While I agree in general, I think that there are some people who just genuinely enjoy mechanical watches beyond the status signaling. I myself don't own a Rolex or other high end watch, I can't afford one, I work in machining and welding so I couldn't wear one to work anyway, and I'm pretty sure my OCD would preclude me from enjoying wearing a wristwatch since I would always be worried about scratches. I just happen to like small mechanical things. Also, repairing and restoring watches is a nice hobby to have if you're really short on space, I live in a tiny apartment.
I do think there is something very cool about the engineering that goes into watches, and they are somewhat unique in the way they combine both engineering and more traditional artistry like hand finishing or enamel/lacquered dial work.
I should probably point out in case there is some confusion that I most certainly don't work for Rolex or the Swiss watch industry even though I sound somewhat like a shill in these comments.
It's hard to find anything "really good" in the sub-1k price spectrum. You can get great, functional Quartz watches for less than $100. You can get nice automatics for $100-250 but that are nothing special mechanically. You can start getting very good automatics for $3k or so. That void in the middle is almost entirely garbage, either rip off "homage" watches using inferior parts or stuff like Christopher Ward.
That void in the middle is almost entirely garbage
I think you are being a bit harsh. You can get some perfectly fine mechanical watches at the 500 euro mark. Brands like Certina, Hamilton, Seiko and (to a lesser extent) Victorinox have several models in that price range which are perfectly well made.
A lot of those just use ETA parts. Not that it's a bad thing, but overpriced IMO. Seikos are quality and good value, I have one, but of course there is a certain prestige in having a 'Swiss' watch.
I am probably being too critical. I was thinking a little higher than 500, too. If you've got $1500 to spend, your best bet is to either buy 3 Hamiltons or save up another $2k for a Speedmaster, if you're going for value per dollar.
"You can start getting very good automatics for $3k or so."
For 3k you are either looking for something extremely fancy or you are already paying for 2k for the brand. Below a few brands, some very old, all of them use swiss made mechanical automatic movement. I don't remember having been in an airport and not having seen Rolex advertisement. But someone is paying for this advertisement. And again, if you buy from a dealer he may have something like a 100% mark up.
Here is an estimate of Rolex cost vs price and it is close what I suspected. " by gathering publicly available prices for similar products, we can estimate that the production cost of an average stainless steel Rolex watch retailing at USD 5,000 is less than USD 1,000. Maybe even less than USD 750."
I don't say don't buy one. But understand that you pay 80% of the cost for the brand. If you need the brand, buy it. If you just like the mechanics you can get a very good watch for a tiny fraction of the price.
I do think there is something very cool about the engineering that goes into watches, and they are somewhat unique in the way they combine both engineering and more traditional artistry like hand finishing or enamel/lacquered dial work.
I should probably point out in case there is some confusion that I most certainly don't work for Rolex or the Swiss watch industry even though I sound somewhat like a shill in these comments.