Rolex- the stupidest, lamest company

The new Tudor BB41 White gives off a 16800 Sub vibe.
 
I am currently working out in Hawaii for a few months and decided to stop by the local Tudor dealer. To my great surprise they had just gotten the new Black Bay in.

Couldn’t pass up the opportunity to be the first in the state to own one three days after it came out. It was in the Pacific two hours after leave the case. I highly recommend this watch.

IMG_9056.jpeg
 
The call I get all the time from people is this one: "Rolexes are too Nuevo riche and pretentious, I don't want one". "However, my requirement is liquidity and appreciation as an alternative asset class".

It's an oxymoron. You can't whine about how pretentious Rolex is and then go out and buy an Omega, Tag, Seiko, Panerei, Tudor, Rado, Cartier, etc, etc and expect to have an appreciating alternative asset class.

There is jewelry and then there are alternative asset classes. The bus stops first at Rolex, and to a far lesser extent the next stop is Patek.

The other play on this scenario is this one: "Fine, you've convinced me, Rolex is the best financial performer, but I sure as hell am not getting a sport watch, I'm getting a datejust or oyster perpetual!". Yeah, it doesn't work that way either. Those are common as dirt, most of them have gone down in value due to material, dial color, band type, or out of fashion small sizes".

If you want to spend money frivilously on something you can afford that brings you joy, buy whatever the heck makes you happy. But if you think you're building a nest-egg with alternative assets, you actually have to follow market demand, you can't use force of will to alter the market.
 
I am currently working out in Hawaii for a few months and decided to stop by the local Tudor dealer. To my great surprise they had just gotten the new Black Bay in.

Couldn’t pass up the opportunity to be the first in the state to own one three days after it came out. It was in the Pacific two hours after leave the case. I highly recommend this watch.

View attachment 599580
Great looking piece!
 
@rookhawk I’m confused?

“It's an oxymoron. You can't whine about how pretentious Rolex is and then go out and buy an Omega, Tag, Seiko, Panerei, Tudor, Rado, Cartier, etc, etc and expect to have an appreciating alternative asset class.”

Are you say that the purchase of one of these watches is frivolous because they have not appreciated at the same rate Rolex has?
 
@rookhawk I’m confused?

“It's an oxymoron. You can't whine about how pretentious Rolex is and then go out and buy an Omega, Tag, Seiko, Panerei, Tudor, Rado, Cartier, etc, etc and expect to have an appreciating alternative asset class.”

Are you say that the purchase of one of these watches is frivolous because they have not appreciated at the same rate Rolex has?

Yes. The rate of return on investment for a Rolex sport watch eclipses the other brands as a generalization. Generally, by a tremendous amount I might add.

I hooked my friend up with a Rolex no-date sub from an authorized dealer in 2012. $3800 cash. That watch today is $12,000.

That performance just doesn’t happen with a garden variety breitling, or Tag, or omega, or rado, or Cellini, or Tudor, or Cartier, or, or or.
 
Yes. The rate of return on investment for a Rolex sport watch eclipses the other brands as a generalization. Generally, by a tremendous amount I might add.

I hooked my friend up with a Rolex no-date sub from an authorized dealer in 2012. $3800 cash. That watch today is $12,000.

That performance just doesn’t happen with a garden variety breitling, or Tag, or omega, or rado, or Cellini, or Tudor, or Cartier, or, or or.
Although the rate of return over the last decade for Rolex may be true, saying the purchase of one of the other well known brands as “frivolous” is not!
Rolex prices have skyrocketed over the last decade because of investors and shady practices by Rolex themselves!
As to the others I don’t know if you paying attention but Tag Carreras are WAY up As are their Monaco’s both new and used…
My Omega PO has grown in value by 50% over the last ten years. The cost of my Panerai and Franck Muller are also up! All the watches I own have never lost value and all can be sold for more than I purchased them for!
I also own two Rolex watches, a Polar Explorer II Maxi case and an anniversary DateJust…
None of the purchases have been frivolous and all of them have both retained and gained in value, all are very nice time pieces that will always have worth and be something of value…
 
Other than Rolex, buy pre-owned from a reputable dealer and you're reasonably safe financially. Easy to track how other brands (with a very few exceptions) take a big depreciation hit.
 
What does "wear reps" mean?
fakes..."replicas" kind of a misnomer as they're not perfect, but generally better quality than what you'd find on say Canal Street or in Tijuana. Usually about 90% correct.
 
fakes..."replicas" kind of a misnomer as they're not perfect, but generally better quality than what you'd find on say Canal Street or in Tijuana. Usually about 90% correct.
A few pages back I mentioned this joke told to me by a Rolex guy, a guy that I've been friends with for many years.

What's worse than wearing a fake Rolex? Wearing a real one. We both laughed because we both knew how common fakes (really good ones) are. It's becoming very hard to tell without having a degree in horology.
 
A few pages back I mentioned this joke told to me by a Rolex guy, a guy that I've been friends with for many years.

What's worse than wearing a fake Rolex? Wearing a real one. We both laughed because we both knew how common fakes (really good ones) are. It's becoming very hard to tell without having a degree in horology.
Yeah something to the tune of 10 to 1 or better. There's a lot of nuance to it, and if you have an eye for it they're generally easy spots. I never try to pass reps off as gens. 99% of people couldn't care less what you're wearing and if someone says something I just tell them if it's a rep which usually leads to more conversation and interest. People who try to pass off reps as gens are probably just as cringeworthy as people who wear gens and have to tell everyone who didn't ask about them. There is certainly a cool feeling about wearing a gen though, especially at work doing some menial task.
 
There is certainly a cool feeling about wearing a gen though, especially at work doing some menial task.
My friends watching me fix commercial boilers wearing a Planet Ocean. Yepper.

Same as my father wearing his Speedmaster while fixing airplanes.
 
Serious question, how many of you would wear your Rolex or Omega, or GS doing farm work, changing oil, or anything along those lines where you know it’s going to get dirty or beat up. I’m genuinely curious about the beatings your watches have taken.
 
Serious question, how many of you would wear your Rolex or Omega, or GS doing farm work, changing oil, or anything along those lines where you know it’s going to get dirty or beat up. I’m genuinely curious about the beatings your watches have taken.
I would and have worn my Omega through all of these jobs! As a merchant I was particularly hard on my PO and have also worn it while putting on a custom Mid-Arm kit onto my 2006 Jeep LJ! That meant using angle grinders, Dermels, chisels, and hammers while grinding all the stock suspension mounts off! I wore my PO all through my Jeep build including rebuilding axles and transfer cases!
I wore it all day everyday at work while throwing freight, climbing steel, banging it off jagged concrete and bolt heads, and fixing A/C and refrigerant units…
I could on but I think you get the point lol
This watch has shown to be indestructible!!!
 
Serious question, how many of you would wear your Rolex or Omega, or GS doing farm work, changing oil, or anything along those lines where you know it’s going to get dirty or beat up. I’m genuinely curious about the beatings your watches have taken.
Fixing commercial boilers isn't farm work, but I'd argue that they are nearly equal in abuse. At my wife's request, I've gone back to wearing the G-Shock for work to somewhat preserve the condition of my Omega watches. Although they are not spared any easy days on the weekends.

All together, I suppose I wore my Planet Ocean for about 2 years in the field. My father wore his Speedmaster daily for nearly 20 years before breaking the crystal and damaging the face while working as a commercial airline mechanic. I know many more military operators who wore their Rolex watches and beat the ever living hell out of them with little regard for their future.

Quality timepieces will endure. Rubbish will land in the bin.
 
Serious question, how many of you would wear your Rolex or Omega, or GS doing farm work, changing oil, or anything along those lines where you know it’s going to get dirty or beat up. I’m genuinely curious about the beatings your watches have taken.

Wore my old seadweller every day for 8 years, including while completely ground-up renovating an old home. Drywall, moving load bearing walls, roofing, gardening, etc. I took it off to clean it when I showered, that’s it.

Since then I’ve worn a sub mariner of one stripe or another almost every day (a few exceptions for Deep Seas, Mil gauss, etc). That includes safaris, international business, operating a log splitter, felling trees with a chainsaw, or any other task.

They are designed to be incredibly durable and they are “sport watches” designed for very hard technical use. To wear them only on special occasions is sort of a waste.
 

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Grz63 wrote on Doug Hamilton's profile.
Hello Doug,
I am Philippe from France and plan to go hunting Caprivi in 2026, Oct.
I have read on AH you had some time in Vic Falls after hunting. May I ask you with whom you have planned / organized the Chobe NP tour and the different visits. (with my GF we will have 4 days and 3 nights there)
Thank in advance, I will appreciate your response.
Merci
Philippe
Grz63 wrote on Moe324's profile.
Hello Moe324
I am Philippe from France and plan to go hunting Caprivi in 2026, Oct.
I have read on AH you had some time in Vic Falls after hunting. May I ask you with whom you have planned / organized the Chobe NP tour and the different visits. (with my GF we will have 4 days and 3 nights there)
Thank in advance, I will appreciate your response.
Merci
Philippe
rafter3 wrote on Manny R's profile.
Hey there could I have that jewelers email you mentioned in the thread?
VIGILAIRE wrote on wesheltonj's profile.
Hi Walden. Good morning from England, Chris here (The Englishman!) from Croatia. Firstly it was a pleasure to meet you and Michelle - a fellow Sanderson! I have finally joined AH as I enjoy it very much. Glad you enjoyed the hunt and your write up which I read on AR was very good indeed. I am sending on WhatsApp pics from Bojan of some of the animals hunted recently. Take care and best regards. CS.
 
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