The free Rolex

[Goodwatch]

Suppose you buy a 16610 at 3800 EUR and wear it for 20 years. During that 20 years you have it serviced 4 times, at an expected fee of 800 EUR. This makes 4600 EUR. The watch will have cost you 63 cents a day. 63 cents a day for an icon, for the greatest sportswatch ever made is not expensive, smoking cigarettes will cost you more. But the cracker is yet to come. Assuming Rolex will continue to raise it’s prices by 5% every year, in 20 years time that 16610 will cost 10028 EUR. If you sell your than classic 16610 for 4600 EUR, (very feasible) you will have enjoyed a fine timepiece for 20 years absolutely free!


Frans.

P.S. But you will be out of a Sub and buying a new one will cost you.

[mikerlx]

Deleted as per mikerlx's request. Refer here.

[JJ Irani]

Originally Posted by mikerlx

Wiseman once said, "If it ain't broke, don't try to fix it."

Yes, but Wiseman forgot to say that if you don't fix it, it is going to eventually break some day and then that bill for repairs and parts replacement is gonna knock your sock off!!!

[mikerlx]

Deleted as per mikerlx's request. Refer here.

[Goodwatch]

Originally Posted by mikerlx

I think some of you guys focus more on sending your Rolex to Rolex for just about anything whether they are repairs or polishing.

Well, I kinda like to look at it from the other side. Firstly, but I totally speak for myself, I take care of my stuff, be it a watch, a pair of shoes, my cell phone or my fountain pen. Why? Well, money doesn’t grow on trees and still I like to own quality stuff. So after I buy a pair of shoes, I bring them straight away to the shoemaker's to let him put protective rubber soles over the existing leather ones. I don’t buy shoes often but they are usually in the $350 range and I don’t want to ruin the leather soles right away. I also treat them with a spray that makes them water resistant and then polish them before I wear them for the first time.


The same goes for my watches. I don’t like them scratched. There are the little scratches from daily wear, unavoidable. But what I don’t need are those big, unsightly deep scratches on the case or crystal that just ruin a watch. I had that with my 16610, I slammed it against a massive steel doorpost while at work. The bezel was ruined and I had to send it back. Cost me a couple of hundred but I couldn’t have lived with the watch the way it was.


As for preventive maintenance, well, it’s a matter of choice. But especially for the dive models it is important to have regular service performed. Your life may depend on it. As for the cars, Ferrari’s and the like are actually fussy cars because of their high performance. Wouldn’t it be silly to wreck a $50,000 engine because you didn’t have a $1,000 maintenance job performed? And I would care if my watch ran or not. In the latter case it is useless.


Take care,

Frans.

[Gedanken]

Originally Posted by mikerlx

I think some of you guys focus more on sending your Rolex to Rolex for just about anything whether they are repairs or polishing. It can get a bit anal. I knew a guy selling a Ferrari 348, and wore a President,a cliche. Anyway, he owned the 348, Mondial, and 328 and never got the 15,000-30,000 mile timing service. I asked him about his Rolex, and he said he had his for 15 years and never go it serviced. He told me he didn't care if it ran or not. It was a Rolex, and it didn't matter. He told me a Rolex is the toughest and most durable thing as well as a Ferrari. He didn't understand why people babied these things like put the Rolex in a safe or just park the Ferrari in a garage forever. I kinda agree with what he said. It kinda takes the fun out of owning a Rolex. You guys watches are freakin perfect with no wear scratches or scrapes. I realize there are hardcore wearers like me with scratches and stuff, and the collector with vaults and polishing cloths. Comments?

Well, I don't make much of Ferrari man there. First, as Ferrarists go, neither the 348 nor the Mondial were classic models - those tended to be bought more for the badge than the car. Second, Ferraris are reputed to be garage queens, so his saying that they are durable and tough sounds somewhat suspect. If you wanted durable and tough, I'd suggest a Toyota.

My SD's got dings and scratches from daily wear and I've come to live with them - my only regret is that, unlike my old Seiko diver's, these marks don't have interesting stories to accompany them.

That said, who else should I want to send a Rolex to for repairs or servicing? I've had lesser watches killed by independent so-called watchmakers, and I'd rather spend the money and effort getting my SD or DJ to an RSC than spending more of the same worrying about and undoing the damage done by some dolt who has no clue. It's a fairly simple equation in my book.