I don’t think an equivalent Omega or Breitling is that much cheaper?

Rolexes also keep their value incredibly well. I bought a nice Tag many years ago (I knew nothing about watches) and it’s now worth about $1000 on the used market at best. Had I bought a similar priced Rolex instead, it would have kept its value, if not even appreciated.

It's beyond what is the watch. Rolex is good, but omega speedy starts (started before inflation/tariffs?) at $5k. And is certified for Space(tm)! Some good smaller brands (nomos) at around $2k.

Watch market above that starts getting weird. You have some special models, technically equivalent w/ cosmetic bling hitting $80-100k