Thank you! What country are you from?

 

I'm in the U.S. Just going to be patient...

 

Congratulations on the successful landing, and upcoming wedding!

 

To buy rolex at ADs is not for everybody.

 

Congratulations on the happy event ahead- and being able to get what you were hoping for.

Wondering if there’s a point where all of the talk about deliberate shortages is damaging enough that they would try to reverse or at least render manageable.
It’s not as if their sales are down, and my impression of Swiss watch industry executives is that they are very arrogant, like “my way or the highway” - but that can also backfire, as we saw with Basel World essentially vanishing overnight because they kept taking everyone for granted.

 

I'm "on the list" at my local Rolex dealer, and while I have not spent thuosands with them, I do have a relationship. I'll get one or I won't. Not particularly concerned about it.

 

The watchmaker I know at the Rolex dealer has explained to me that the shortage is not artificial... they're making as many watches as they can and they can't meet the demand. They've tried various ways, and there are apparently labor laws in Switzerland that we're not aware of.

I have no reason to think he's blowing smoke up my ass (that means lying) because we've known each other for a long time and he wouldn't.

But a lie repeated often enough becomes truth.

 

From my experience you have to be willing to meet their demands…I refused to bend to this- keeping a warranty card and signing a document. I gave up the green Rolex submariner and kept my integrity intact. Then I moved to Omega and got a green seamaster and I have not looked back… better watch, better colour.

 

I must admit I was tempted by this Polar Explorer the past month or so. I have never really been that into Rolex but the white dial and the orange GMT hand is absolutely stunning. What a super purchase that is.

 

Seems this is location or AD dependant (or perhaps a view or opinion from people who haven’t actually been to an AD and simply had a chat with them).

At ‘my’ AD I called in around 2019 and asked to buy an Explorer 1. They advised they had none in stock, was a supply/demand issue etc etc but I could put my name in the list. There was no suggestion of having to buy anything to bump me up the list, not was there any arrogance on the sales reps side.

Not sure if I called in after that, perhaps once but that’s it. Anyway I got a call maybe 9 months later saying there was one for me if I wanted it. Great, went in to pick it up. While I was there they asked if I was interested in anything else, “actually I’ve just had a baby and so I’m less comfortable wearing my vintage watches with all the sick, poop and bashing around so yeah I’ve got my eye on a no date Sub”.

Again, no push to buy anything else and this time I certainly didn’t call in the interim as I was knee deep in nappies and work, but 6 months later I got a call offering me one. Again, picked it up, no drama.

I left it at that for a year or so then called in saying I wouldn’t mind a Pepsi GMT on jubilee. They explained the huge demand for these but happily put me on the list in sept 21. I’ve called in maybe twice since then, once to have my E1 resized. In all the times I’ve been in, I’ve never seen any arrogance, never been judged towards buying anything else and they’ve been somewhat apologetic about the lack of availability but explained that they know I’m local, would prefer to sell to local buyers who have a genuine interest in watches (we’ve had a few conversations about vintage watches) and that hopefully they’ll make in roads into their existing list in the next year or so as they’ve closed the list to new requests for the time being to get through what they’ve already got in there.

Same as @SkunkPrince, I get a call - great. I don’t - it happens. If prices keep dropping I’ll buy a 16710 instead but I refuse to pay 2022 asking prices for either these or the ceramics.

 

I suspect if you call the "mother ship" and inform them of this behavior... that dealer will not be for much longer.

 

I purchased a 16610LV in 2008, I purchased a ladies Datejust in 2012. At no point in that buying process did I have to surrender a warranty card and sign a document. To reiterate, I have kept my integrity.

Speaking from my own experience, I have moved away from Rolex and will never, ever return. Buying from Omega was a breath of fresh air- courteous staff, helpful and the experience has left an fantastic impression on my children. The bonus is that the timepiece is more accurate than Rolex!

In any business the customer always has to be the most important factor In the delivery of the service… Omega have that perfected.

 

Congratulations! My wife let me know last night that she wants to get on the waitlist for a Datejust. So we will see how it goes. I am going to take her by the Omega Boutique to see if anything changes her mind.

 

Unfortunately this is not the case. I contacted Rolex in Switzerland and dealt with Rolex in my country, it fell on deaf ears and I still have the emails.

The AD in question is still a dealer, in any case I have moved on. In my own eyes I have a better product… Omega green seamaster blows the Rolex all green submariner out of the water!

 

Good luck, I hope you get the call sooner rather than later.

 

I think that’s totally AD / boutique dependent. I got my Speedy from an AD in 2021 and I was fortunate enough to deal with the owner who was very helpful and made the purchase a pleasure, albeit the purchasing process wasn’t “special” other than the watch itself which we all know is outstanding. I returned to that AD to get the bracelet resized and dealt with a different member of staff who was below average at best.

Everyone I dealt with at AD I purchased the Explorer II was absolutely outstanding in their service and didn’t pressure me in any way and shared their frustration at the wait times. They made the visits more special by offering drinks including champagne every time I visited so the actual buying process was nicer in my opinion.

Overall I’d say the AD I purchased the Rolex from was better than the Omega AD from my experience so it’s definitely not an issue for all Rolex AD’s.

I’m glad you’ve got a watch that you’re happy with and again it’s all subjective so I’m sure there’s plenty of people that prefer a green Rolex.

 

Congrats on the incoming and pending nuptials!

 

Just curious as must be the only one here not understanding… who’s keeping a warranty card and what does it mean? What document had to be signed? Does that mean they would favor people who are willing to waive the warranties?

 

It’s an attempt by an AD to limit or prevent transfer of ownership, with the buyer agreeing that the AD can keep the warranty card for X period of time. A silly way of apparently demonstrating you’re not going to flip the piece.

 

Thanks for explaining, that’s weird, why do they care? What difference does it make to them?