{"id":33285,"date":"2026-03-16T21:24:15","date_gmt":"2026-03-16T21:24:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/33285\/"},"modified":"2026-03-16T21:24:15","modified_gmt":"2026-03-16T21:24:15","slug":"are-rolexes-tacky-now-how-the-swiss-watchmaker-lost-its-prestige-image-thanks-to-hstikkytokky-and-tommy-fury","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/33285\/","title":{"rendered":"Are Rolexes tacky now? How the Swiss watchmaker lost its prestige image – thanks to HSTikkyTokky and Tommy Fury"},"content":{"rendered":"

It was once the ultimate status symbol, but the appeal of owning a Rolex appears to be losing its shine.<\/p>\n

In the past, with demand outstripping supply, Rolex has reportedly required customers to build a relationship with the brand by spending up to \u00a3100,000 on certain timepieces in order to get their hands on the latest models.<\/p>\n

However, the Swiss watchmaker’s desperate bid to maintain exclusivity appears to be failing, with HSTikkyTokky, the controversial streamer at the heart of Louis Theroux<\/a>‘s Inside The Manosphere documentary, regularly seen parading his \u00a340,100 Day-Date 40.<\/p>\n

Rolexes have also been seen on the wrists of boxer Tyson Fury<\/a> and his former Love Island star half-brother\u00a0Tommy Fury<\/a>,\u00a0reality TV<\/a> star Kerry Katona<\/a>\u00a0(after she was gifted one from a vintage watch retailer), as well as Geordie Shore<\/a>‘s Chloe Ferry<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The current fashion is for ‘quiet luxury’ and ‘stealth wealth’, but there is nothing subtle about owning a Rolex – which is why it’s the watch of choice for crypto bros to show off their wealth on Instagram.<\/p>\n

The apparent shift in clientele has been noticed by other luxury brands, and a recent investigation by French fashion publication Glitz claimed that Hermes employees now note a customer wearing a Rolex as a red flag.<\/p>\n

Even the ultra-wealthy can struggle to get their hands on coveted Birkin bags, unless they have a relationship with the brand and its sales assistants – who won’t sell them to just anyone.<\/p>\n

And it’s damning that customers wearing Rolexes have been identified as ‘undesirable’ clients.<\/p>\n

\"They <\/p>\n

They were once reserved for the\u00a0cr\u00e8me de la cr\u00e8me of society – but now influencers, including the controversial HSTikkyTokky, pictured, are getting their hands on Rolex watches<\/p>\n

Journalist Louis Pisano wrote on X<\/a>: ‘Hermes is allegedly stalking their clients. A Glitz investigation has revealed that Hermes employees are Googling clients’ home addresses to determine whether they have a prestigious enough address to be deemed worthy of a Birkin or Kelly.’<\/p>\n

He added: ‘One sales associate told Glitz, “Every new client is automatically a suspect”. Signals associates use to identify the “right” client for a quota bag include wearing an Audemars Piguet or Richard Mille watch, while a flashy Rolex can spark mistrust.’<\/p>\n

The alleged practice is not official policy for the brand but it has since pledged to make sales policies around purchasing a Birkin more transparent<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, some who own a Rolex have become terrified of wearing them in public amid the current crisis of luxury watch thefts in the UK’s capital.<\/p>\n

Earlier this week, BBC Breakfast presenter Ben Thompson said he\u00a0no longer feels safe<\/a> in London after his \u00a37,000 Rolex was ripped from his wrist by a gang of muggers.<\/p>\n

Mr Thompson, 45, was on his way home from a restaurant in Mayfair, London, when he and his friend Roja Dove were grabbed by six men.<\/p>\n

It’s one of the most recent incidents of a worrying trend that sees London residents and tourists targeted by ‘Rolex Rippers’.<\/p>\n

Police have recovered only a fraction of the luxury watches stolen in London over the past few years, with thieves keeping thousands.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Pictured: <\/p>\n

Pictured: Former Love Island star Tommy Fury wearing a Rolex on day four of the 2026 Cheltenham Festival last week<\/p>\n

\"Former <\/p>\n

Former Atomic Kitten singer Kerry Katona said she was gifted a Rolex by a vintage watch company (pictured)<\/p>\n

\"TV <\/p>\n

TV personality and former Geordie Shore star, Chloe Ferry, from Newcastle also sports a watch from the Swiss brand<\/p>\n

\"Tyson <\/p>\n

Tyson Fury is known for his extensive watch collection, which includes multiple Rolexes (pictured with Max George in London in 2022)<\/p>\n

Some 5,180 timepieces worth more than \u00a33,000 were snatched<\/a> in the capital between January 2022 and July 2025, but only 59 were found \u2013 just one in 88.<\/p>\n

One of the most high-profile incidents in recent years was the gunpoint robbery of a \u00a370,000 diamond-encrusted watch from former world boxing champion Amir Khan.<\/p>\n

The Olympic silver medallist was targeted as he and his wife, Faryal Makhdoom, left the Sahara Grill restaurant in Leyton, East London, on a night in April 2022.<\/p>\n

Gunman Dante Campbell was later jailed for seven years and nine months, while getaway driver Ahmed Bana was locked up for nine years and eight months.<\/p>\n

Khan’s case was a rare example of the watch eventually being recovered by police.<\/p>\n

The 39-year-old later thanked the Met for their efforts in returning the timepiece and said he would auction it off for charity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It was once the ultimate status symbol, but the appeal of owning a Rolex appears to be losing…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":33286,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[1255,1053,996,41,17,19748,19749],"class_list":{"0":"post-33285","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-switzerland","8":"tag-dailymail","9":"tag-lifestyle","10":"tag-london","11":"tag-swiss","12":"tag-switzerland","13":"tag-tommy-fury","14":"tag-tyson-fury"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ch\/116240964844787395","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33285","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33285"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33285\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33286"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33285"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33285"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33285"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}