Author Topic: To buy a Rolex or not to buy a Rolex: that is the question  (Read 28375 times)

Just Joe

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Re: To buy a Rolex or not to buy a Rolex: that is the question
« Reply #50 on: December 03, 2021, 08:28:25 AM »
Sometimes I carry one of my antique pocket watches. About 100 years old, accurate enough (+/- couple minutes per day). Worth less than $100. Slip it into my coin pocket on my jeans. Also, my pocket knife.

BlueMR2

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Re: To buy a Rolex or not to buy a Rolex: that is the question
« Reply #51 on: December 03, 2021, 05:18:05 PM »
Sometimes I carry one of my antique pocket watches. About 100 years old, accurate enough (+/- couple minutes per day). Worth less than $100. Slip it into my coin pocket on my jeans. Also, my pocket knife.

Hey!  I've got one of those antique pocket watches as well!  Built in 1900, handed down through the family.  Unfortunately though it needs cleaning bad enough that it sticks now...  I'm too cheap to have that done.  That's also why my go to watches are cheap electronic ones.  I love me some Tag Heuer watches and am willing to drop the purchase cost, but the regular required maintenance intervals are way too frequent and the costs of maintenance are way too high.

BlueHouse

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Re: To buy a Rolex or not to buy a Rolex: that is the question
« Reply #52 on: December 21, 2021, 04:53:57 PM »
My sibling has had a very successful career in sales and salespeople gets all kind of perks for making their numbers.  For a few years in a row, the top sales people won Rolex watches.  Sibling won enough times for them and the spouse to have 3 or 4 each.  I don't know if they both still have all of them, but I do know the ones they wear as their everyday watches are roughly $40K each.  I don't think about it too much, until we're on vacation together.  Undoubtedly, I hear at least once per vacation "Don't wear your watch tonight" because they realize it makes them targets. 

They gave me one some years back, but I gave it back because I didn't want it.  I also gave my sibling my Tank Francaise (Cartier) watch because it was a gift and I'm not really interested in watches.  She forgot I gave it to her and now cannot find it. 

Chris22

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Re: To buy a Rolex or not to buy a Rolex: that is the question
« Reply #53 on: December 21, 2021, 06:06:07 PM »
My Citizen EcoDrive my wife bought me for our wedding finally died after almost 15 years. So she was bugging me for an idea of what to buy me for Christmas, I said let’s go to the watch store and I’ll pick out a new watch you can give me. So off we went. The one I liked the most looked very nice, but I knew from my research it was a higher-priced quartz watch, and they’re looked down on by most watch snobs. So I looked at a bunch of others, many of which were automatic (mechanical) and ~2x the price. And I said well these are more respected. And then I said, wait, who the fuck cares?  Buy the one you like and save $500. So I did.

Metalcat

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Re: To buy a Rolex or not to buy a Rolex: that is the question
« Reply #54 on: December 21, 2021, 06:42:12 PM »
My Citizen EcoDrive my wife bought me for our wedding finally died after almost 15 years. So she was bugging me for an idea of what to buy me for Christmas, I said let’s go to the watch store and I’ll pick out a new watch you can give me. So off we went. The one I liked the most looked very nice, but I knew from my research it was a higher-priced quartz watch, and they’re looked down on by most watch snobs. So I looked at a bunch of others, many of which were automatic (mechanical) and ~2x the price. And I said well these are more respected. And then I said, wait, who the fuck cares?  Buy the one you like and save $500. So I did.

Same. I love my Tissot watch because it's pretty. It's a pretty, pretty bracelet that kind of tells time.

I say "kind of" because the face on it is so small and so elongated that it's virtually impossible to read the hour hand on it. I can tell you it's "20 after something" but is it 1:20 or 2:20?? No fucking clue.

Still, it's a pretty bracelet, and I use my phone to check the time. Lol

Chris22

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Re: To buy a Rolex or not to buy a Rolex: that is the question
« Reply #55 on: December 21, 2021, 08:57:40 PM »
My Citizen EcoDrive my wife bought me for our wedding finally died after almost 15 years. So she was bugging me for an idea of what to buy me for Christmas, I said let’s go to the watch store and I’ll pick out a new watch you can give me. So off we went. The one I liked the most looked very nice, but I knew from my research it was a higher-priced quartz watch, and they’re looked down on by most watch snobs. So I looked at a bunch of others, many of which were automatic (mechanical) and ~2x the price. And I said well these are more respected. And then I said, wait, who the fuck cares?  Buy the one you like and save $500. So I did.

Same. I love my Tissot watch because it's pretty. It's a pretty, pretty bracelet that kind of tells time.

I say "kind of" because the face on it is so small and so elongated that it's virtually impossible to read the hour hand on it. I can tell you it's "20 after something" but is it 1:20 or 2:20?? No fucking clue.

Still, it's a pretty bracelet, and I use my phone to check the time. Lol



I have an Apple Watch I wear almost every day, but there are about 2-3 occasions a month where I dress up and an Apple Watch looks gauche, hence the new jewelry. Wouldn’t bother but since I “needed” a Christmas present anyways…
« Last Edit: December 21, 2021, 09:10:35 PM by Chris22 »

ysette9

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Re: To buy a Rolex or not to buy a Rolex: that is the question
« Reply #56 on: December 21, 2021, 09:09:41 PM »
When I was a kid the "adults" in my life wore Rolexes. My uncle got his I don't know when and wore it for 30+ years until he developed a skin allergy to the steel used in the band. My mother worked odd jobs from home while taking care of my sister and I when we were babies to save up to buy one for my father as a gift one year that had a lot of meaning between the two of them. The funny thing for me to observe growing up is that my aunt and uncle were always ferociously frugal (the janitor would give my uncle half-used rolls of industrial toilet paper to take home during one memorable period) but they wore fancy watches and my aunt has always had fancy wedding rings. They were never into clothes or cars or whatever, though they love antiques and my uncle has a shop in his garage where he lovingly restores them.

From what I gathered to them it meant something beautiful, something hand-crafted. They pointed out early on you spot a fake by the second hand making jumps forward at each second whereas a real one glides forward smoothly. I thought it was cool that you didn't have to wind them up or replace a battery; how cool is the mechanical engineering that goes into such a mechanism?

At one point my goal was to buy one for myself once I hit $100k of personal investments. But that milestone came and went and I never pulled the trigger. I wouldn't get one now but I'd be happy to inherit one from a family member if it ever came to that.

Virtus3

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Re: To buy a Rolex or not to buy a Rolex: that is the question
« Reply #57 on: December 22, 2021, 06:42:13 AM »
I was gifted a Rolex Datejust by my dad when I graduated college. Looking back it seems a bit ridiculous but I've been fascinated by watches since I was young and the watch is very special to me. Ironically I felt very insecure wearing it throughout much of my 20s. I've only received a few comments about it (all positive); I have a significantly less expensive Oris dive watch that gets far more comments and interest if that's what you're going for. These days I wear an older S4 Apple Watch with a scratched up face about 95% of the time.

Hopefully if I ever run into another Mustachian wearing my DJ they won't judge me too severely ha.

Dave1442397

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Re: To buy a Rolex or not to buy a Rolex: that is the question
« Reply #58 on: December 22, 2021, 07:48:04 PM »
They pointed out early on you spot a fake by the second hand making jumps forward at each second whereas a real one glides forward smoothly.

That used to be the case, back when the fakes used quartz movements. There are still cheap fakes using Chinese mechanical movements, but there are also fakes that are so good you need a 10x loupe to see the difference.

Here's a recent video comparing a fake Omega Seamaster to the real thing - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8izNCg4-mgc




ChpBstrd

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Re: To buy a Rolex or not to buy a Rolex: that is the question
« Reply #59 on: December 22, 2021, 08:20:55 PM »
You've all missed the point.

If a 23 year old who can't spell "paid" correctly appears to be wearing a Rolex, everyone will assume it is fake even if it's real.

If OP was robbed at gunpoint, it is doubtful the robber will ask for the watch, because the wearer represents the exact target demographic for faux Rolex watches.

w@nker

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Re: To buy a Rolex or not to buy a Rolex: that is the question
« Reply #60 on: December 22, 2021, 09:37:15 PM »
Nobody is buying watches to wear them as a status symbol these days.  Let’s face it- nobody knows a valuable watch when they see one, and , as some have pointed out, the fakes are so good now that you often can’t tell the difference at quick glance.  That said, the reason that people appreciate and buy fine mechanical watches these days is that there is something marvelous and meaningful about having such an incredible piece of engineering and craftsmanship on your wrist.  There is also something to be said for having something unique and mechanical like that in a world in which we all have standard issue phones, cars, etc as though we are all pulling them from the same 1984 ration line.  No, they don’t make any financial sense.  Some do hold their value over time, but they are the epitome of a luxury.  To me, it is a luxury worth having if you are comfortable FI.  I just bought an Omega Speedmaster Professional, and I just love having the history of the moon landings on my wrist…and I love the ritual of manually winding the watch every day.  For telling time, though, any digital or quartz watch is technically better, hands down, even though this is a master chronograph.  Definitely not Mr.
money Mustache approved.

SnipTheDog

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Re: To buy a Rolex or not to buy a Rolex: that is the question
« Reply #61 on: December 23, 2021, 09:02:30 AM »
If you want the watch and can afford the watch without going into debt, get the watch.  Sure it's not a great investment, but there's a point to living and enjoying the things we have.

Metalcat

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Re: To buy a Rolex or not to buy a Rolex: that is the question
« Reply #62 on: December 23, 2021, 09:27:02 AM »
If you want the watch and can afford the watch without going into debt, get the watch.  Sure it's not a great investment, but there's a point to living and enjoying the things we have.

More like if you want the watch MORE than anything else in the world that you could possibly spend that large sum of money on, then go ahead and buy the watch.

The more expensive something is, the more critical it is to account for the opportunity cost associated with it.

sonofsven

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Re: To buy a Rolex or not to buy a Rolex: that is the question
« Reply #63 on: December 23, 2021, 10:56:51 AM »
I consider a fancy watch more of a toy than a tool; I prefer to spend my money on tools.
When I had to wear a watch (before the ubiquitous mobile device) I purchased  a swiss army watch from REI and used their excellent return policy when I would occasionally smash the face with a hammer.
To me a fancy watch is just a waste of money; I'd likely sell it if somehow I got one. I sold my wedding ring for scrap gold value after my divorce ;-)

markbike528CBX

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Re: To buy a Rolex or not to buy a Rolex: that is the question
« Reply #64 on: December 23, 2021, 11:15:41 PM »
Wait... you mean the USD $50 Gold Rolex I bought in a backroom in 2001 in Taiwan is a .... fake????   :-)

Chris22

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Re: To buy a Rolex or not to buy a Rolex: that is the question
« Reply #65 on: December 24, 2021, 09:05:21 AM »
I went to Jamaica almost 20 years ago on Spring Break, and my buddy and I went into a sketchy part of town to try and buy fake Rolexes. IIRC, there were two kinds, $20 ones that wouldn’t fool a blind man, and “real” fakes that were $200-500, way too much money for a fake watch.

lemanfan

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Re: To buy a Rolex or not to buy a Rolex: that is the question
« Reply #66 on: December 24, 2021, 12:13:04 PM »
Hopefully if I ever run into another Mustachian wearing my DJ they won't judge me too severely ha.

I actually wore a Rolex Datejust on a mustachian meetup in NYC a few years ago.

Purchased before my MMM days, made in 1978, A couple of years ago I realized that the value had tripled compared to my purchase price so I sold it again.  :)

Today I serisously doubt I'd buy a Rolex.  Especially not via Ebay from across the world (seller in Singapore, me in Sweden).  And if I owned one, I doubt I'd bring it to wear on a trip to NYC.  Not just because of the mustachians who would facepunch me.   
« Last Edit: December 24, 2021, 12:21:34 PM by lemanfan »

chesebert

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Re: To buy a Rolex or not to buy a Rolex: that is the question
« Reply #67 on: December 29, 2021, 09:15:50 AM »
Rolex can be exchanged for cash almost everywhere in the world. It is a tough choice given Rolex generally appreciates over time and is generally fungible with cash in most places.

SunnyDays

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Re: To buy a Rolex or not to buy a Rolex: that is the question
« Reply #68 on: December 29, 2021, 12:15:51 PM »
I saw a comic a few days days ago where the watch has no actual numbers or anything - just the word ROLEX in large letters across the face.  I thought it was funny and made the point.