Random AD Musings

[ArtNouveau]

I was back in my hometown for the holidays and managed to get in a visit to my AD on Christmas Eve to chat with my long time SA. They had the biggest array of exhibition pieces I have seen in any dealer, not just the most common ones but some of the more obscure models.
I asked him if they had anything at all available for immediate sale, even a high dollar jewel encrusted women’s piece and the answer was no. He says many folks walking in are very taken aback by the current situation, remember that most Rolex buyers are not the collection/investment obsessed ones we see here. Just someone who wanted to walk in and buy an occasion piece or gift.
The other thing that came up in conversation was the longtime local store that suddenly lost their franchise. Rumor is they blurred the line a bit too much between their new and “pre-owned” stock. Believe it or not of course, but he says RolexUSA frowns on their dealers using any tactics or policies that might seem a bit shady to the consumer.
He does believe they will get more stock this year as a result, says this year was great in general for them but some models seemed a lot scarcer than before. Deliveries resume mid-January and he thinks my red OP41 can’t be too far off.
The store had lots of traffic that morning, it was good to see and be seen, you know that whole relationship thing.