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I don't understand the recent Rolex SS craze/shortage. What am I missing?

  1. mmaggi Feb 21, 2020

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    I will never understand the Rolex craze. Omega, IWC & others offer watches that are every bit as good if not better. Omega's latest offerings with their METAS approved Co-Axial movements, ceramic dials & bezels are mountains better than what Rolex offers, not to mention they are readily available at ADs and at a significant discount (excluding LEs). The SS Rolex sport models are $4k watches at best. But because of supply the MSRP is more than double. Whatever.
     
  2. speedydownunder Feb 21, 2020

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    congrats!
     
  3. profzhu Feb 21, 2020

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    Still can't believe how the situation in asia is so bad. The hour glass in Singapore doesn't seem to operate on a real waitlist system. And the AD in bangkok requires me to spend 1M THB on classic models to qualify a position on their waitlist.
     
  4. Fatcat Feb 21, 2020

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    Today spotted a 44mm yacht master the time to think about it was gone , but successfully ordered a sub no date and a sub date for an waiting time of 2 to 3 months , all the other watches no way to order or be in the list.
     
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  5. jankymutt Feb 21, 2020

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    On the Rolex forum there seems to be a small flurry of 114060's that people picked up this week. Maybe the market is softening for them? Maybe Rolex is clearing stock out in anticipation of a new version coming out at Basel World in a few months?
     
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  6. EauTerre Feb 23, 2020

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    That's all fine and dandy, but have you seen their design ? The Seamaster 300 looks horrible (to me and many others). What good are METAS and ceramic when the final product looks awful ? Food for thought.
     
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  7. Archer Omega Qualified Watchmaker Feb 23, 2020

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    Taste is personal. For me, the current crop of bulky lugged cases that Rolex uses on the sport models are pretty ugly. There's nothing in their current line-up that I consider to be good looking. Then again, I feel almost the same way about Omega's modern offerings, but I can find a few I don't mind.
     
  8. mmaggi Feb 23, 2020

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    The Seamaster 300M looks horrible? Really? You're entitled to your opinion. I've tried them on and one my very good friends purchased the gray dial version. I tried his on as well. It's f#cking gorgeous! It's a ceramic dial for crying out loud. Absolutely stunning. The Planet Oceans are stunningly beautiful as well.

    Rolex has NOTHING on Omega. Absolutely nothing.
     
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  9. MTROIS Feb 23, 2020

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    Al, you mean you don’t like the “smallish” DeepSea 44 x 17+ mm??? ;)

    Sarcasm aside, I have now fallen for that D-Blue dial and am impressed by the technical feat... so may try to pick one up for my daily desk diving!! As you said: taste is personal. :thumbsup:
     
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  10. larryganz The cable guy Feb 25, 2020

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    Good luck with that - I've been on "the list" since last July...
     
  11. cvalue13 Feb 25, 2020

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    Skip the line!
     
  12. joeshoup Feb 26, 2020

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    Indeed, compared to my classy little 90s datejust, the current crop of Rolexes are just too big, chunky, and shiny for my taste. Same goes for the Omega POs - as much as I want to love them, a 44mm watch is just never going to make me happy. Guess I'm stuck with vintage :cool:
     
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  13. larryganz The cable guy Feb 26, 2020

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    Need a 126660 Deep Blue. 4 weeks ago I turned down a 1 month old 126660 because my AD thinks they will have one for me in a couple of months for MSRP and $800 less than the used one I was offered.
     
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  14. FBPB Feb 26, 2020

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    It's called marketing and creating an artificial demand through scarcity, which in the short terms makes your brand more desirable, but usually costs a company in the long term.

    It also doesn't help that some Rolex ADs pick and choose who gets a watch, rather than selling it to the next person on the list. This is called exclusion marketing, ie: "you're not worthy". That's a great way to piss off a lot of people.

    Also people tend to develop a "mania" for things. It's little different than the craze for fidget spinners a few years ago, or the "must have christmas toy this year". Only maybe because it's a higher-ticket item, it lasts longer. It's somewhat similar to the Tulip Mania in the 1600s (I know a lot of Rolex aficionados fight tooth and nail against that comparison, but all bubbles, like economies, eventually implode and reset).

    This too shall pass.

    As HK is seeing watch sales decline over the past months, due originally to the social/political unrest, and now the Coronavirus, there may indeed be more Rolex available on the market in the West. However, to be honest, the people I see locally going into the Rolex ADs are tourists, not locals. I personally only know 1 person who wears a Rolex, and he bought it in 1967. Those that I have seen wearing a Rolex are foreigners.

    Personally, I'm more partial to Omega.
     
    Edited Feb 26, 2020
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  15. MTROIS Feb 26, 2020

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    Hang in there, because this one should become available relatively easily. I was proposed one by my AD in December, but since I was just about to pick up my Apollo 11 50th SS, I politely declined after making sure that this was not going to hurt my relationship with them.
    Hoping that I will get one this year, and certainly hoping it will not be discontinued before I do.

    As an aside, I had a discussion with my sales person and he, of course, confirmed that people who have an established relationship (not solely based on dollar-spent) with them, DO skip the line vs. someone who just showed up from nowhere. It does make sense to cultivate a good relationship with your business partners.
     
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  16. MTROIS Feb 26, 2020

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    There is absolutely, definitely, positively NO WAY that I will ever feed the frenzy by acquiring this or any Rolex pro model from a grey seller and other “flipper”. ::rant:

    Screw these ::censored:: ::censored:: ::censored::!!!!
     
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  17. jankymutt Feb 26, 2020

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    I do agree with you that the Seamaster is gorgeous! I adore my 2018 300m. Unfortunately, the 42mm case size is a bit big for my little wrist. I disagree that "Rolex has nothing on Omega". I like them both!!
     
  18. jankymutt Feb 26, 2020

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    I agree with this, but not by supporting grey dealers. Screw them.

    I walked into my Rolex AD and hit if off with the SA. Maybe it was the quick rapport. Maybe I was just in the right place at the right time. Or maybe there is suddenly more stock, but I was able to walk out with an SS model with no prior purchase history there.
     
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  19. cvalue13 Feb 26, 2020

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    :whipped:
     
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  20. base615 Mar 15, 2020

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    Wanted to have a look at a 36mm Oyster Perpetual today. Went to 4 ADs in Sydney and was able to see a grand total of 2 x 34mm OPs between them. I thought it was just sports models that were unavailable but each AD, including the ‘boutique’ which only sells Rolex, had an average of about 10 watches each, all of them the ugly as fuck bicolour models.

    Kind of looks pretty stupid having as many sales staff as you have watches and about 100 empty pillows sans-watch on display. Bizarre.