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Vercingetorix
··Spam RiskI think it is an attempt by Rolex to keep the market for used Rolexes from collapsing. Resale has always been a strong selling point for them. Investing a little now helps them long term.
Rolex Announces Its Official Certified Pre-Owned Programme
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DaveK
·So we are going to have to buy 12 gold plated quartz Seiko’s, 8 broken Benrus’, 3 19mm chrome plated ladies watches and 5 G-shocks that look like they got run over by a truck to be on the waiting list for a CPO Rolex.
I'm not sure why you feel the need to mock my collection at every opportunity 😬
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JwRosenthal
·I'm not sure why you feel the need to mock my collection at every opportunity 😬
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bananapeanut
·I think it is an attempt by Rolex to keep the market for used Rolexes from collapsing. Resale has always been a strong selling point for them. Investing a little now helps them long term.
I think you're right. They're thinking long term. The whole used watch market will probably collapse except for the most exceptional watches. Mechanical watches practically never end up in landfills and tens of thousands of them are injected into the market everyday. Ultimately, the number of used watches on the market will keep growing to a point of saturation.
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DaveK
·Those 19mm ladies watches look great on you, Dave- don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
😀
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gbesq
·Sure but how will other ADs (or Rolex) know if your watch is a front or back door watch when you try to trade it in ?
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Larry S
··Color Commentator for the Hyperbole.Talking to the service rep yesterday, I so happy with what I got back that I was quizzing her on what exactly their policy is on servicing vintage. I came away with the impression that they want to make it as difficult as possible to keep our old birds in top and original condition. She was apologetic and said she can’t get service parts for them either. Rolex wants em back in Swiss hands and will send back a “new” watch.
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gbesq
·Talking to the service rep yesterday, I so happy with what I got back that I was quizzing her on what exactly their policy is on servicing vintage. I came away with the impression that they want to make it as difficult as possible to keep our old birds in top and original condition. She was apologetic and said she can’t get service parts for them either. Rolex wants em back in Swiss hands and will send back a “new” watch.
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Dan S
·Talking to the service rep yesterday, I so happy with what I got back that I was quizzing her on what exactly their policy is on servicing vintage. I came away with the impression that they want to make it as difficult as possible to keep our old birds in top and original condition. She was apologetic and said she can’t get service parts for them either. Rolex wants em back in Swiss hands and will send back a “new” watch.
Was this at an AD? What reference/movement was she talking about?
An independent watchmaker with an approved Rolex parts account can still get parts for some references and movements, although Rolex does put limits on that, e.g. I heard recently that they're no longer providing parts for 15xx movements. However, it is apparently not a problem to get parts for most watches from the 1980s and newer, and some parts for older watches.
Of course, just because the store may be a Rolex AD doesn't mean that they have a watchmaker with a Rolex parts account, Rolex has eliminated the majority of those in the US. Many Rolex ADs send watches to off-site watchmakers.
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TheGreekPhysique
·Hasn't this already been going on for a while? Places like Bucherer in KOP have been selling pre owned rolex for at least a year now. I also don't think this whole certified thing is going to work. From my experience most of the employees in that Bucherer store know nothing about any models greater than a couple of years old. They had a matte 5513 that clearly had service hands and bezel and was trying to sell it to me like it was completely original. For anyone who has a bit of knowledge this wont mean anything.
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bananapeanut
·Places like Bucherer in KOP have been selling pre owned rolex for at least a year now. I also don't think this whole certified thing is going to work. From my experience most of the employees in that Bucherer store know nothing about any models greater than a couple of years old. They had a matte 5513 that clearly had service hands and bezel and was trying to sell it to me like it was completely original.
I think that's a perfect example of what's wrong with the current system. If Rolex do it right with their new program, the 5513 you mentioned would be sent to them by the AD and come back with the list of what's original and what's not. I assume they would also replace all the aftermarket parts and could also include the equivalent of an extract from the archive. Being able to purchase a certified pre-owned 5513 that way would be amazing.
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Dan S
·I think that's a perfect example of what's wrong with the current system. If Rolex do it right with their new program, the 5513 you mentioned would be sent to them by the AD and come back with the list of what's original and what's not. I assume they would also replace all the aftermarket parts and could also include the equivalent of an extract from the archive. Being able to purchase a certified pre-owned 5513 that way would be amazing.
I don't know why you expect that Rolex will enumerate what is original and what is not. I have no evidence that they care about that at all, since they always try to replace original parts. They also never release information from their archives, so I strongly doubt that will happen. Most likely they will just certify it as authentic and offer a warranty. They're not in the business of catering to vintage collectors.
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Aroxx
·Harley Davidson did this earlier this year or late last year. Supply chain issues from the pandemic killed the supply of new motorcycles and the used market was hot and prices high. Harleys are a luxury motorcycle with premium prices and Harley wanted a piece of that used market pie. So they can buy cheap, give it a factory certified inspection which is mostly BS and resell it at a premium. Like Rolex, Harleys hold value very well even for very old bikes unlike cheaper Japanese motorcycles that depreciate in value quickly. Oh yea... watches....
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p4ul
·Leasing ... next thing you know they'll be selling shares of a watch.
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TheGreekPhysique
·I think that's a perfect example of what's wrong with the current system. If Rolex do it right with their new program, the 5513 you mentioned would be sent to them by the AD and come back with the list of what's original and what's not. I assume they would also replace all the aftermarket parts and could also include the equivalent of an extract from the archive. Being able to purchase a certified pre-owned 5513 that way would be amazing.
The more likely result would be, instead of just the hands and bezel replaced with service parts, they would replace everything including the dial and polish the case further devalue the watch.
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bananapeanut
·I don't know why you expect that Rolex will enumerate what is original and what is not. I have no evidence that they care about that at all, since they always try to replace original parts. They also never release information from their archives, so I strongly doubt that will happen. Most likely they will just certify it as authentic and offer a warranty. They're not in the business of catering to vintage collectors.
I believe you are most likely right. Let's just hope they'll one day start treating vintage pieces with more respect because ultimately preservation is in their own best interest. At Omega they understand that. Do we know what Rolex's new facility will be about?
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Larry S
··Color Commentator for the Hyperbole.Was this at an AD? What reference/movement was she talking about?
An independent watchmaker with an approved Rolex parts account can still get parts for some references and movements, although Rolex does put limits on that, e.g. I heard recently that they're no longer providing parts for 15xx movements. However, it is apparently not a problem to get parts for most watches from the 1980s and newer, and some parts for older watches.
Of course, just because the store may be a Rolex AD doesn't mean that they have a watchmaker with a Rolex parts account, Rolex has eliminated the majority of those in the US. Many Rolex ADs send watches to off-site watchmakers.
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