[vba616]

Somewhere I read that a Rolex has a very practical purpose - a real one is a commodity that can fairly easily be turned into cash or a bribe in an emergency, but as a watch, it's not susceptible to being seized by authorities in many circumstances where cash or gold might be.

I don't know if this is true, but it makes a good story.

[hammock]

Applies to jewelry in general, however Rolex tends to hold its value better than most jewelry (vs price paid)

[neilknowsbest]

Along this vein, I've heard somewhere that pimps wear lots of jewelry because they can pawn it for bail money. Apparently cash can be seized on arrest, but jewelry is classified as some sort of personal property and thus won't be taken.

[astrange]

That is the reason women used to own jewelry and you were supposed to give them expensive wedding rings. They couldn’t have bank accounts!