Whatever catches your eye man…
The weird reality is, for non watch nerds (which is 99% of people), the only brand they probably recognize as expensive is Rolex. So if care about what other people think, it really only comes down to Rolex or nothing.
Buying mass produced things is not a hobby lol. Surely going to the store, putting down money, and buying things is not a hobby.
Car enthusiasts drive cars, work on cars, and modify cars. There’s a lot more to car enthusiasm than “I went to the car dealership and bought one”
Art enthusiasts make art or collect original artwork. Art enthusiasts aren’t en mass buying reproductions and calling it a hobby. Buying originals from masters require tracking, sourcing, and playing auctions.
I consider building your own watches a hobby, modifying watches a hobby, restoring vintage watches a hobby, but like, going to the store and buying them is not a hobby.
The problem with a lot of Reddit subs is that people “hobbyfied” things that aren’t hobbies! Whether its here, or r/castiron, or whatever.
Watches are jewelry, you like them? you buy them and wear them. I just find the whole “watch buying journey” and “whats a good starter watch, how should I move up”, etc to be such a weird mentality.
Buying watches is not a hobby, the same way that maintaining your pan isn’t a hobby. Don’t think of it as such.
99% of people simply don’t care for watches, so they only know 1 premium brand.
It’s like going up to a bunch of people who don’t build PCs, asking them “name me all you motherboard brands you know” and they’ll sheepishly say “uhh, Intel?” Or people who don’t fish and ask “name me all the fishing rod brands you know” and get back a sheepish “uhh, shimano?”
If you ask people “name me all the luxury watch brands you know” you’ll get Rolex, and mayyyybbee Omega. The average person doesn’t know more than 3 luxury watch brands haha