Rolex Day-Date President with diamonds

[seamonster]

Respectable Members


A friend of mine posed this question to me and I am unable to give him an informed answer. Please help.

He intends getting an older yellow gold Rolex Day-Date President. He loves one with diamonds. However, most of the DDs on the market come with an aftermarket diamond dial and also, an aftermarket diamond bezel.

If he were to buy a DD with factory-original dial with diamonds and also, factory-original diamond bezel, over a period of time, will the watch still be collectible, against one without diamonds, at all. Unfortunately, his budget does not allow him to buy one of the collectible Rolex sports watches with date.

From my little experience and exposure, I told my him, collectors will usually stay away from anything that has diamonds, whether aftermarket or factory-original. I stand to be corrected.

Thank-you.

 

[dsio]

seamonster

Respectable Members


A friend of mine posed this question to me and I am unable to give him an informed answer. Please help.

He intends getting an older yellow gold Rolex Day-Date President. He loves one with diamonds. However, most of the DDs on the market come with an aftermarket diamond dial and also, an aftermarket diamond bezel.

If he were to buy a DD with factory-original dial with diamonds and also, factory-original diamond bezel, over a period of time, will the watch still be collectible, against one without diamonds, at all. Unfortunately, his budget does not allow him to buy one of the collectible Rolex sports watches with date.

From my little experience and exposure, I told my him, collectors will usually stay away from anything that has diamonds, whether aftermarket or factory-original. I stand to be corrected.

Thank-you.

Even without diamonds the older YG Day-Dates have limited interest, I mean currently what's happening is this, dealers buy Ref 1803 watches, melt the bracelets for their gold, throw them on a cheap leather strap, and sell them for ~3-4k, having bought them for little over scrap value. There are far more Day-Dates than most people think, as the damn things were given to every retiring banker, police detective, architect, you name it. They were also given as gifts in the middle east and whatnot. These are very common watches, gold or not.

 

[seamonster]

dsio

Even without diamonds the older YG Day-Dates have limited interest, I mean currently what's happening is this, dealers buy Ref 1803 watches, melt the bracelets for their gold, throw them on a cheap leather strap, and sell them for ~3-4k, having bought them for little over scrap value. There are far more Day-Dates than most people think, as the damn things were given to every retiring banker, police detective, architect, you name it. They were also given as gifts in the middle east and whatnot. These are very common watches, gold or not.

Respectable Member dsio



Thank you for the response and also, the invaluable information.

I shall let my friend know and hopefully, he will change his mind and think about something else. Little wonder, there are so many of the DDs, around. Is there any reason/s, as to why there is no potential collectible value for this particular model?

Can the same be said about those much earlier models, say from the mid-50's to the very early 60's, as well as, ones in pink gold or white gold? I know, the platinum ones are sought-after.

As an alternative, do you think it will be better for me to suggest to him to pick up a good Constellation with the bumper automatic movement or even a later model, since I realize the demand for Constellations is on the rise, when compared to the Seamasters.

Thank-you.

 

[seamonster]

dsio

Even without diamonds the older YG Day-Dates have limited interest, I mean currently what's happening is this, dealers buy Ref 1803 watches, melt the bracelets for their gold, throw them on a cheap leather strap, and sell them for ~3-4k, having bought them for little over scrap value. There are far more Day-Dates than most people think, as the damn things were given to every retiring banker, police detective, architect, you name it. They were also given as gifts in the middle east and whatnot. These are very common watches, gold or not.

Respectable Member dsio


Will a Rolex Day-Date in pink gold, such as this one become collectible in the near future or it too will be sold for its scrap value?

Thank-you.

 

[dsio]

Great looking watch but you'll notice it has no bracelet. The bracelets wear out and get loose, and rather than pay to replace them or restore them, dealers scrap the bracelets, throw them on straps and sell them as head only. The gold content left is not much, much of the head's weight is the movement, so by buying for under 5k, dealers can scrap the bracelet for 3k or so, then sell the head on a cheap strap for a profit.

 

[seamonster]

dsio

Great looking watch but you'll notice it has no bracelet. The bracelets wear out and get loose, and rather than pay to replace them or restore them, dealers scrap the bracelets, throw them on straps and sell them as head only. The gold content left is not much, much of the head's weight is the movement, so by buying for under 5k, dealers can scrap the bracelet for 3k or so, then sell the head on a cheap strap for a profit.

Respectable Member dsio


Thanks for your response.

As per your the information, should I tell my friend the value of the Rolex Day-Date, whether in yellow, pink or white gold, as well as, platinum is based on the value of the precious metal content, alone? Basically, its potential as a collectible time-piece is a far-fetched dream and he should stay-away from any Rolex Day-Date, though it is a practical watch for daily wear, since it has a date and the day, displayed in full.

Thank-you.

 

[dsio]

I'm not going to claim to be an expert on Day-Dates, rose gold does carry some premium as does white gold, just don't expect them to be crazy rare, because for gold watches, they did make a lot of them. For the money of a WG Day-Date on strap you can go for a very nice Omega, or even step into a JLC Memovox or an AP/VC ultrathin, something that actually belongs on a strap.

That's the thing when you're buying a Day-Date on a strap, people immediately assume you couldn't afford to replace / maintain the bracelet and scrapped it for cash.

 

[seamonster]

dsio

I'm not going to claim to be an expert on Day-Dates, rose gold does carry some premium as does white gold, just don't expect them to be crazy rare, because for gold watches, they did make a lot of them. For the money of a WG Day-Date on strap you can go for a very nice Omega, or even step into a JLC Memovox or an AP/VC ultrathin, something that actually belongs on a strap.

That's the thing when you're buying a Day-Date on a strap, people immediately assume you couldn't afford to replace / maintain the bracelet and scrapped it for cash.

Respectable Member dsio


Thanks for the advice and I shall relay it to my friend.

It is not easy, trying to convince someone who has an in-built belief, a good watch has to be a Rolex, while others are just a watch.

Thank-you.

 

[ulackfocus]

seamonster

It is not easy, trying to convince someone who has an in-built belief, a good watch has to be a Rolex, while others are just a watch.

Yo don't need to convince them - they're the one with the narrow minded outlook. Rolex is only the start of fine watches not the end-all be-all. Point this neophyte towards the forums. I'd be happy to show him a few links to guys who's collections only include a Rolex as their beater. I know one guy who bought a Daytona for his teenage son to batter while playing goalie. As carefully as I've picked my watches out, I'm small potatoes and don't even play in the same league as them.

Or even better, let them stay oblivious. More Vacherons, Jaegers, and Audemars for me while they scrounge up the money for another Explorer.

 

[seamonster]

U ulackfocus

Yo don't need to convince them - they're the one with the narrow minded outlook. Rolex is only the start of fine watches not the end-all be-all. Point this neophyte towards the forums. I'd be happy to show him a few links to guys who's collections only include a Rolex as their beater. I know one guy who bought a Daytona for his teenage son to batter while playing goalie. As carefully as I've picked my watches out, I'm small potatoes and don't even play in the same league as them.

Or even better, let them stay oblivious. More Vacherons, Jaegers, and Audemars for me while they scrounge up the money for another Explorer.

Respectable Member ulcakfocus


Thanks for your response.

It is difficult to talk to someone about classic watches, when he has never even heard the brand-name, Patek Philippe. To some, popular means best. This is a lot of reading for him to do, before we can speak the same language, I am afraid.

Thank-you.

 

[dsio]

Here's my take on the Day-Date:

It was probably the first watch that made gold on a heavy bracelet acceptable as a dress watch, before that there were still bracelets around, including some very nice gold mesh and brick ones on Omegas among others but it was a rare option, the Constellation was effectively a strapped watch with a bracelet option, and higher end pieces like the Calatrava were strap only for the most part (I've seen a period mesh on a calatrava, not sure if it was a factory option or not but it looks horrid).

The Day-Date as a complication is frankly one of the most pointless in my opinion, if you can't remember what day it is, you should never have been able to afford a quality watch in the first place. The date makes sense, as does the annual calendar complication (not because you forget the month, but because AC's keep the 30/31 day month change in check) throwing the day wheel on is probably just the cheapest way of adding a complication to make the watch look more impressive to justify its price tag.

The bracelet itself, is actually very good, its extremely comfortable, fits the contours of your wrist better than any other Rolex bracelet, and is fairly simple to size. The weight and heft of the bracelet balances the head perfectly, and keeps it sitting flat on the wrist as long as you don't have too much slack. The watch on bracelet looks "like" a bracelet, its a single block of gold on your wrist, small enough to still be subtle, but the bracelet is what really draws the eye from a distance.

Without that, the Day-Date looks all hat and no cowboy.

 

[seamonster]

dsio

Here's my take on the Day-Date:

It was probably the first watch that made gold on a heavy bracelet acceptable as a dress watch, before that there were still bracelets around, including some very nice gold mesh and brick ones on Omegas among others but it was a rare option, the Constellation was effectively a strapped watch with a bracelet option, and higher end pieces like the Calatrava were strap only for the most part (I've seen a period mesh on a calatrava, not sure if it was a factory option or not but it looks horrid).

The Day-Date as a complication is frankly one of the most pointless in my opinion, if you can't remember what day it is, you should never have been able to afford a quality watch in the first place. The date makes sense, as does the annual calendar complication (not because you forget the month, but because AC's keep the 30/31 day month change in check) throwing the day wheel on is probably just the cheapest way of adding a complication to make the watch look more impressive to justify its price tag.

The bracelet itself, is actually very good, its extremely comfortable, fits the contours of your wrist better than any other Rolex bracelet, and is fairly simple to size. The weight and heft of the bracelet balances the head perfectly, and keeps it sitting flat on the wrist as long as you don't have too much slack. The watch on bracelet looks "like" a bracelet, its a single block of gold on your wrist, small enough to still be subtle, but the bracelet is what really draws the eye from a distance.

Without that, the Day-Date looks all hat and no cowboy.

Respectable Member dsio


Thanks for the information.

I have spoken to my friend and relayed all the invaluable information you provide. Apparently, he has made up his mind about Rolex Day-Date in white gold, instead. Very likely a dealer has an example in stock and talked him into buying it.

There is nothing much I could tell him and just wished him good luck and wear the watch in good health.

Thank-you.