You could also look at it like this - this is the male equivalent of getting fine china and stainless place settings when getting married decades ago. My wife and I had our first tiff over my lack of interest in selecting a china pattern. We have some nice china, crystal stemware and stainless place setting. That china, stainless and crystal stemware is pretty to look at, costs much more than stuff will get the job done just as easily and few young people care to spend money on china that can be passed down to future generations. None of our three children are interested in the stuff and it's not worth much on resale sites.
Times change. Tastes change. Firearms owners have different priorities these days and don't appear to be willing to pay for beauty just for the sake of beauty. Some of it is also vanity, I think. A Rolex doesn't tell time any better than a $5 cheapo at Walmart or an Iphone. It's primary duty is to set someone apart from others. If I remember correctly, it's call positional goods in economics. Same with many luxury brands of cars. Nothing wrong with it, but one is often paying more for aesthetics and not function.
When most basic rifles will - from my reading - shoot well less than 2" MOA and will get the job done for the vast majority of hunters, then it doesn't make sense to try to sell folks on sentimental ideas and nostalgia.