Presumably you get why people will pay thousands for a set of good quality photos?
Extrapolate that idea to watches....
My thinking is that with something that has higher in price, there is a certain exclusivity.
£10 million for a Picasso, one of a kind.
£10 for a Casio, they are all the same.
Photos, as with art, it's by a certain person, so the exclusivity is with that 1 photographer, and if they are of you then it's one moment in time that you will never get back ever again, ever. Exclusivity in time and art. With prints, they are limited in numbers, those that are not and sold like posters and we all know how much posters costs.
£10,000 watch that anyone else with £10,000 can buy in any part of the world has neither the exclusivity, nor a limiting factor other than money. So if I am paying something that costs a lot more than another product that does the same thing I judge it with other criteria.
Cars, they all take you from a-b but some get you there quicker, some get you there in more comfort, some get you here with comfort and quicker. Some are more reliable, some looks prettier, some are more practical, some are less practical.
Watches - automatic ones. Due to the design, a Quartz is always more accurate. So the argument of a more expensive is more accurate is inapplicable. The only applicable argument is that it is the workmanship and art. A few pages back there was a post about Rolex and it's history and even talks about profit goes to charity.
History, if you buy a Rolex for history, why not buy a Seiko quartz for history? Seiko is not exactly a new company. In fact Seiko made the first ever Quartz so that's history and accuracy.
Charity, I don't buy a lottery ticket and convince myself I am doing the world a favour by saying half the money goes to charity, I buy the lottery ticket for the jackpot. So let's not kid ourselves here.
Art, as said before, pretty as it is, the fact that it is not a limited edition doesn't sit well with me. The only circumstance where I contemplate how a watch can be worth thousands is something like the milsub, that it was never released to the public and only 1200 ever made and the fact that it was issued by the Royal Navy means a lot were used in missions, training and lots were lost and damaged. So I do see in instances like that how they are sought after and valuable.
Workmanship, £10,000 and a rubber strap...sorry, no, just no. I'm sure there is an actual functioning reason, being able to dive 1000 metres, but for £10,000, I want diamond encrusted strap dammit, make no bones about it when spending that kind of money I am showing off, putting a rubbers strap on it is a giant contradiction.
Design, now we are talking, I would spend a little more for a design that I like, however, a chronograph is a chronograph, there is only so much you can change and at a glance, the watch doesn't scream expensive to me, I had to google how much that costs. I thought that was like £800.
P.s. The world record for the deepest dive is 318 metres so you'll be dead at 1,000m anyway.
See, don't get it
Agreed, if the movement loses the mechanical drivetrain I'm not sure I'd be as interested. We shall see...
Certainly doesn't look the price tag you'll of paid in my eyes, the face looks like something out of Argos