I should be doing cartwheels or something….

[KathleenL]

Happy for you - congratulations!

And, for what it's worth, I think having demo/display watches is a good thing.

[KathleenL]

Originally Posted by HiBoost

To add to your "my AD says" list, the funniest one from mine lately was the email from a guy claiming to be Mark Wahlberg's agent and describing how Mark needed a ___ model ASAP, so please let me know if you can help Mark out". LOL

And I'm sure the ever-so-helpful agent would be the one to come in to pick up the watch and have it sized to his wrist, claiming that he and Mark have the exact same wrist size...

[inadeje]

Looking hot on the oyster. Congrats

[doboy007]

Congrats!

It must be Pepsi day today since this is the third Pepsi on oyster incoming today from AD.

[Bluside]

Congratulations.

I have it on a jubilee but would prefer it on the oyster. Well done.

[Keepchasing]

Congratulations sir!

[Kyle3130]

Congrats on the GMT OP! Hope you enjoy your new watch! Thanks for the rundown on AD activity. I sure don’t envy their position except steady paychecks/commissions.

[Harry-57]

Thank you all.

My favourite watch? Well, it sure is this week! I love all my watches but I am so delighted to have got my BLRO that I feel fulfilled. Content. Like maybe I've reached a natural Rolex end point with this one. I wouldn't be surprised if this turned out not to be the case.

Warning. Ramble ahead.

It was love at first sight when it was released although I would have preferred it on Oyster to the original Jubilee. I wouldn't have minded a pinkish/purple one but I think the bezels they are producing now are more true to tradition, given it's of a completely different material to the beautiful painted BLRO bezels of yore (which I think still look best of all for colour although I love the 3D presentation of the ceramic). In a way, you could see the Cerachrom insert as a loop back to the beginning, because in the way it wears and can potentially break and shatter, it resembles Bakelite more than metal.

I asked my AD about going on the list but by the time I got round to it, the list was full and closed. The love affair then waned, not because of the watch but because of all the hype around it, not to mention prolific gouging. My circuit breaker tripped and I just forgot about it. The first 32X GMT Master I saw (and the only GMT Master I have ever seen in my AD's window) was a TT CHNR. I don't dig brown. I know the world would look alien without it and I can admire it in nature all day, but brown clothes and accessories don't go with me. And I don't go well with brown décor, cars etc. It just doesn't work. But the CHNR bezel was something else. I was hooked. I was also waiting for a Bluesy so the temptation to let greed overcome logic held firm. For a week. Next time I was in town I decided that if they still had it for sale I would buy it. They didn't.

I finally got one in February 2020 and I am still struck by how clever and rich the colourway and textures of the TT CHNR are. Rolex are good at this. And such was the wearing comfort, finish and ease of use of the CHRN, I began to want an SS sibling to go with it in the collection. When my AD put me on the list in July 2020 they pulled no punches. Keep fit, don't give up hope, be patient and above all, live to a ripe old age and I'll get my watch! They said they were going to overhaul their waiting list and it seems like they did. I was planning on a 3-5 year wait. At MSRP and with an already lovable watch collection, I could wait.

Back when I owned just a Polar (straight out of the AD's vault with a discount in late 2017) my ideal Rolex collection was Polar, Pepsi, Hulk. I've managed to pick up a few more on the way. My children and grandchildren will get them - or at least, that's the plan.

Speaking of inheritance, here's another snippet from yesterday:
A long time customer had a very tasty collection, including some highly desirable Rolex models, going back many years, all kept in good condition. He tragically passed away before he retired. His widow's best friend lost her husband shortly afterwards. The friends were very supportive of one another and did things together. They decided they needed a holiday. They wanted to go on a coach tour. She reluctantly bought two of her late husband's Rolex watches in for appraisal. Difficult to do, but he did have a big collection. She figured that the return after AD commission would leave her looking for a small balance remaining for the cost of the holiday, which she and her friend would throw some cash into. The appraiser at the AD replied "we can sell these in a week and give you enough money to buy the coach and go round the world in it". Which was perhaps a slight exaggeration but it illustrates that luxury watches are owned and sometimes unwittingly sat on by a diverse spectrum of people who are not all WIS or flip obsessed speculators.

[brandrea]

Congratulations Harry, I hope you wear it in great health

[thesharkfactor]

Stunning. I'd love to get an Oyster bracelet for my own one day.

Interesting to hear an AD's point of view. It must be horrible for them to deal with that every day. That's the kind of thing that grinds you down until one day you can't take it anymore.

To refer to the question that no one else answered (probably because few actually read the OP), I'm not sure what the reason is that the insert is all red under UV light but it is a cool random fact.

Congratulations on the new BLRO, I like it on Oyster too but I'm enjoying the difference of a Jubilee, it's a change from the Oysters I have already, that said I'll add an Oyster down the road.

[RolexSimon]

Great story - my experience from ADs completely. Flippers never get a second chance and the ADs get to be good judges of character. Enjoy your stunning watch.

[rmlovett1]

Nice! Congratulations!

[harvey]

Harry thank you for the update. Lovely to read a genuine story…

[1William]

Congratulations.

[Devildog]

Congratulations Harry

And to answer your question, the bezel is all red with blue added to one half (hence why the blue is different to the blue on the BLRO

[Number3]

Huge congrats Harry, it’s an insanely nice piece.

Loved the story about the widower.

[Manu74]

Very nice, congrats!

[watchwatcher]

Originally Posted by Harry-57

They also said that they don’t do much forum browsing any more because about 45% of it is conspiracy theory noise, detached from reality and about another 45% looks more like stock trading speculation. They wonder why watch lovers even bother. I said I suspected that less and less do.

Agree with their (and your) assessment. Although the 45% speculative number seems a little low.

Congrats on a fantastic time piece.

[RichM]

Very nice Harry. Congratulations

[Harry-57]

Thank you all. Some of the replies made me laugh - in agreement.

Thanks also to Scott for confirming about the bezel.

My AD is pathologically polite and unerringly professional, while remaining warm and friendly. I don't think anyone there will publicly crack but I'm increasingly getting the impression that it's worn extremely thin and internally they've had enough of it. But genuine enquiries do come in and if someone appears to be worth the effort of responding to professionally they might ring them rather than sending a form reply. But what they say doesn't differ.

Retail selling is tough. I think that some of these order takers who think they don't need the good will of the customer would turn to ash if confronted with a situation in which they had to develop a conversation, identify needs, construct a narrative and close the sale. But some luxury goods dealers, car dealers etc. don't have to pay for good sales people. They don't need them. Even in a situation where the product has essentially sold itself, often in advance of the buyer first meeting it, a good sales professional will still make the occasion more special still, and have a loyal customer in the long term - which will be very handy come the day when things stop flying off the shelves.

Thanks again all for your kind thoughts and contributions.

[strafer_kid]

Nice!

[tymonster]

Congrats! Awesome reference and definite keeper.


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[ks58]

It's a stunner. I love it on the oyster bracelet.

[rfs]

Congrats!

[Watcheroo]

Congrats!!


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[IamJacky]

Huge congrats on this stunning piece!

[Vvvlllooo]

wow congrats

[Devildog]

Originally Posted by Harry-57

Thank you all. Some of the replies made me laugh - in agreement.

Thanks also to Scott for confirming about the bezel.

My AD is pathologically polite and unerringly professional, while remaining warm and friendly. I don't think anyone there will publicly crack but I'm increasingly getting the impression that it's worn extremely thin and internally they've had enough of it. But genuine enquiries do come in and if someone appears to be worth the effort of responding to professionally they might ring them rather than sending a form reply. But what they say doesn't differ.

Retail selling is tough. I think that some of these order takers who think they don't need the good will of the customer would turn to ash if confronted with a situation in which they had to develop a conversation, identify needs, construct a narrative and close the sale. But some luxury goods dealers, car dealers etc. don't have to pay for good sales people. They don't need them. Even in a situation where the product has essentially sold itself, often in advance of the buyer first meeting it, a good sales professional will still make the occasion more special still, and have a loyal customer in the long term - which will be very handy come the day when things stop flying off the shelves.

Thanks again all for your kind thoughts and contributions.

Harry - just FYI, here's a picture of the bezel which may be of interest

[nan7yo]

Congratulations! Stunning watch to own and oysters bracelet is a good choice!


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[ap1]

Major, enjoy