My Fault

[Etschell]

Before you read this I do not believe anything I have ever done has had any effect on the current situation.

Maybe it is my fault. The year was 2000 and I was in my teens. There I saw it, a Rolex Submariner. The king of dive watches. For the next 15 years I would always marvel at the watch and wanted one.

Eventually in 2015 I purchased one. The times were easy back then. I simply went online and found a great offering below retail. So far below many would envy today. But do not envy. Price to me was not the ultimate consideration. That said I am always a price opportunist and try to get the best price within logical reason.

Ever since acquiring it I have been smitten with the watch. Any time I strike up a conversation about watches I always pump the Submariner. I give it great press. I've convinced others that they need one. In a smallest sense of it I marketed for the brand without really being conscientious of what I was doing. Many enthusiasts do this. That is how anything gets a cult following and grows. And quite frankly I am glad we do it.

Now a days it seems like there is a division line due to increased demand. Enthusiasts versus passer bys looking to make a quick buck. Some blame social media, other watch brands for being lackluster, ADs, trusted sellers and yes even Rolex itself for not ramping up production to ruin the brand like others have done.

A lot of people are upset. But I don't get upset. It is frustrating some times and yes the value threads are annoying. This is how it is for now. Either embrace it or be unhappy.

All I ask is you don't stop being an enthusiast if you are one. Rolex makes a hell of a product and their history, imho, is second to none. Just remember when the passer bys are gone I will still be here. We, true enthusiasts, will still be here. In a crazy market for watches as we are in today I hope others like me can take solace. Like the quartz crisis of the 1970s this to shall pass.

[BLACKHORSE 6]

Very well said. I feel the same.

Some of it comes down to trust as well. No other company in the watch industry has the name recognition or brand equity that Rolex does. The company has built it over time, and shepherded it through decades. They have faced recessions, the quartz, and countless other challenges. I also wish that they would ramp up production of their stainless watches, but I also trust that they know what they’re doing.

[tie219]

Nice story Eliot! Nice to see some optimism around here. I agree that it'll pass like anything else

[Duey]

I think the "passer bys" should be called "Rolex Commodity Traders".

Being a WIS and collecting watches has changed to Rolex Commodity Trading by the "passer bys". It's easier and more profitable then buying Gold, Silver or Platinum. Just beg, or get lucky, an AD to sell you one of the hard to get models and flip it here for a monster profit.
Just look at the prices for GMT's there's nothing special about them and millions of them were produced. People act they're rare ...
Will it end soon? Who knows .. I hope so but it is the new normal.

It's a sad day to be a WIS

[swils8610]

Well said! I am a Rolex enthusiast also. Mechanical watches to me are amazing. They don’t take a battery and aren’t solar powered. Yet they’ll work indefinitely as long as you wear it! To me my Rolex tells a story. It’s been with me during good times and some really bad times. The marks and scratches tell a story. I’m not a Rolex collector. I’m a Rolex wearer. I have no safe queens. At the end of the day, my SD4k is my go to. I don’t baby it. I wear it. It’s like a few items I can’t mention here that were my great grandfathers, my grandfathers and my dad who is happily still here. When I grab the dog and go out with out for the afternoon, I always take one of the passed down items to take with me. Every mark, scratch or ding are my favorite part. Well built mechanical items that are now 4 generations old and tell a story. I feel that way about Rolex.


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[TheVTCGuy]

Eiiot, I am just glad someone is finally taking the blame and I am off the hook!

[superdog]

I like this post a lot. It was a good read.

But I’m out brother. At least for now. I do love my watches. So maybe I’m just evolving into a different type of enthusiast. Done with all the back and forth. Done with looking for the next best thing. I’m just chillin now.

[Cryten]

I like being different, not like everyone else, not just another sheep. The fact that the "it" crowd are into Rolex makes me not want to wear one. I'm not an "it" person.

But as a WIS the Rolexes are here to stay as I didn't buy them to be seen, or to invest, or to speculate, but for now I usually choose something else. Hopefully this madness will die down again and all these Instasham poseurs fishing for likes from strangers to validate their sad existence will move on to the next "it" watch.

Until then, I'm enjoying other brands, and that's no bad thing either.

[ttomczak]

It is what it is... I do take exception to those who get a hard to get price and try to make 8-10k on it because their love is green, not Rolex green btw (save the capitalism comments please), but it doesn’t dull why I love watches. And great post, you are absolutely correct, if nothing else, it makes me look at different brands with a new eye.

[77T]

I don’t see a problem collecting and letting the hobby pay for itself. Done in moderation, it helps spice up the hunt for the next acquisition.

What I do think is the relentless pursuit of the newest models can wear one out. So not falling into that trap is a way to preserve your watch sanity.


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[RW16610]

A sad time to be a WIS, indeed! My story is very similar to yours, Eliot. I think my forum name gives away what was on my mind back in 2007-2008 when I registered

I'm all about being contented. Less is more for me and I'm very passionate about the pieces I've got or want. Next in line for me seems to be a 16600 Sea-Dweller. I've been collecting Rolex accessories for 11 years and my collection (albeit humble) tells a story. It's a timeline and one I'm very glad to have!

From time to time I get them out and admire each one and remember the forum friends that gifted them to me or the online hunt of FS listings on various watch forums to get them. It's a shame so many these days don't even truly know what they're missing.

[Coopdog]

I’ve been into watches for as long as I can remember, even grade school. I have read more about watches than probably the entire amount of literature I read in college. And I’m a Rolex fan among many other brands.

I also like to trade out watches. I don’t know why, but I’ve always been like that. They don’t hold sentimental value to me except a specific few. My collection right now is 5 nice watches (one currently for sale), but I have owned 17 in the last few years (I had to count just now).

Because of that, I had welcomed watch enthusiasm becoming more mainstream. You used to take a huge hit when you sold a watch, now I can easily trade them for close to what I paid usually. I’ve never been into the hobby because of the money, but on the very few trades where I have made a bit of money recently it does feel nice offsetting the cost of all those watches I sold for a loss in the past.

Now I agree it’s at a point that is ridiculous. I know several people who are running small watch reselling businesses who really don’t know much more than what the popular brand of Rolex is this month. That’s not really about watches, just about access and purchasing power and it does take the fun out of it for others.

Despite all this I am a big supporter of the grey market in general. The reason is without a grey market manufacturers charge whatever they want. Grey market historically and currently lowers prices to closer to a wholesale margin for almost every watch on Earth except the few Rolex stainless models and Patek and AP that have become really popular. As OP said, this will pass. The next big thing will come along and prices will change. Remember when Jacob & Co watches were cool and really expensive? Exactly.

I believe if you’re truly an enthusiast it’s not that gut wrenching to have prices on a precious few models be very high, even if they are the ones you want. There are just so many other great watches and the technology, materials, and QC is just so good right now. For example Omega is making some fantastic watches at price points Rolex doesn’t even have a product offering.

AND on the other hand if it just hurts too much to wait (as it did for me with the Rolex Pepsi) you have to pay the piper but you can actually get these watches that are impossible for most people to source from an AD. I love GMT watches and dual time zone watches, and to an extent worldtimers. I think the original red/blue Bakelite bezel GMT is just iconic and to have a modern reissue with a modern movement, materials etc was an automatic grail for me. WG is just out of my price range, so a year after SS came out I couldn’t wait any more so I paid the price.

Anyway I didn’t set out to write a book here but this is basically my point: In the Rolex sports watch price range and below there are so many thousands of good brands and models to choose from. And we complain ad nauseam essentially about this:
Rolex Submariner, Daytona, Skydweller, GMT, Sea Dweller.
PP Nautilus and Aquanaut.
AP RO in several configurations.

Almost any other (modern) watch I can think of near the Rolex SS price point can be had for a 10-40% discount to list, with no tax, shipped from the state next to yours in a day. So can we all just fucking relax? If you’re that bent about Rolex SS go grab a BNIB rhodium Yachtmaster for well below list. Or an Omega Diver 300M in 2 colors for less than a Sub.

It just gets to the point where who cares? It’s a fun hobby and you don’t have to play the grey market game unless you want to. Thanks OP for your perspective.



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[JTL31]

I don’t know if I’d qualify as a WIS but rather a watch nerd, since my knowledge base is limited. 1990 was when I got the watch bug. I understand the emotions being shared here.
I had members tell me I should’ve bought the CHNR when offered me twice and sold it for profit. That’s not my style. I love that watch but feel it should have a different home...for now...till I’m financially able to justify the purchase.

[Art 1]

Nice read, Eliot.