Rolex as an "Investment"

[wappinghigh]

With interest rates at basically zero ie cost of money is cheap, clearly it's easy now to think you purchase a Rolex, believing it will become "an investment"..

But what if the cost of money starts going up?

I get it that Vintage Rolex have appreciated but is everyone who owns one factoring in what (was) inflation, service costs, holding costs, insurance costs, margin loss having to sell it to a dealer, etc etc into their final "Aren't I a smug boomer I've made a fortune on my Rolex" equations?

So I reckon you've only made a fortune if you've kept your watch in a safe, never had it polished, or replaced any parts or never had a RSC service dial put in etc etc..

But how many people have actually done that?.. (even a safety deposit box is a "Service cost"..)

Have I got this pretty much correct?

Want to actually make money? It's stick it in a draw for 50 years, never ever wear it or service it and hope it never gets stolen..

But who does that?

Otherwise to make a buck it's a quick flip...

"OK Boomer..."?

Prove me wrong..

[Loevhagen]

[Zakalwe]

A straw man that would make Worzel Gummidge proud

[wappinghigh]

That's not proof..
Show me your Vintage Rolex from the 60/70's - untouched in 50 years show me the original receipt, show me the price you have just got (minus all the service and sales costs) and compare it vs compounding interest at CPI over 50 years...

[superstarmar]

here we go again...

[wappinghigh]

That's not proof either...

[Nikrnic]

Huh?

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[wappinghigh]

Neither is that...

[mgsooner]

The trolls don't normally have that many posts. Dedicated little bugger...

[1Zach1]

[crazycarlitos]

^ more like little bit to smoke. Lol

Originally Posted by wappinghigh

Want to actually make money? It's stick it in a draw for 50 years, never ever wear it or service it and hope it never gets stolen..

But who does that?

This guy did

Bought in 1974 for $346 usd
Now worth $700,000

https://www.gq.com/story/antiques-roadshow-rolex-watch

[mario1971]

How many times can you torment the same? A boring and smelly topic with old socks...

[wappinghigh]

Originally Posted by crazycarlitos

^ more like little bit to smoke. Lol



This guy did

Bought in 1974 for $346 usd
Now worth $700,000

https://www.gq.com/story/antiques-roadshow-rolex-watch

But this whole thread is silly...

Ok.. thanks for that.. lets see how "silly" it is... I'll take a look at that example and compound that $346 for 47 years at annual CPI... I'll post my maths when I can.. That is considering the guy had zero maintenance/service and sales cost?.. let me take a look..Cheers

[mgsooner]

Originally Posted by wappinghigh

I'll take a look at that example and compound that $346 for 47 years at annual CPI... I'll post my maths when I can.. That is considering the guy had zero maintenance/service and sales cost?.. let me take a look..Cheers

Sounds good, please don't let us know what you find out.

[Zakalwe]

.

[2nastie]

What the **** did you just write?

... I must be slow today and I'm not even a "boomer."

[DonRickles]

Valentines Day suicide...

[Silver_Fox]

Honest question - I don’t quite understand why everybody is torching this guy. Isn’t he simply saying that watches aren’t investments?

I was under the impression that most folks on the forum agree that watches are not generally regarded as “investments.” In my mind, they’re clearly not. It matters not that a few have made tremendous money on rare pieces. Lots of folks have made good money on cars, but nobody seriously contends that cars are good investments. Am I missing something?


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[wappinghigh]

^Thanks for that.. Yes..one would need to factor in the cost of paying for the safety deposit box (on that example just posted) for 47 years...that obviously adds 10% or so to the annual holding cost (compounded) for 47 years..wonder how much more cash he would have now if he had compounded the savings on that?

[gracian]

Some simple math assuming conservative growth over 40 years.

Current Principal: $ 9000
Years to grow: 40
Interest Rate: 5%

Results
Future Value: $ 63,359.90

[jvb.nc]

some questions about that antiques roadshow watch have abounded.

just sayin.

[wappinghigh]

Originally Posted by gracian

Some simple math assuming conservative growth over 40 years.

Current Principal: $ 9000
Years to grow: 40
Interest Rate: 5%

Results
Future Value: $ 63,359.90

Cool.. sure agree.. thanks for that...it's factoring in all the hidden holding, maintenance and then the not so hidden service and sales costs (that nobody ever admits or accounts for) that make these calculations tricky

[djgallo]

Investing is all about....diversification of your assets.

Stocks
Bonds
CD’s
Real estate
Mutual Funds
Collectibles, paintings,scuplture, coins, watches, cars, etc......
Gold
Silver
Etc........

If you are well diversified you can hold many different assets....including collectibles and still be very successful.

[wappinghigh]

Ok so quick back of the envelope calculations on that veteran example carzyc posted above.. $346 compounded annually at 10% (what I regard as true cost of money aka living costs CPI.. and also accounting for fact rates were way above 10% throughout a lot of the 70's80,s and 90's.. ) for 47 years = $30,000. Then assuming it cost him 100 bucks (or equiv) worst case scenario annually for the safety deposit box ..money he could have compounded = a holding cost of $80,000 bucks (I compounded that at same).. so if he actually received $700,000 for that watch.. did he? After dealer/service/sales costs etc.. I guess he has done well on that one!!!.. he would walk away with maybe 700,000 les 50k dealer/sales/service costs, less 80,000 (safety deposit) less 30,000 (had he not ever purchased it and put money towards something else) = an actual watch value (to him after sale) of $540,000.. that make sense??? He's done pretty well on that example..?.

[wappinghigh]

So the question then becomes which future example???

What is the "future Rolex Cosmograph Oyster"?

[locutus49]

You know your logical fallacies. Why am I not surprised. On the subject of investments, I prefer to lose my money on bitcoin or marijuana stocks.

Originally Posted by Zakalwe

A straw man that would make Worzel Gummidge proud

[crazycarlitos]

Originally Posted by Silver_Fox

Honest question - I don’t quite understand why everybody is torching this guy. Isn’t he simply saying that watches aren’t investments?

I was under the impression that most folks on the forum agree that watches are not generally regarded as “investments.” In my mind, they’re clearly not. It matters not that a few have made tremendous money on rare pieces. Lots of folks have made good money on cars, but nobody seriously contends that cars are good investments. Am I missing something?


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Haha of course most of us don’t think of Rolex as an investment.

But the OP was just rambling on about what lot of us consider a non-subject. Lol

[wappinghigh]

Originally Posted by crazycarlitos

Haha of course most of us don’t think of Rolex as an investment.

But the OP was just rambling on about what lot of us consider a non-subject. Lol

Well it's nice to use maths rather than hearsay to prove it sometimes A Rolex can be "an investment".. so I don't consider it rambling on.. so thanks for this example you posted!.

Appreciate it... do you have any other examples?

Further- obviously this example shows the importance of leaving the watch pristine.. Stickers on, papers, box etc all locked away. Unused..Not a RSC in sight..

Would you agree?

[10klakes]

There are worse things to spend money on than Rolex watches. Each of the Rolex watches I have purchased have been thoroughly enjoyed, and if I needed to liquidate then today, I would do just fine.

There is also a such thing as a bad investment, such as a stock or fund that does NOT return 5%, but actually decreases in value. I own some and can tell you, if I had to liquidate these loser stocks today, I would absolutely take a loss.

Welcome to the forum, I hope what brings you here is enthusiasm for Rolex/watches, and more than financial/investment debate.

[Jabbo84]

What about investing in your children and education??