Advice for your first Rolex purchase. Do not impulse buy - please read this post 1st

[Bling72]

Hello welcome.

I spent a lot of time in AD's and other jewellers in many countries before finding the Rolex that really grabbed my attention.

I would recommend that you do the same.

Here is a list of what would help you make a decision that you can be happy with :

1. Keep checking back on here on these forums, including reference posts, photos, close-ups of the models that you're interested in.

2. Feedback on nearby AD's or other stores, especially if they are negative. If the reason is reasonable enough, then that's a huge warning sign. I read an article where a jeweller modified a Rolex by adding additional gems, despite that it was brand new. The user from here, who purchased it, took it to a authorised official Rolex repair centre who rejected touching the piece. Their reason was that they will only touch an unmodified genuine Rolex.

3. Buy yourself an accurate powerful triplet loupe (magnifying glass). I have a 20x triplet, which is double the standard sized loups that they use in jewellers. It is small, and easy to carry in a pocket. You want to pick up every Rolex they will let you, and zoom that loups right in and scan carefully every detail. You will be surprised which details will intoxicate you. It's amazing. If you use the loupe to examine pre-loved watches, you seriously need to see the flaws, wear, or damage. If you can trust them, they will answer your questions if you have any. If they deny it or have a problem, then they are not worth parting your money for. Keep in mind that pre-loved will not be the same as brand new, what you don't want to do is buy something with problems you do not see, then after a week or month, you look at it deeply and see something that will would now need to pay to rectify. It is not easy to weight up cost saved, vs acceptable flaws/wear. However many resellers and shops will sell you the Rolex in the exact condition that they previously purchased it with. Ask them what they charge to polish or repair it, weight it up vs cost to get it serviced at the Rolex repair centre. To ask costs nothing.

4. Examine and put on various Rolex models, to find out which one is the right weight and right diameter to fit on your wrist. It is NOT worth buying a Rolex that is far too small for your wrist. If it does not feel right, your enjoyment experience in the long term will wear off once the novelty wears off. Too heavy, and you cannot modify it to make it lighter. Even if it looks light, too heavy will constantly remind you it was not the right choice.

5. Be mindful of additional complications, such as a Skydweller, a service
cost of a Rolex is proportion of the number of and nature of complications of the watch, not the cost. I.e. solid gold, platinum, or 904L steel doesn't scale much towards the final cost of the service. If the watch has a date (day-date), that adds cost over one which does not (such as a Milgauss). If you intend to pay all the extra for something that you really want, make sure you are able to save money aside for the services.

6. Any Rolex purchased 2015 and 2016 come with a 5 year international warranty (2013 and 2014 they extend the warranty by 1 additional year), before 2013, all new Rolexes had only a 3 year warranty. Pre 2015/2016 Rolexes were build to be services every 5 years. The new 2015 and 2016 models need to be services every 7 years. This information was directly from an experienced staff member at a AD.

7. If the model you want is out of your price range, and perhaps not considered as an 'entry-level', then it is more worth to save up to get that piece, especially it makes you so overly obsessed, you have gained an emotional attachment to that particular model. It is worth saving up for that one, than to impulsively buy something cheaper for the sake of getting it now. It is like buying a car. Some people buy something that they actually want, not just the cheapest one they can find.

8. Contact the most reputable, longest serving insurance company you can find to get quotes to insure your Rolex to cover the entire country you live in. Get 2-3 quotes minimum if you can. If it can be incorporated into your home-contents insurance policy, then that's an added bonus. Do not buy the Rolex, until you have that insurance policy paid for and activated before you walk out of the shop with it. No exceptions. Where I come from, the terms and conditions of a finance institution of loaning you the money to buy a new car is that the car has full insurance cover before you drive the car out of the shop. So with this kind of large investment, peace of mind, don't mess about with parting with that kind of money without insuring such an important piece.

9. Find the prices for new and pre-loved. There is an element of risk of pre-loved and warranty issues as authentic as the reseller claims. Anything that is not brand new is to the risk of the buyer, so you need to weigh up that risk verses the price of brand new. Do you want to pay the 20-35% extra for the brand new? So many will argue you have to be silly to buy anything brand new. Well everybody is different. However if you want to be 100% certain you are going to an official authorised dealer, go to www.rolex.com and search your country for all authorised dealers. If there are more than 1 in your country, do your best to visit as many as possible. Some may not have the model that you want, some will have models you didn't know they had. I will guarantee you 100% that the actual look of a Rolex when you pick it up and hold it with your own hands is different from what you see in the books. It looks similar, but don't buy anything you have not picked up with your own hands. You need to feel and really look at it. If you don't feel right about it, you will end up selling it later if you do buy it.

In London across the road from Harrods, I found an AD which sold pre-loved Rolex's. I found a 1974 dial that looked more brand new than the 2015 models. Wow... I was rather tempted. So this may end up being the case in other AD's that will be selling pre-loved.

I personally applaud and support the wonderful resellers on this forum who have made the purchasing experience of the buyer the most pleasurable, and made them the most happy.

10. Ask/post your questions on here, as many other users have done so in the past, you want to make the most informed decision as possible.

11. "Try" to get one that has box, papers and other parts that is supplied with the original watch, than one which has nothing. If you get one with the original box, papers, keep them in a safe place away from moisture, put in a sealed box, or decent bag, and never touch it. Keep them in as pristine condition as possible. If you need to part with your watch, you will get more with the box and papers that if you threw them away. I do understand that in pre-loved box and papers are impossible sometimes, but you will definitely get those with a brand new Rolex.

12. If you buy a pre-loved and intend to get it serviced, ensure you keep the service card, papers, receipt/invoice, in case there ends up being an issue. Again a personal choice if you intend to never use an official Rolex service centre. However if you buy brand new from an AD, most would argue to get your new Rolex serviced by an official service centre. Once it is serviced there, it has a 2 year international warranty. Meaning if you end up travelling to another country and find an issue, you can go to that countries service centre to sort it out. They will open the watch and tell straight away which service centre you got it done. You shouldn't need to tell them where you had it serviced, if they do their job properly. They mark the inside of the Rolex so that they know, which there you will not be able to find out.



Good luck, and I am always available if you have any questions yourself