Quote: “Few people will ever own a Rolex or a Vermeer, but we are all sensitive to the value of history, and most of us possess at least some things that we wouldn’t trade for perfect duplicates.  These objects have value beyond their practical utility.” (Bloom 11)

A Rolex is an expensive watch featured in media such as movies and television. A brand is also known for their expert craftmanship. People pay over 8,000 dollars for Rolexes for these reasons. Some may say that the Rolex is not practical but if someone was just to focus practicality they could buy a 20 dollar watch.

Sensory theory implies that people only buy luxury goods because of the quality and its relation to the senses.  If the Armani knockoff feels and looks the same but is a third of the price… Why would someone buy the real Armani suit?  A knockoff is worth less to a person because it does not have the real brand's history and craftsmanship even if it feels and looks the same.  The person will know on the inside that the item is fake even if it looks real to everyone else. 

Humans look into the deeper meaning of objects just like they look for positive internal factors in people. A positive, more profound meaning can bring pleasure to a person because of that person's preferences and values. If people only focused on appearances, expensive objects would be meaningless, and creativity would be lost.  Beautiful and costly objects usually have craftsmanship or historical value, which aligns with people's values. 

Many fake Rolexes are on the market, but Rolex is not out of business.  If people only bought luxury goods to show status, luxury companies such as Rolex would go bankrupt.  People only purchase items like Rolexes for signaling because signaling theory does not consider feelings towards oneself.  The person buying the fake Rolex would know on the inside that it is not real.  It could make them think they are a “fraud” or did not “earn it”. Signaling theory only takes into account the opinions of others and external looks.

People worship celebrities, and since they admire them, they buy the items they use.  Buying a celebrity’s item can bring pleasure because it can make the person feel “closer” to the celebrity.  Bloom uses the example of Britney Spears's used bubble gum being sold on eBay.  An object that can seem like a piece of trash to one person can please another person.

Art is subjective but the most valuable art is made by the most famous or oldest artists.  The older art has a rich history and the famous artists have proved to have great talent in the past.  It is the art's history that makes it valuable and that history can give people pleasure.