a coffee shop overheard me talking to the barista about watches ... and introduced herself and her Cartier Solo Tank. She promised to bring her husband into the shop in the near future to get a little advice on his "Omega man in the moon watch" that he swapped a "really nice RAF Omega pilot's watch" for some decades ago.

I love chance meetings like this. One day, I'm convinced someone's going to bring me a lollipop to drool over.

Finally! I met a bunch of guys for breakfast and one was sporting a black two-tone Submariner. His wife had recently given it to him for their 20th wedding anniversary. I hope my wife remembers that platinum Daytona I always drool over when our next anniversary comes up. ;-)

Same as our MD he had a Seamaster 300 on said "thats a nice seamaster" he said no its a Omega

At a medical appointment a few months ago I noticed the doctor wearing a midsize Seamaster - although last time I saw him he was wearing something a lot blander. Working in education I have seen a few female colleagues wearing IWCs, but the males generally wear watches from Diesel, etc. 🙁

Yep. Plaid flannel for the win!

Yes, besides: If they get a real one, they can sell it again after the production is done and get back what they paid for it.

I work at an upscale restaurant. Heuer Monaco sighting the other night and I did see a late model Speedmaster last week. Many ultra high end watches worn. The kind you can tell are over the ten thousand $ mark but it's hard to get the watchmakers in the dim light.

Like many here probably, I tend to notice nice or unusual watches. We enjoy fine dining and travel, and the number of nicer watches I see varies with location and situation. I have noticed that many people don't wear a watch anymore, and of those that do, a higher and higher percentage seem to be wearing smart watches. I have a good friend that is an ER doc. He grew up poor, and the watches he remembers admiring in his youth were Tag's, so now he has a nice collection of them, both vintage and newer. I honestly get more comments from the general public on my watch when I wear something really mundane like a G Shock. Rarely a comment from someone else that is a watch enthusiast unless it's a friend. I think so many folks that do wear a watch are wearing things like super blingy Invicta's that most run of the mill folks don't even recognize what we would consider a cool watch. They don't have a clue about in-house movements, ETA's, etc. To them an Invicta and any number of Breitling's look the same.

Cars and motorcycles are another passion of mine, and I've belonged to some local groups like a Porsche owners club. I have always been surprised by how few members that own fairly expensive automobiles also own or wear a nice watch. Some don't wear a watch at all, and those that do tend to wear something like a mid level Seiko. Of course there are always those that wear a nice watch that was a gift ,but they don't really know much about it and aren't enthusiastic about watches in general. I believe forums like this can lead us to believe there are more watch enthusiasts than there really are. It's a great hobby, but in the grand scheme of things there aren't really that many of us.