Rolex "Snobs"

[Colnago]

I feel prompted to write a long post here.......personal experience....

I am lucky enough to own three SS Rolex watches...I bought my first one in 1986 from an AD, that's half my life ago...I still own it and love it more each day.....it's a DJ....not quite "bottom of the range" but not far off either....it doesn't matter....it's a Rolex.....nothing more nothing less.....it beats at 28800 and has done for half my life......it's never missed one of them.....

I was so impressed by it I bought another one two years later...same story.....I love it....maybe not quite as much as the first but I love it...

One silver one black dialled......both just gorgeous.....

In 2002 I was working in a country (Middle East) where apparently Yellow Gold isn't "the thing" and had the chance of a DD (with diamond dial).....good price....it was at that point my "grail".....to put it bluntly I needed to extract money from that country and what better "excuse" than carrying it out on my wrist with the promise "well I can always sell it when we get home" to the better half (who by the way was also "wearing" an 18kt lady DJ bought for the same purpose shortly before departure).....we still own both...

I am wearing a SS GMT IIc right now.....I got it 2 months ago or so....it already means a lot to me......

The precious metal bit doesn't come into it for me, not one bit......yeah it's great to have a solid gold Rolex.....but it is absolutely brillant to have any Rolex.....they all have stories, they are all "tied" to us....we are only looking after them for the coming generations....

My two oldest boys have "claims" on my two DJ's....they're not interested in my DD....they like it but it doesn't have the same history......maybe when my youngest grows a little more the magical history will have attached itself to my DD and he'll stake his claim......

At present my GMT has no "history" so I can keep it for me with no claims!!!......yipppeeeee......

I have a close personal friend who "thought" he might have a Rolex.....it was passed to him via a complicated family route...I couldn't believe it when he made the statement...I took the watch covered in paint and cement and sent it to the RSC in Bexley UK.....it came back looking absolutely beautiful....when I handed it back to him he was almost in tears...he just could not believe the transformation.......

He is now an absolute Rolex (and Tudor) nut.......we talk about that first exchange of conversation very regularly.....he now owns a couple of SS pieces and an 18kt vintage piece.......

To most of us I think that maybe yes, the material matters a little, but far less than the heart of the watch......a Rolex is a Rolex.....the cases and braclets may differ but the heart remains very similar.....it's really the heart that most of us love.....I will never ever be snobby about the material that encases my Rolex watches........it's what's inside that counts....