Watches

I’d think a more apt comparison using cars would be paying someone to photoshop your current car in a different paint job/vinyl wrap, or new rims. Its expensive to paint/wrap a car or buy new rims but a good photoshop job is relatively less expensive than getting it done for real and would give you a good feel of how the light would interact with the new color.

I’d think this is a more apt comparison because in a test drive you’re able to go through all the motions you’d normally do in a car. At an AD trying on the real thing, yes you get the feel, weight, overall “heft” of the piece which is important, but you’re restricted to how it looks with the outfit you have on at the AD. You’re unable to test out how it feels when you need to wash your hands, bring in the groceries, or do any normal daily activities with the watch on.