Community Stories

From Vintage Speedy to Modern Rolex?

jlafou1
Posts
55
Likes
67
Am I nuts? I’m very seriously considering selling my 145.022-69 DON with dark chocolate dial to fund my first Rolex (likely SubC date or Explorer II).

One on hand I tell myself “you can always find a Sub, but you can’t always find a quality vintage Speedy”. On the other hand, I have very few watches and don’t rotate often. I wear my Speedy all the time but do so extremely cautiously.

So the idea of a daily driver that is durable, waterproof and set & forget is appealing. If I had the funds to keep the DON and buy the Sub I would, but unfortunately that’s not the case.

Any comments and thoughts are appreciated!
 
jlafou1
Posts
55
Likes
67
Yes I know this thread is worthless without pics.

*Edit: deleted pics for some believing me to be side stepping the sales rules.
Edited:
 
ICONO
Posts
1,589
Likes
5,742
A frequently trodden, attempted ‘swerve’, around the Forum Sales Rules

Try to be more creative, next time……if there is… a next time ?
 
jlafou1
Posts
55
Likes
67
ICONO ICONO
A frequently trodden, attempted ‘swerve’, around the Forum Sales Rules

Try to be more creative, next time……if there is… a next time ?

It seems everyone is guilty until proven innocent on OF. A shame but understandable. I’ve deleted the pictures as a show of good faith. My original post still remains valid and would appreciate input.
 
Darlinboy
Posts
8,742
Likes
69,426
The SubC is much more practical if you’re only going to have one watch. Or keep the Speedmaster and buy a couple of cheap beaters.
 
watchknut
Posts
4,043
Likes
13,943
A SubC or Explorer II...please, don’t do it.

If you sell the chocolate Speedy at least get something with some patina. Maybe a nice 16800 serviced and pressure tested.
 
B
Posts
10
Likes
13
Going to go with the "trade it" camp, purely for the fact that watches should be worn w/o the person wearing it being too "conscious" of it. Fearing of it getting banged up and dinged up takes the enjoyment away IMO.
 
rkman11
Posts
1,706
Likes
5,682
Stick with the Speedy! As much as I love Rolex (and I DO!) Speedy prices are going insane, and there may still be room for them to climb. Whereas pretty much any modern Rolex (Daytona aside) are dropping in value the minute you walk out the store. Like a new car.
My two cents: keep the Speedy and save for a Sub of your choice that’s 10-15 years old, pressure tested, sapphire, etc etc modern convinces, in the 5-6 K range.
 
Davidt
Posts
11,991
Likes
20,831
Take the value factor out of it as we should buy watches we like, regardless of value.

If you knew your Speedmaster wasn't going to see any further increase (it may not!), would you prefer a Sub? If so, do it.

An alternative would be to keep the Speedy and buy something like a Seiko 007...
 
ANALOGUE
Posts
549
Likes
5,331
Have to be the worst idea in the history of man kind... 😉

A SubC, besides boring, is way too expensive. It sells used to the price of a new but there is difinately no scarce supply. The market for 5 and 6 digit Rolexes has to be the strangest of all markets. People pay crazy premium to get a new (for example Pepsi) because they dont want to wait a couple of years... It has to Come down sooner or later.

Just my two cents 😀

Sure vintage speedies are expensive, but supply is limited (relatively speaking)
Edited:
 
Reborn
Posts
267
Likes
302
jlafou1 jlafou1
Am I nuts? I’m very seriously considering selling my 145.022-69 DON with dark chocolate dial to fund my first Rolex (likely SubC date or Explorer II).

One on hand I tell myself “you can always find a Sub, but you can’t always find a quality vintage Speedy”. On the other hand, I have very few watches and don’t rotate often. I wear my Speedy all the time but do so extremely cautiously.

So the idea of a daily driver that is durable, waterproof and set & forget is appealing. If I had the funds to keep the DON and buy the Sub I would, but unfortunately that’s not the case.

Any comments and thoughts are appreciated!

I would suggest, keep the Omega.
 
abrod520
Posts
11,920
Likes
39,158
Everybody and their brother has a Rolex but a lot fewer have a good vintage tropical Speedmaster. Buy a beater Seiko or Hamilton for daily wear
 
larryganz
Posts
2,808
Likes
8,338
jlafou1 jlafou1
Am I nuts? I’m very seriously considering selling my 145.022-69 DON with dark chocolate dial to fund my first Rolex (likely SubC date or Explorer II).

One on hand I tell myself “you can always find a Sub, but you can’t always find a quality vintage Speedy”. On the other hand, I have very few watches and don’t rotate often. I wear my Speedy all the time but do so extremely cautiously.

So the idea of a daily driver that is durable, waterproof and set & forget is appealing. If I had the funds to keep the DON and buy the Sub I would, but unfortunately that’s not the case.

Any comments and thoughts are appreciated!

Sell ALL others that you don’t rotate, KEEP the Speedy, save for the rest of the funds to buy your Rolex - you can get a nice used SS or TT Sub for $5-7K.
 
jimmyd13
Posts
3,172
Likes
7,325
Have you tried the Sub and Explorer II on?

I have (just one now) a vintage speedmaster. I also have a vintage sub and an Explorer II. A modern sub wears completely differently to all three of those watches. There is an elegance to vintage toolwatches that is missing in their modern counterparts. The Explorer II still manages to keep those proportions. More than that elegance though, there is a warmth and a "personalitly" that comes with the decades of wear, age and patina.

You will miss all of that with your modern choice.
 
Foo2rama
Posts
17,750
Likes
26,934
Davidt Davidt
Take the value factor out of it as we should buy watches we like, regardless of value.

If you knew your Speedmaster wasn't going to see any further increase (it may not!), would you prefer a Sub? If so, do it.

An alternative would be to keep the Speedy and buy something like a Seiko 007...

At the very least get a 007 or 009 to see if you like wearing a diver first.

While I applaud wanting the date as you might as well get the most Rolex Rolex as possible, the ceramics have no soul to me.
 
jlafou1
Posts
55
Likes
67
Thanks for the feedback everyone. I’ve tried on the no date sub, explorer II, gmt, etc. They wear well on my wrist but at the end of the day I know my Speedy is hard to replace yet as someone with a limited collection it’s hard to let it sit in the safe all week. The majority of feedback suggests buying a better daily. Now I regret selling my Sinn 104 St SA A...

I think the correct answer is to stopping lusting and start saving.
 
jlafou1
Posts
55
Likes
67
airansun airansun
Wear it. Really. It’s not a sugar plum.

I do, and that’s the issue. It’s really the only super valuable piece I own so I’m always cautious about how i wear it. I don’t want to buy another daily to let this sit in the safe. Yet I hate to give it up. ::facepalm1::
 
Sherbie
Posts
1,325
Likes
1,868
Well, just have it as a single watch, but insure it for the full replacement value ( and keep getting an appraisal at lease once a year, the way speedy prices are rising)
 
15 More Posts...
Sign up or log in to reply...

Similar threads

WhatYourWatchSay

Need some help from vintage Heuer Carrera experts

WhatYourWatchSay Open Discussion
Mark020
Mark020
Posts
23
Views
4K
O

Omega purchase from Vintage-Watches-Collection

Omega Seller Profiles & Reviews
O
Omega
Posts
0
Views
33K
zercado

Thoughts On This 1951 Seamaster From Vintage-watches-collection.com

zercado Vintage Omega Watches Help, Discussion and Advice
Privateday7
Privateday7
Posts
8
Views
2K