Rolex production numbers and future value

[NukeMan]

Hi all! Having tried to find information on how many watches Rolex produces a year I've found a few different numbers on-line of which none are official as Rolex does not publish this number, to the best of my knowledge. Speculations on-line seem to be in the range of 0,7-1.1 million watches/year. Comparing these numbers with annual production numbers back in, say, the late 60's indicate that there has been an explosion of production. Knowing a bit about the general mechanics of demand and supply and the obvious link between rareness and second hand prices (in addition to ceramic bezels and modern luminova inserts not fading, which means that these watches will probably look pretty much the same in 20+ years besides wear) the production numbers have me concerned about the future value of today's modern Rolexes. Buying a watch for big bucks I want them to retain good value at least for my children.

What are your thoughts? Any info on the current production numbers and how they are distributed between sports models and "the rest"; steel vs precious metals? What do you think of the future vintage value of today's watches? Are new watches at all worth buying out of a collector's perspective?