Rolexes in Hong Kong

[rollee1]

Originally Posted by pain888

wow you are so right! do you know what gold date date mean?

A gold day date president is simple known as 'Boss' - gang leader.


In the Hong Kong way of life holding a salaried job is never enough, people are always looking for ways to make more money. Everyone is aware of stocks and financial investments.
Ask any housewife shopping or grannies in a park or the dude driving a bus, many can easily name you what to invest in at that current climate.

In our North American society we chit chat about celebrities like KK, movies or some new car.
In Hong Kong you can eavesdrop on any conversation in restaurants or public areas, peoples are always talking about investments, stocks, property, foreign exchange rates and horse racing (legal gambling). Anything to do with making money.
Although a chap may appear to be holding a laborious job, he/she usually have subsidiary income which includes stocks and investments of some sort.



Rolex aside, any flat (sized 600 sq ft) costs US$1M is considered dirt cheap, when these 'low cost housing' goes on sale, people lined up nights before just like the release of electo-gadgets here. They are usually all sold out within hours. To those who were lucky enough to buy these flats, this alone is worthy of a celebration.

[AllFlexZone]

hk prides themselves on being "not Chinese" so while in China you have a bunch of people walking around with fake designer stuff, in HK they have too much pride for that. HK people think they are the white people of Asia and being Asian it's in our genes to save nickles and dimes and blow it all at once to gain face =). ask your Asian friends why they have broken stools and plastic cookie boxes all taped up and used over and over and over but then when someone gets married they have no room left on their fingers, arms, and neck for all the gold jewelry these people pull out hidden behind in the vacuum cleaner bag

[malarky_hk]

Some insightful, some funny and some sweeping generalizations being posted here. Good a for a chuckle.

[Old Expat Beast]

How the news of Wilsdorf's death was reported in Hong Kong.

[Ravager135]

Originally Posted by RetailSlave

Ive been visiting HK almost anually for the last 25 years. I will agree from my experience that the vast majority of fakes are bought by American and european tourist. Owning a Rolex in HK is a status symbol and almost a necessity.
Put it this way... How can a bell hop at a hotel wear a genuine Rolex and the counter manager wear a fossil? You know the counter manager would sell an organ if he had to in order to purchase a Rolex because there is no way a bell hop can show him up. The very minute the counter manager gets a Rolex the hotel general manager would be at the AD upgrading his own because there's no way someone working under him can make him look a fool. In HK, it's all about saving face and receiving it. It may seem superficial but that's how some cultures are and how they approach status. HK is the Rolex capital of the world for a reason.

While I'd love to see that many Rolex watches in the wild, that sort of one up mentality in the workplace sickens me. Let me clarify, I have never been to Hong Kong and far be it from me to make a generalization about a city but IF what you are saying is true, I find that off putting. I understand it might be a cultural thing, but just like many American cultural norms, it doesn't mean all are intelligent.

Getting watches as an achievement is one thing, getting a nicer model to outdo someone on the business totem pole is shallow no matter how you cut it. Just my two cents, it's by no means the most valuable two cents available.

[bondtoys]

Originally Posted by Cryten

You’ll notice I used the word “experiences” not “opinion.” .......

seeing < learning < understanding < knowledge

I am together with a HK woman for almost 20 years, married since 15 and am visiting the town at least once a year. But I'd say, that I know 5% of the entire picture.

So you have experienced (the first step) someone (from an unknown citizenship we know so far) who's involved with fake watches. What does it say about the large picture?

There are many more eperienced people on this thread, who have tried to explain the popularity of genuine Rolex watches in HK and I have only little to add than to agree with them.

That you know a single person who deals with fake watches may be an interesting observation but does not in any way nihilate what other said previously.

You may ask yourself, why the "copy watch Sir" people at the beginning of Nathan road never address to chinese looking people, only to westerners.
Adams number of 68 ADs in one city with probably the same amount of grey market Rolex Dealers in addition - speaks volumes and you may ask yourself why there are more Rolex watches being sold in HK than in the entire USA.

For sure there is an important amount of mainland Chinese tourists who are an important factor to these sales, but it has been like that long before mainlanders have been allowed to travel to there.

[bondtoys]

Originally Posted by Cryten

to suggest every watch in HK is genuine is untrue, and this I know for a fact.

Nobody said this but many experienced members pointed out that the number of HK citizens who don't approve fake watches is probably higher than anywhere else in the western world. And they gave the possible reasons for that.

[AllFlexZone]

Originally Posted by Ravager135

While I'd love to see that many Rolex watches in the wild, that sort of one up mentality in the workplace sickens me. Let me clarify, I have never been to Hong Kong and far be it from me to make a generalization about a city but IF what you are saying is true, I find that off putting. I understand it might be a cultural thing, but just like many American cultural norms, it doesn't mean all are intelligent.

Getting watches as an achievement is one thing, getting a nicer model to outdo someone on the business totem pole is shallow no matter how you cut it. Just my two cents, it's by no means the most valuable two cents available.

maybe one day when you are a boss and your employee flexes on you, you will understand. lol.

funny story. so I shoot weddings and my "boss" aka the guy that sub contracted me see's me wearing an LV belt and a squale 16610 homage which he must have thought was a sub.

next time I see him, he has on a Gucci belt with giant belt buckle, black and yellow sub on. but then when I asked him what's with all the designer stuff, he said it's fake from Vietnam. so.. I don't know what point he was trying to make. oh I forgot to mention this guy is really stupid and a pathological liar.

[RetailSlave]

Originally Posted by Ravager135

While I'd love to see that many Rolex watches in the wild, that sort of one up mentality in the workplace sickens me. Let me clarify, I have never been to Hong Kong and far be it from me to make a generalization about a city but IF what you are saying is true, I find that off putting. I understand it might be a cultural thing, but just like many American cultural norms, it doesn't mean all are intelligent.

Getting watches as an achievement is one thing, getting a nicer model to outdo someone on the business totem pole is shallow no matter how you cut it. Just my two cents, it's by no means the most valuable two cents available.

It isn't just HK, this mentality is shown everywhere. Look at the super rich and their super yachts, you don't think Dolce Gabbana, Armani, and Roberto Cavalli weren't competing against each other when they all made their purchases?
It's "keeping up with the Jones" and this mentality isn't only to those in HK.

[RetailSlave]

Originally Posted by bondtoys

So you have experienced (the first step) someone (from an unknown citizenship we know so far) who's involved with fake watches. What does it say about the large picture?


You may ask yourself, why the "copy watch Sir" people at the beginning of Nathan road never address to chinese looking people, only to westerners.

I agree, HK sees a lot of tourist annually. From my experience, American and Europeans are the biggest purchasers of the knock off "souvenir" Rolex. Just because someone sells knock offs in HK doesn't mean they are bought by locals. That's like saying most Rolexs in NY are fake since you can find them all over Canal St.
"Copy watch sir?" I had no idea this is how they're being sold now. I remember when all the knock offs from luggage, bags, watches were all in photo albums and numbered. I swear 95% of the vendors in "Ladies Market" and Temple St. had these albums out trying to lure tourist. This was back in the late 90's, I guess the HK officials cracked down because recent years I haven't seen any of these albums out. All I see know are knock off Beats by Dre and Apple accessories

[Old Expat Beast]

The ones on Nathan Road (mostly from the Indian subcontinent) have been around even longer than the photo album guys in Mongkok...since at least the 1980s that I remember, and probably longer. Knockoff Rolex watches have been on sale in tourist areas here since as early as the 1940s.

[Eric Chan]

Originally Posted by Old Expat Beast

Face plays a large part, but you have to dig a little deeper for the larger picture.

Rolex watches have been sold in Hong Kong since before the Second World War. After the Communist Revolution in the late 1940s, millions of people came, especially from Shanghai, to seek refuge in Hong Kong (up to the 1980s and even a few in the early 1990s). The first wave of refugees were relatively wealthy but often had to leave much of their cash and belongings behind. An easy way to show their (former) status was to display a gold or partly gold watch. Many of those first arrivals, just like Hong Kong’s ‘native’ Chinese, went for the Datejust, as it was relatively new and had a novel date function which was quite the thing back then. It’s still perhaps the most popular model today, judging from the number seen around town.

From the late 1950s, refugees were poorer, more desperate folk, fleeing mass starvation during the Great Leap Forward (1958-61) or the horrors of the Cultural Revolution (1966 to 76 approx). Many were single men, and for them the first item on the shopping list was a transistor radio, but the grail was a Rolex watch, or at least a Tudor, a brand for which many settled (as in those days they looked exactly like Rolex, thereby giving some ‘face’ at least from a distance), and which is still very popular today.

This as I see it (and I am happy to be corrected by our Hong Kong Chinese members) is more or less how Rolex came to be an integral part of Hong Kong life. Go into the Rolex Service Centre any day of the week and you will see the place packed with people of all shapes, sizes, ages, and wealth brackets. Office girls, rich housewives, old men with their retirement Datejusts, young entrepreneurs with their vintage PN Daytonas and red subs, etc, etc.

Hans Wilsdorf’s death in 1960 made Front Page news in the local papers here. I doubt that was the case in many other cities around the world.

This about sums it up. Well done, Adam.

Much about what is written above mirrors what my Mother and Father have told me about Rolex and Hong Kong life.

Many of the older Hong Kong people I know still wear their two-tone Datejusts. Some of these pieces are nearly 50 years old.

[cornerstore]

Bling catches the eye SS not so much.

[dadonn2]

This is interesting and Old Ex Pat's explanation does reflect what I saw- though my experience is by no means extensive. I was invited over there in January to shoot a couple of episodes of a reality TV show and Rolex's were surprisingly commonplace. When I went through the airport, it seemed like every ad was devoted a high end watch manufacturer.

When we shot the show, the subjects were, from what I could cull and was told, largely middle class professionals. Middle class, particularly given the price of real estate, looks far more modest than it does here but not on the watch front. One women on one of the episodes, had a daytona. One of the sound guys had a kermit. Among a crew of roughly twenty rotating people, there were half a dozen Rolex. Rolex's were easier to spot on the street in general. The guy assigned to take care of us told me that the minute he makes any money, he's getting a watch because it's a "Boy becoming a man," thing, as he described. The woman from Cathay Airlines who checked me in on my return- black sub date.

One piece of bias- I was just beginning my hunt for a watch so my specs were peeled and two, the weather there is mild so watches are far easier to spot than on the NY streets in winter.

[Jake B]

Since this seems to come up often...Here's my thoughts from a previous thread for anyone who cares to read them...

" Never know...a lot of guys in HK, be it regular guys, watch collectors, or watch dealers (and there is nooooooo lack of watch dealers) come on here to check things out, but don't post, as they're a little insecure about their English. It's true, a LOT of people in HK wear Rolex. Sure, some are rich, but it's not uncommon to see old men, taxi drivers...pretty much anyone wearing one. There are ADs all over the place, even more grew market stores, and 2nd hand Rolex shops comin' out the yang. It's a bit of an anomaly stemming from the unusual living situation in HK. HK has VERY limited space, but has a VERY dense population. Family is VERY important to Cantonese people, and families often live together for their whole life. There's also a very good government subsidised housing system. Sometimes, 5 people will live in a 300 square feet government subsidised apartment where the rent is only the equvalent of around $500 USD. Most don't own cars since it's not practical and the public transit is 2nd to none, there's no "stuff" that they need to buy ie: lawnmowers, snowblowers to maintain the place, and there's simply no space in their apartments for "stuff". So, this leaves some people with quite a bit of extra money to spend, and they spend it on three things that don't take up much space... Watches, jewelry, and phones.  "

[bondtoys]

... and eating out - which is pretty inexpensive

[polarinda]

Last time i visited hk..the 2nd hand watch shops were full of rolexes and many other brands.
4 to 5 PP 5035 alone were lining up in one corner...like it's no big deal.
Prices are competive. I believe hk people just love watches in general....great city.

[milgauss2232]

what an excellent and informative thread. I've learnt something!

[Jake B]

Originally Posted by bondtoys

... and eating out - which is pretty inexpensive

..and eating out is a business expense ;) ....as long as you're a biz owner

[gwozhog]

Rolex aside, any flat (sized 600 sq ft) costs US$1M is considered dirt cheap, when these 'low cost housing' goes on sale, people lined up nights before just like the release of electo-gadgets here. They are usually all sold out within hours. To those who were lucky enough to buy these flats, this alone is worthy of a celebration.[/QUOTE]





600 sqft for a million bucks. That makes 2600 sqft lakefront in Texas for 300K look pretty reasonable and alot of money left over for toys and watches.

[pain888]

Originally Posted by rollee1

A gold day date president is simple known as 'Boss' - gang leader.


In the Hong Kong way of life holding a salaried job is never enough, people are always looking for ways to make more money. Everyone is aware of stocks and financial investments.
Ask any housewife shopping or grannies in a park or the dude driving a bus, many can easily name you what to invest in at that current climate.

In our North American society we chit chat about celebrities like KK, movies or some new car.
In Hong Kong you can eavesdrop on any conversation in restaurants or public areas, peoples are always talking about investments, stocks, property, foreign exchange rates and horse racing (legal gambling). Anything to do with making money.
Although a chap may appear to be holding a laborious job, he/she usually have subsidiary income which includes stocks and investments of some sort.



Rolex aside, any flat (sized 600 sq ft) costs US$1M is considered dirt cheap, when these 'low cost housing' goes on sale, people lined up nights before just like the release of electo-gadgets here. They are usually all sold out within hours. To those who were lucky enough to buy these flats, this alone is worthy of a celebration.

ur GOOD! I couldn't explain it like you .

[motoikkyu]

I don't live in HK and don't have family ties there anymore, but I do spend time in the east quite often. With the jewelry industry as advanced as it is in HK (as well as Morocco, Germany, and other well-known centers), it's not hard to keep a vintage Rolex looking new. Since I'm a vintage guy, I know that a lot of the Rolex I'm seeing are not new, or even recent. They're worn with pride and maintained. I know there are frankens and counterfeits aplenty in asia, but many that I see are just older. When you consider how many are sold new every year, and that the vintage still have a value, it's not surprising that so many are visible.

[gtbguy]

Originally Posted by lg718

VEry true! boy do i miss living in Singapore :-(

Do you miss Orchard Towers? :)

[lg718]

Originally Posted by gtbguy

Do you miss Orchard Towers? :)

Like the deserts miss the rain :)

[clu]

I live in HK right now and with no exaggeration I see 10+ Rolexes every single day, they're everywhere and I yet to see a fake one. People here are willing to spend a fortune on luxury goods. It's unbelievable.

[Jamiewabbit]

Originally Posted by lg718

Like the deserts miss the rain :)

Naughty naughty!

[lg718]

Originally Posted by Jamiewabbit

Naughty naughty!

Should we mention its naughty name instead? The floor floors of w.....

[Jamiewabbit]

Can I buy a vowel?

[lg718]

Originally Posted by Jamiewabbit

Can I buy a vowel?

Lol. Yes. There are a couple ...

[rollee1]

Originally Posted by lg718

Like the deserts miss the rain :)

Sammy!!