Every now and then I will stumble across this issue when making instanced objects in a circular rotation pattern. The origins will be at the center of the arc, while the actual meshes will be a large distance away from the origin. I will then add more objects with identically positioned origins in the center of the circle (i.e. watch face). Is there a way to select the outer bolts using an equivalent of the standard Ctrl+LMB free-select for mesh surface instead of mesh origins?
I am aware of the ability to select linked objects, this solution will not always work.