I like the reverse snobbery idea of shunning luxury brands and wearing quality but non-luxury items. I and my money would rather work on our "relationship" with investment accounts.
If you act fast you can still get one of the latest and best authentic Polex watches from vendors in Time’s square for really good prices. And by “in Time’s Square I mean literally in it, they’ll be out on the streets.
They operate the same way if you want the Birkin handbag from Hermes
That’s ridiculous!
I saw a guy selling Rolexes out of the trunk of his car just yesterday!..............
IOWs Shopper must prove their stupidity to buy the latest models.🤷♂️
I like watches a little bit and I have a couple. I'm getting old now so I have some savings and I could afford Rolex (one! just one!) but I choose instead to buy from a brand called Orient. Japanese, precision automatic mechanical movements. Accuracy on par with the best swiss watches (I measured one to about 2 seconds per day lost which is outstanding for a mechanical watch). Very good quality for under $200 at the time. I'm quite pleased with that decision.
I'm assuming that eventually Rolex will run out of Oligarchs and Sheiks to sell to and will once again deign to accept money from the unwashed normal people. But not from me.
When I did wear one, it was a Seiko, a Swatch or something like that. Something I could afford to scratch, break or lose. Don't think I ever spent over $100 on one.
The Rolex watches look nice and I'm sure they are of excellent quality. But it never appealed to me to have one. I would be constantly worried about scratching it or having it stolen. Maybe if I was super rich and had bodyguards I would wear one.
My wife keeps her one real pearl necklace in our safe. She has other sets of imitation pearl necklaces in her jewelry box for everyday use. Personally, I can't tell the difference when she's wearing them - and that gets her madder than hell.
As I was thinking of moving up the corporate ladder I was attending a formal function in my Tux and when I checked the time it was on my timex ironman watch. Since I had the money I decided to buy a used Rolex, got a deal on a 1977 Presidential which I put as a belated college graduation present (class of 77).
Now it’s been in its box for about 2 years as I like my smartwatch and no longer attend formal functions.
I used to work in the jewelry business some decades ago, and if a person had the dough or the credit, we sold him the Rolex. One thing about Rolexes, at least then, is they were frequently in the shop for repairs. These days I wear a Timex. It takes a licking and keeps on ticking.
Meh, Casios keep better time.
But if someone wants to pay $50K for a man-bracelet, to each his own.
Here comes the day when you’ll no longer be able to buy a real Rolex but only lease one on subscription and it’ll be tracked. You’ll only be allowed to get one if your social media score is correct enough.
My $80 Seiko does a great job. I just have to replace the twist-o-flex band every couple of years. The $40 Timex also did fine, but my sweat interacting with the back of the watch turned my wrist green.
My $24.95 Casio analog waterproof has been through 20 years of motorcycle riding, hunting... just about everything. If I had to wear a Rolex I wouldn’t have done those things at all. To me an expensive watch is a detriment. Like my poor friend who spent years restoring a 1964 Porsche 912 and was constantly terrified it would be stolen and didn’t like to drive it anywhere. He finally sold it to someone else who is probably stuck at home, sweating.
No one is going to shoot you or knock you on the head for a Casio.
The prices have gotten ridiculous.
I tried to buy the Yacht-Master II Oyster Stainless steel and the prices were way more than I thought the watch was worth.
Same with the Daytona.
Rolex is making the same number of watches they always have. They will not increase production as that could compromise quality. The demand for luxury items as investments is crazy now. Just try to buy a new Ferrari.You can’t. An unworn Patek Philippe watch in stainless steel bought at MSRP($43K) from an authorized dealer may sell for $125K on the used market. Likewise Rolex sells for two to three times MSRP on the secondary market now. If you have a history with an AD, you wait on a list for a Rolex or Patek, and you pay MSRP. If you aren’t on the list, you have to buy used. It is simply supply and demand, and demand is through the roof!
When I went on my first deployment over to the Med on the USS JFK back in 1977, they were selling the stainless steel Rolex watches in the Ship’s Store. I sprung for one, because it is simple, unpretentious and...heavy! It “feels” like quality!
It cost $150, I still have the receipt and the case.
I still wear it today. My dad had one just like it that he got in the late Fifties, and I destroyed it trying to “fix” it for him.
It had been in his dresser drawer for a few years not working, and when I was about seven, I tried to take it apart with a vise, a hammer, and a screwdriver.
I destroyed it, and in a panic, threw it in the trash. For the rest of his life, I would hear him muse quietly on that watch, muttering “I wonder whatever happened to that watch...”
And I never told him before he died. But...now he knows...:)
I loved those guys, love hurts.
“I like the reverse snobbery idea of shunning luxury brands and wearing quality but non-luxury items.”
Yes, the only practical reason to buy a Rolex vs 100 other brands of high quality non-Rolex watches is if you simply must have the status symbol of a Rolex.