They are available guys but sadly, you have to be important enough to deserve one. Met a guy a couple times through a mutual friend and he was wearing a white dial daytona once, and the next time a tiffany dial nautilus. I am not a big fan of modern but there are 2 or 3 watches I would like from my AD that treats me like a pariah. This friend of a friend said he got 2 ss jubilee pepsi’s from that same AD so I promptly asked how he gets 2 of the same allocated watches (in addition to ss aquanut and daytona) and I only get grinning salespeople. The short answer is pay to play. He buys a bunch of dj or op for employees and customers and in return they call him when they get “limited supply” pieces. He asked me what I wanted and said it won’t be more than 4 weeks to get it to me.

 

Sure, I only actually want an OP. Can’t even get one of those. I had no intention of asking for anything like a GMT / Sub etc.

 

OPs are fairy easy to get.

I'm on the list for an E1 but asked them to call me if a white or black dial OP39 came in. I got a call four weeks later to say a white 39 was mine if I wanted it. I had a look but decided to wait for the Explorer.

I should say they required me to prove that I lived local to the area as they want to prioritise local customers.

Still waiting the the Explorer....

 

Like I said, 2 OP34 in 4 ADs total. One of the guys said he hadn’t seen a black OP36 for 6 months. Seems weird to me.

 

Hmmm...My wife is infatuated with the OP 26 with a red grape dial. Try to get one at an AD. These AD will try to sell you anything other than the piece you want.

 

Stopped by a

Not at any of the ADs I’ve been to in the last 6 months, and that includes Tampa, New York City, Chicago, and San Diego. No 36mm OPs in stock at any of them, a few 39mm but only white dial. Lots of datejusts with diamond markers, which is what every dealer tried to steer me toward and not the 36mm OP I wanted.

I’ve pretty much given up on getting one now. Don’t want to play these silly games.

 

You and I have very different definitions of easy to get. Easy to get means you can walk into any AD and get one on the spot. Having to wait on a chance to get one in 4 weeks is not easy to get.

 

Perhaps.

Relative to other Rolex sports watches, I'd call that easy.

 

What really bothers me is lies that some AD's tell you. I went to 3 AD's who promptly laughed in my face at my request for a Submariner. The 4th AD had a SubC that he sold me and was able to order the exact DJ my wife wanted...

 

Absolute classic.

I thought to myself this morning that maybe 34 is actually the best size for me as I wear a lot of vintage 34mm watches and I prefer the 34 dial to the double batons on the 36. So, I popped out to one of the AD's from yesterday to pick up the 34. It's already on hold for another customer so I walked down to the Rolex 'boutique'. The black 34 was there so I said "I'll take it".

However, I went to pay and they refuse Apple Pay. Physical cards only. First place I've found in Australia with that policy in several years and I haven't carried a physical card or cash in about 18 months so I had to walk away despite being willing and able to pay. Everything is on my phone these days - credit cards, debit cards, drivers licence, gym membership. Plus, you literally need to have the cardholder's face with you to use Apple Pay which is much more secure than a bit of plastic who could belong to anyone. Granted, I could cut someone's head off and use it to pay but I think it would be suspicious.

I'm taking it as a sign that modern Rolex is not in my future.

 

I swung by an AD near my outreach clinic last week. I was shocked to see an Explorer I sitting in the display case. They apparently had an Air King for a few days as well, but had sold it a few hours before I came in. I was tempted to pick up the Explorer, but decided to keep waiting for an Explorer II to show up. For what it’s worth, the sales rep said they were seeing a slight uptick in the number of stainless steel watches Rolex was pushing their way.

 

Don’t holiday in Darwin and leave the CBD, cash is still used for everything in the NT, Met many tourists who have sat at a Service station remote waiting for the internet to come back on for a few hours or more so they could pay for the fuel that had just pumped thinking Credit Cards work everywhere

 

Cash is always king, especially in emergencies which can crop up anytime. We have at least $2,000 in cash in small bills at home. Just look at the current situation, people are lining up to hoard foodstuffs and paper products. If the electronic systems go down many people would be unable to cope.

 

Finally, as markets in different parts of the world shut down, Rolex is finally able to stock the rest of the markets that are still open. Those of you who still want Rolex watches better get a move on as it will be shut down all over soon.

 

Can't you just ask them to hold it for you for a couple of hours while you went home to get your credit card? I mean you have to have one in order to set up the Apple Pay in the first place?

 

That was my first thought, too.

 

They probably could have. Didn’t offer it. I might try one more time today if I can get into town.

 

You got it - looks great

 

This won’t help the shortage: Rolex just announced the closure of their production facilities due to Covid-19. Only a ten day closure but assume it will be longer than that.

https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/rolex-closes-swiss-factories-amid-coronavirus-pandemic