How I got two Rolex SS Daytonas. (Long Read)

[judson]

I thought it would be an interesting post for others to see how games are played by ADs by explaining how I got my two Daytonas with my small spend history.

I got the white Daytona first, here is how. The first AD I had purchase history with as I lived in that town for 15 years. I would call my regular SA to talk watches a couple of weeks after Basel each year and we would discuss which ones we liked. They only carried Rolex, Tag Heuer, Casio and their house brand. If I purchased a new watch, regardless where, I would take it in, show him and we would BS about it and watches in general.

The day before my 46th birthday I called and specifically asked to speak with the manager. I told her I would like to be put on the list for the black Daytona for my 50th. That gave them a few years for me to work my way up the list and it was a milestone birthday. We had a nice conversation about it and I never mentioned it again.

About a year later we moved to another state but I kept in contact. When the BLNR was released on jubilee, I expressed my interest on our regular chat after Basel with my SA. I can’t tell you how long it took to get the BLNR, but when my name came up, I purchased it. What was interesting was that when the manager called me, she mentioned that I had turned down the BLNR on oyster, which I had, and they knew I wanted a Rolex on jubilee.

I subsequently sold a couple of watches in preparation for purchasing a Hulk, one of them being my mint polar Explorer 2 16570. I had purchased the watch NOS and paid about $1,500 extra for the satisfaction of taking off the stickers myself. I was having sellers remorse and asked the dealer to wait and let me think about it. Subsequently I called my SA and we chatted about me not having a white Rolex in my collection any longer and I was waffling on whether or not to part with my Explorer 2. My SA told me to let it go because he had something coming that I would like better. I did not know what, but I followed his advice and a week later I had the white Daytona on my wrist. I had waited about 18 months.

Queue my new AD and how I got my black Daytona. When I moved to the new city one of the first trips I made was to the local AD to introduce myself. They are a much larger dealer, I was told they used to keep over 400 watches in inventory. This was split between Rolex, Tudor, Breitling, Tag Heuer and Ball. I had yet to purchase the BLNR or the white Daytona and expressed my interest in a BLNR or a BLRO but was told that I had to establish a relationship with them before I would be put on a list.

I visited the new AD semi-regularly but had yet to purchase anything. When my second SA got the blue SS Skydweller I asked if I could try it on because I had never seen one in real life. He could tell I was genuinely happy for him and excited to see it in the metal.

When the black BB58 was released I expressed interest in seeing it, although I was not sure I would purchase. I was called and went in to view it. While there I also saw that they had a NOS Rolex Cellini Prince in the closeout section. It was marked down from $15k to $11k. I tried it on and quite liked it, but was not sure. I told the SA that my dream watch was the black Daytona and I would purchase something I liked in order to get on the list, I just had to figure out what I liked. The SA remarked, would you rather have the Prince or a Datejust. We discussed the price and I negotiated them down to $10K with taxes, but told them I would have to think about it.

On my drive home I decided I would rather have the Prince but it had been sitting for years. That was when I decided to bundle. I called the salesperson and told him I would take the Prince and the BB58 if I could have the next black Daytona. He spoke with the owner, and said they would do that. I took it on faith and now have both the black and white Daytona.

My total spend with my first AD was $25K and my total spend with my second AD was $13K before purchasing my Daytonas. What was really key was that both ADs know that I love watches. I follow the releases and am knowledgeable about many different brands and the industry in general.

I hope this helps others in their pursuit of any hard to get Rolex. Good luck, you don't have to be a whale to get the sought after pieces. Just be yourself and authentic.