Some people definitely buy a Rolex for that reason, but not most people in this sub. When you buy a watch like this, you're paying for the history of the brand and the model in question. You're paying for a very high level of craftsmanship; Rolex makes nearly all of the parts for their watches in-house, and tooling up for that is very expensive. They also make their own movements, which are incredibly accurate for mechanical timepieces, usually to within a second or two a day. Compare this to many luxury brands in the same price bracket which just drop in a $250 mechanical movement from ETA or even worse, a quartz battery powered movement.

If taken care of properly, a Rolex will outlive its owner and it's something special that you can hand down to your children. It will still have value decades and maybe even centuries from now. I'm not in a position to afford one at this point in my life, but I'd like to be able to buy a Rolex Sub or Explorer by the time I'm 40 and someday pass it on to the next generation.