Fair nuff then Teribus, you bought yours as a tool that'd do the job. Now about the other 99% of Rolex sales... :-/

It's kinda like cars, I guess. Sure, there are a few folk who buy sports cars and race them. But mostly they're just used for posing, or at most for going fast between traffic lights. So for all the smart engineering, they could as well have bought a Ford Fiesta, except that it wouldn't look as good. If you really need a fast car to win a race, maybe you need a tooled-up Ferrari. But most tooled-up Ferraris don't get bought by racers.

I'm not saying there's anything wrong with people buying stuff because it looks good. If they like it and can afford it, great. Personally I reckon good engineering is often the basis of great art - it was a lot of the basis for Art Deco, after all - and Rolexes score in a similar way. (So do many musical instruments, for that matter.)

But most Rolex owners didn't buy the Rolex because it'd survive helium decompression - they bought it because it was a Rolex, and it looks cool. Same as most Ferrari owners didn't buy it simply because it had whatever 0-60 time - they bought it because it was a Ferrari and they loved how it looked and sounded.

Graham.