I should be doing cartwheels or something….

[Harry-57]

But I’m not. I’m numb. I’m stunned. I’m dumbfounded. I’m trying to believe my eyes but I’m not sure I can.



10 months after I got the phone call to ask which bracelet I wanted and 15 months total wait time. I thought it would be years. I guess it will sink in. Eventually.

The “my AD says” bit:

The volume of enquiries keeps going up. The narratives which accompany some enquiries are starting to look very stale and recycled; life story, terminally ill, begging, special event (I’m the only person in the world with a wedding anniversary coming up who deserves your service and attention), threats, insults, you name it….. First order of the day is to divide the emails equally and start sending standard replies. This may take all day as they fit it between other activities. Often, they don’t get through them all in a day and it runs over.

More than a few enquirers come back with something like “OK then, what have you got? I’m looking for (insert a shopping list of hot models). While they try to remain slick and professional, tolerance levels are being destruct tested. The temptation to reply with something like “are you serious?!” is resisted for something more along the lines of “well, you asked for something, we told you that regretfully we can’t help you, we have queues of loyal and valued customers, we’re not a self-service outlet for speculative buyers”. Sometimes the enquiries/exchanges are so blunt and blatant that they must politely respond through gritted teeth. Rolex send spoof enquiries in by phone and email to assess how ADs respond and behave. My AD isn’t rude or unprofessional. But it pays to remember that all enquiries may not be genuine and there is more than one kind of fishing expedition going on out there.

They maintain that once an item is bought, it is entirely the owner’s business what they do with it. Keep, sell, trade, gouge. Obviously, they don’t intentionally sell to people who are only buying to flip and gouge. And if any such “entrepreneurs” slip through and are subsequently identified, they won’t get another chance to do it again. This is simplified for the hot stuff by their policy (NB their policy not Rolex policy) of now only selling to people they know/trust, AKA mostly existing customers plus anyone obviously genuine and on the level. Being a local business of over 100 years standing, the owners are multi-generational and some of their customers also span generations of families and offshoots.

They were curious to know what the reaction online had been to demo display watches, of which they had plenty. I said to my surprise it had been mixed. They said it didn’t surprise them and there was just no pleasing some people. They also said that they don’t do much forum browsing any more because about 45% of it is conspiracy theory noise, detached from reality and about another 45% looks more like stock trading speculation. They wonder why watch lovers even bother. I said I suspected that less and less do.

In my AD’s demographic the Jubilee bracelet is more popular on the GMT Master. My preference for Oyster put me in the minority and pushed me towards the front of my queue faster than if I’d asked for Jubilee. They will be taking orders for alternative bracelets next year on Sky Dwellers and GMT Masters, providing the watches were bought from them and still owned by the original purchaser.

The demand situation is as tiresome as it is ridiculous. They are dealing with more and more people who are displaying toxic levels of entitlement, being pushier and are generally pissing off the very people they should be getting friendly with to stand any chance. And they reckon that most of online (in general, not just discussion forums like TRF) is now not worth even toilet time unless you are flexing or speculating on value.

Fun fact. I didn't know but you probably did. Under UV the BLRO bezel is all RO. Is this because the blue wavelengths are neutralised leaving only red? Or is it because the bezel is dyed red and the blue is added over it?

[Seddyspaghetti]

Congrats

[whattimeyougot]

Stunner! Congratulations.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[drrd]

Originally Posted by Harry-57

But I’m not. I’m numb. I’m stunned. I’m dumbfounded. I’m trying to believe my eyes but I’m not sure I can.

Congratulations!

Didn't know they had display pieces in now. Any good ones?

Sounds like you had a good chat and as it's Tuesday I can easily guess who with

[TswaneNguni]

Nice one Harry !

[BLNR Nairobi]

Beautiful

[Ferrari308]

Fantastic!!!



PDG

[jaySL350]

Big congrats Harry,,,,
Looks great,,,,
Those colours really pop,,,

[vh2k]

Excellent, thoughtful post. Congrats!!!

[Harry-57]

Thank you all. I'm lucky and I know it. I appear to have forgotten how the safety clasp works - I can't take it off!

Originally Posted by drrd

Congratulations!

Didn't know they had display pieces in now. Any good ones?

Sounds like you had a good chat and as it's Tuesday I can easily guess who with

Thank you. They had a really nice dummy DD with an olive green dial, a couple more DDs and a few of what I suspect are the more popular DJ liveries and combinations. I didn't look too hard (although that dummy DD was really really nice). I noticed that maybe 75% of the watches in the (now nearly full) display cases had the little "exhibition only" plaque beneath them. There were no dummy Professional models that I could see, on display.

I got the call last Friday but I booked to go in today to personally thank Mark and take him a little token of appreciation. Helen got some jewellery and has a pen on order. She's also seen a Gucci watch in the sale but she want's to cogitate on it. Not the cheapest day out, but most enjoyable.

[harvey]

Huge congrats Harry! Would this be your favourite reference in your collection?

[kieselguhr]

Congratulations!

[garyk]

That is very cool. Good for you!

[hutch300]

Congrats!

I LOVE these! So much history packed into a watch that can live up to the journey :)

[Danny83]

Congrats!!

[Mystro]

You won the lottery. You may have helped yourself going with the oyster statistically providing that those on the list actually have a preference which bracelet.

I was also under the impression that the BLRO and BLNR yearly numbers would now be split in half to each bracelet making 2021 Pepsi and Batman Jubilee numbers 1/2 as many as what was in 2020 or 2019.

[JSolution]

Congrats Harry took me a while to work out if you had actually received this watch or not from your post lol.

I know you’ve been waiting for some time good to see it go to a true watch enthusiast :)

Very dark iteration of the bezel I like how the colours are different from one to another each had their own charm.

[Jack T]

Beautiful watch, oyster all the way, hope you enjoy it.

[drrd]

Originally Posted by Harry-57

They had a really nice dummy DD with an olive green dial, a couple more DDs and a few of what I suspect are the more popular DJ liveries and combinations. I didn't look too hard (although that dummy DD was really really nice). I noticed that maybe 75% of the watches in the (now nearly full) display cases had the little "exhibition only" plaque beneath them. There were no dummy Professional models that I could see, on display.

That's quite exciting, esp. pieces like the olive DD. Definitely in favour of these dummy models.

[Jb1264]

Congratulations
There can’t be many BLRO’s allocated to AD’s
The talk with your AD is insightful
It should be a reality check for the entitled

[Cambo]

Congrats! A beautiful watch. I’m a jubilee guy but the oyster is fantastic as well.

[HiBoost]

Originally Posted by Harry-57

Fun fact. I didn't know but you probably did. Under UV the BLRO bezel is all RO. Is this because the blue wavelengths are neutralised leaving only red? Or is it because the bezel is dyed red and the blue is added over it?

That is a fun fact, had never read that before. Congrats on the watch! Great to hear stories like this.

To add to your "my AD says" list, the funniest one from mine lately was the email from a guy claiming to be Mark Wahlberg's agent and describing how Mark needed a ___ model ASAP, so please let me know if you can help Mark out". LOL

[nr1416]

I'm a huge fan of the Jubilee on GMT but honestly the oyster works just as well. Congrats and wear it in good health.

Sent from my SM-G975W using Tapatalk

[Chloe&Harley]

Congratulations

[samuel019]

Congrats. Great incoming

[HL65]

Congrats!

[WestCoastS]

Very nice !

[febie111]

Congrats,great watch...

[RealMadrid1988]

Beautiful. I thought I only liked the BLRO on jubilee, but tried a demo out on oyster a couple months ago and think I actually prefer it on oyster! Congratulations

[afmars]

Congrats! I know the exact feeling… When I picked mine up earlier this year I couldn’t believe my eyes. Like I was dreaming or something.

It’s a great watch, enjoy and wear it in good health!