I care about the look. I've always bought my speakers in an upgraded finish like walnut or rosewood. I once went to a dealer to look at an Oracle turntable and saw a mint Sota Star in the most beautiful rosewood i've ever seen.
Bought the Sota. Never get tired of looking at it. But I will buy for sound alone. A year ago I bought Don Garber's Fi 2a3 monoblocks. I don't think many people would enter them in a beauty contest but I have come to love their looks.
Getting back to the "sub-thread" about watches, or anything else for that matter, I wonder why some people care about what others think. I might be curious from a statistic point but I wouldn't care. I used to, but then I went into the 4th grade. :-). IF 95% of the people polled thought Rolex wasn't elegant, I might be one of the 5% who does and with my money I'll buy what I like. In the end it's much more economical.