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Demand for Rolex hits unprecedented level
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Scooterino36
·What’s really unfortunate about the state of Rolex is that the conversations about them within the watch community is 10:1 in favor of the act of purchasing them/market conditions/investment vs. the design/features/history of the watches themselves. Just a sad reality.
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JwRosenthal
·Amazed at how toxic the Rolex hate is here. But if so many of you feel some primal urge to express yourselves, go right ahead. But to quote Willie the Bard, "Me thinks thou doth protest too much." I wouldn't buy a new Rolex for both financial and aesthetic reasons, so whatever is going on in that market means nothing to me. I have good relationships with several vintage dealers and I would not hesitate to recommend any of them to a close friend or family member. And I have a good knowledge of Rolex's history, and I don't hesitate to recommend their watches to informed and educated people who are looking for more than a status symbol at a fire sale.
The outrage is at the public’s perception of the brand and myth of scarcity. Rolex apparently hasn’t changed their production numbers (although perhaps during Covid they have run into supply line problems for raw materials like so many other industries- hence a true temporary shortage) so the idea of diminished supply is simply the result of an increased demand and market speculators holding inventory. Those are the people with whom the outage lies- it’s just misdirected at Rolex.
I don’t think Rolex is doing anything- they are continuing to operate as they always have- the market and consumer base has changed rapidly (Social media influencers) and those guys deserve all the mockery in the world.
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cvalue13
·the design/features/history of the watches themselves
There is a good bit of that still. Just not on threads like these.
Here’s something like another topic: if you had to bet real money on a mechanical Swiss watch company that will still exist in 100 years…
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JwRosenthal
·There is a good bit of that still. Just not on threads like these.
Here’s something like another topic: if you had to bet real money on a mechanical Swiss watch company that will still exist in 100 years…
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cvalue13
·
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JwRosenthal
·
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cvalue13
·Florida…that explains so much🙄
I know, right?
“Invicta watch…” is the “Florida man…” of horology
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Archer
··Omega Qualified WatchmakerAmazed at how toxic the Rolex hate is here. But if so many of you feel some primal urge to express yourselves, go right ahead. But to quote Willie the Bard, "Me thinks thou doth protest too much." I wouldn't buy a new Rolex for both financial and aesthetic reasons, so whatever is going on in that market means nothing to me. I have good relationships with several vintage dealers and I would not hesitate to recommend any of them to a close friend or family member. And I have a good knowledge of Rolex's history, and I don't hesitate to recommend their watches to informed and educated people who are looking for more than a status symbol at a fire sale.
I hate the way the company does business, in particular with their partners.
Like you, I have no use for the modern watches (blingy dreck IMO) and I much prefer vintage:
Much of what the company stands for and markets their products as, is a status symbol - they have cultivated that for decades now, so if the average person sees them that way, it's because of Rolex themselves. It's the way they convince people to pay incredibly high prices for what are massed produced mid-tier watches.
The idea though that vintage dealers are all enthusiasts, well certainly some start out that way, but they can be as cut throat any any AD can be. To think otherwise is being a bit naïve...there's probably more shenanigans in the vintage Rolex world than just about any other area of vintage watch collecting.
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ckhaing
·.... but they can be as cut throat any any AD can be. To think otherwise is being a bit naïve...there's probably more shenanigans in the vintage Rolex world than just about any other area of vintage watch collecting...
1. follow the money flow and you get the answer
2. if you can figure out who is the sucker, you are the sucker
correction - can't
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Larry S
··Color Commentator for the Hyperbole.I was in my local electronics retailer yesterday looking at audio gear. The sales guy noted my 1675 on my wrist and we got into the inevitable scarcity discussion. Seems he’d been saving up to buy new and wanted to to pull the trigger. He’s gotten all the run around stories we’ve discussed here from various Chicagoland dealers. I showed him some pre-owned sites (usual suspects). Bottom line though, he lives in the city and had trepidation’s about “wearing all that money on his wrist”, bemoaning the fact that “everyone knows what that watch is worth. “ My suggestion to him was there are a lot of nice, under the hype radar, watches for far less money, and if it makes him nervous, don’t do it. I think i discussed watches with him longer than it took to process my transaction. I think its sad that Rolex is A) no longer an aspirational mid level brand for folks to chase B) No longer a watch you can safely wear as a all round beater.
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eldiano84
·Invicta
Spotted these in the wild also
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JwRosenthal
·On the way to the local AD, passed by an Invicta store and they have a promotion where if you buy 2 you get 2 free one of them being a super hero themed watch. Almost gave in TBH. Those yellow boxes are somewhat iconic hahaha.
Spotted these in the wild also
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cvalue13
·Honestly, if I wanted a nice heritage style diver- Tudor is really hard to beat. And they are readily available…and still have nice proportions. It’s pretty clear they just took the Tudor line and slotted it into the place where the Rolex sport watches once resided- and at the same price points too circa 2010
but to maintain market separateness, for the most part, to my eye they keep Tudor’s designs (handset style, color choices, etc.) palpably not quite right
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ckhaing
·many many years ago, my (not a practical) dream watch was to somehow plant an omega movement in a rolex oyster case
that probably is effectively tudor then?
that probably is effectively tudor then?
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cvalue13
·Personally, I think they look better than Rolex designs.
Some look great to me; the 39mm BB58, for example, is a complete home run
But when I’ve gone to look at many of the others “in the metal” (and I have several times based on promo materials), they in hand just fall a bit flat in design - though again, perfectly commiserate with their price points, no doubt
They’re all-around one of the best bang-for-buck watches on the market. I’ll probably regret selling my heritage-Chrono but the watch gods demanded a sacrifice
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rand8086
·I've popped into 6 or 7 Rolex ADs the past few years, including one last weekend, and saw what I I've come to learn is normal and expected: not a single Rolex watch on display in any of the cases. Not even a ladies watch this time which is usually all they have. The AD did mention that Rolex now has sample watches that you can try on that don't work or have anything inside, except they said they don't have any of those yet either.
It's been several years and I've yet to see a single Sub or GMT, and always hear the same lines, 'we only sell to our loyal customers first', which I now know is code for their grey market friends, as they have every model you could want available for a price.
I've just come to accept that the Emperor has no clothes, and no watches for sell, but admire their genius level marketing that has convinced the majority of their consumers that this is normal and acceptable.
It's been several years and I've yet to see a single Sub or GMT, and always hear the same lines, 'we only sell to our loyal customers first', which I now know is code for their grey market friends, as they have every model you could want available for a price.
I've just come to accept that the Emperor has no clothes, and no watches for sell, but admire their genius level marketing that has convinced the majority of their consumers that this is normal and acceptable.
