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I think we'd all probably challenge the key point of your post - i.e. that overdesign is the norm. Because if you ever look at the classic Rolex sumariner or Omega Speedmasters or what have you, they're never overdesigned. They're masterpieces of functional design.
So I wonder if one of the reasons you have that perceiption is because of the shops. If I ever go to an Omega shop they'll never have the nice minimal sandwich dial SM300 but they'll have loads of the wavey background skeleton hand SM300. I think that's primarily because if you just want an Omega you can buy one of their less popular models more cheaply, but if you want the one that you want, you're prepared to wait, and your'e prepared to pay full price for it. When you go to many watch shops, the ones you're looking at are the ones left over.
That's the only explanation I can think of for your perception. Sure there are gauche overdesigned watches designed solely to be bought as 40th birthday presents by dutiful wives (or, as someone memorably put it on here, by a 30 year old insurance salesman with his first bonus) but speaking personally, clean elegant design is at least half of why I loev watches. Busyness is the opposite of what I look for.
ReekBlefs-
Thanks, very helpful post, cheers! You can see I'm a noob obviously, but it is also interesting as an outsider looking in - from my perspective it's like going into a bike shop for the first time and only seeing Pinarellos built up by dudes doing the Etape.
So if I may make a crass analogy, is having a Submariner the equivalent of having SRAM Force eTap on the commuter? Ie a way to enjoy ultimate design and functionality completely removed from its intended context? Or these watches still genuinely used for navigation on boats and planes?
youramericanlover
Thanks, those are certainly a bit outside what I mentioned. However, saying there is a huge variety isn't really the same as saying "here is why the over-arching aesthetic is this". Is it an aesthetic hangover from the 'dead reckoning by slide rule' days?
Also surely we can agree that the pricing of larger brand luxury and premium goods is absolutely divorced from the reality of the cost of the goods and their construction.