To somewhat drag this back OT...
When I was a teen I first saw the film then read the book "The Right Stuff". This left me with a lifelong interest in space, space flight and NASA. It also gave me an overly romantic view on pilots and aviation.
Fast forward a (lot) of years and I have some disposible cash. I wanted a decent watch - because a good mechanical watch is a thing of engineering beauty - and there was only one choice, Omega Speedmaster Professional. I am a sucker for the whole "flight certified by NASA", first watch on the moon thing, love the history and think the design has never been bettered. Simple, easy to read and discrete by modern standards.
The fact I am learning to fly is driven by the same motives - I'll never be Jim Lovell or Chuck Yaeger but I can take personal pride in a good landing and when I screw up (often) I console myself with the fact that even guys like that had to learn sometime. I'd imagine if it hadn't been for the formative experience of that book I'd probably never have sat in a cockpit or bought that watch.
So some of us are just suckers for the romance of flight, the glamour of the air and enjoy aviation "stuff". Some take it too far (flightsuit in a C172 far) but if you've got a passion for flying it's probably going to come out in a number of ways.
That said I'd never wear a Brietling, horrible blingly bits of chav magnet
