Rolex's Biggest Mistakes.

[rolepam312]

They can raise prices all they want, try to " act " like luxurious timepieces... They can polish the bracelets all they want, but they'll never truly be " luxurious " watches.....sure it's a luxury to own a Rolex and convey to the masses that you've made it, if that's ones goal, then Rolex is the perfect brand... They can screw up a dial, cover up their movements ( nothing to look at) but people will love it anyway... So how can they make any mistakes? Intentional or not?? I for one don't need to tell others that I wear an overpriced, marketing tool on my wrist.... Perfectly happy with my AP and JlC's....

[superdog]

Originally Posted by Roselló

The "Fat" lugs is the most awful mistake Rolex created with the new models........

and interestingly enough, i think its the best thing they have done.

[Psmith]

Originally Posted by Stuxnet

Biggest mistake has been the platinum Daytona. Not because I don't like it. But because it is not selling. You can find Authorized Dealers begging you to take it off their hands for 40% off or more. Patek makes watches in yellow gold, rose gold and platinum. The price differential on a platinum watch is nowhere near what Rolex is asking for the Platinum Daytona vs. a gold or SS. Platinum encasing a fairly basic movement. Not a PP3970, PP 5970 or a PP5270. Retail for the Pt. Daytona is what you could pay for a PP5070 or 5170. The PP5070P is notably more expensive because of its limited run.

Pure hubris.

I find this a little hard to believe. For a start, this was always going to be a low volume seller, and at 40%+ discount it would not be worth the AD stocking the piece in the first place. I'll be very happy to be proven incorrect

[HL65]

Originally Posted by Stuxnet

Biggest mistake has been the platinum Daytona. Not because I don't like it. But because it is not selling. You can find Authorized Dealers begging you to take it off their hands for 40% off or more. Patek makes watches in yellow gold, rose gold and platinum. The price differential on a platinum watch is nowhere near what Rolex is asking for the Platinum Daytona vs. a gold or SS. Platinum encasing a fairly basic movement. Not a PP3970, PP 5970 or a PP5270. Retail for the Pt. Daytona is what you could pay for a PP5070 or 5170. The PP5070P is notably more expensive because of its limited run.

Pure hubris.

Utter rubbish....Sorry try again. The cost for an AD is 62.5% for them and mostly by order only. Whoever told you this has no idea what they are talking about. As for an AD ordering you one for his cost or so he is guaranteed to lose money....LOL. As for your numbers on Patek you also don't know what you are speaking of. A Platinum Daytona can be bought for roughly $60K with discount and that is half of what a platinum 5070 sells for it you can find one of the 200 that were made like I did. Is the watch a perpetual chrono like a much more expensive Patek 3970 or 5970? No of course not. Please though get your facts straight and yes I know what I am talking about if you want to debate facts.

[HL65]

Originally Posted by Psmith

I find this a little hard to believe. For a start, this was always going to be a low volume seller, and at 40%+ discount it would not be worth the AD stocking the piece in the first place. I'll be very happy to be proven incorrect

Most AD's are not stocking them but ordering them for clients when one comes into buy. Of course Rolex AD's don't buy watches to lose 2.5% or $1875 per watch. Pure rubbish!

*Cost of watch for an AD is $46,785 or 62.5% of retail price.

[wantonebad]

As many others have stated, the super-case chubby-lugs, cannot abide them!!

And creating confusion with the 42MM Explorer, now everyone thinks all the models will eventually get the 42MM case.

Originally Posted by SteelerFan65

Utter rubbish....Sorry try again. The cost for an AD is 62.5% for them and mostly by order only. Whoever told you this has no idea what they are talking about. As for an AD ordering you one for his cost or so he is guaranteed to lose money....LOL. As for your numbers on Patek you also don't know what you are speaking of. A Platinum Daytona can be bought for roughly $60K with discount and that is half of what a platinum 5070 sells for it you can find one of the 200 that were made like I did. Is the watch a perpetual chrono like a much more expensive Patek 3970 or 5970? No of course not. Please though get your facts straight and yes I know what I am talking about if you want to debate facts.

Can of W....A.. opened, BS filter engaged!!

[superdog]

Originally Posted by SteelerFan65

Utter rubbish....Sorry try again. The cost for an AD is 62.5% for them and mostly by order only. Whoever told you this has no idea what they are talking about. As for an AD ordering you one for his cost or so he is guaranteed to lose money....LOL. As for your numbers on Patek you also don't know what you are speaking of. A Platinum Daytona can be bought for roughly $60K with discount and that is half of what a platinum 5070 sells for it you can find one of the 200 that were made like I did. Is the watch a perpetual chrono like a much more expensive Patek 3970 or 5970? No of course not. Please though get your facts straight and yes I know what I am talking about if you want to debate facts against.

hells yeah!!!!!

[Psmith]

Originally Posted by SteelerFan65

Most AD's are not stocking them but ordering them for clients when one comes into buy. Of course Rolex AD's don't buy watches to lose 2.5% or $1875 per watch. Pure rubbish!

Quite right Ken - I had to laugh at the thought of an AD begging a customer to make a deal at a loss for themselves!

[HL65]

Originally Posted by Psmith

Quite right Ken - I had to laugh at the thought of an AD begging a customer to make a deal at a loss for themselves!

Exactly!! Pure rubbish...

It is amazing that Rolex is even able to survive as a business with all of the mistakes they have made and continue to make!

[superdog]

Originally Posted by SteelerFan65

Exactly!! Pure rubbish...

It is amazing that Rolex is even able to survive as a business with all of the mistakes they have made and continue to make!

thats my whole thought process.

i just don't get this thread....

i don't think they have made any mistakes and i am far from the brand snob. in face, many of my posts admonish the brand....

but damn i love the watches.

[CrownMe]

Biggest mistakes.....removing lug holes, removing chamfer edges, Smurf dial Bluesy ceramic sub and caution yellow numbers on bezel, Square lugs on the sub c And over bloated crown guards. Green wavy top boxes. Imo Rolex was at its best before the 80s

[KINGROLESAR]

With some of these posts beginning to feel like I'm stuck on an elevator with my wife.

[superdog]

Originally Posted by KINGROLESAR

With some of these posts beginning to feel like I'm stuck on an elevator with my wife.

[AK797]

Originally Posted by CrownMe

Imo Rolex was at its best before the 80s

Ah... was that while you were in your eighties?

[Robbyman]

Lugs on the Sub C. I love the watch apart from the lugs. Thinking if flipping for an older model

[Stuxnet]

Originally Posted by SteelerFan65

Utter rubbish....Sorry try again. The cost for an AD is 62.5% for them and mostly by order only. Whoever told you this has no idea what they are talking about. As for an AD ordering you one for his cost or so he is guaranteed to lose money....LOL. As for your numbers on Patek you also don't know what you are speaking of. A Platinum Daytona can be bought for roughly $60K with discount and that is half of what a platinum 5070 sells for it you can find one of the 200 that were made like I did. Is the watch a perpetual chrono like a much more expensive Patek 3970 or 5970? No of course not. Please though get your facts straight and yes I know what I am talking about if you want to debate facts.

So a PP5070P is in the $130 - $150 range, depending on condition and where you are buying it. But I said that it is a rare piece. And the J or R are probably in the $62 - $64 range. I did say that the 5070P was different if you need to re-read my post. But the disparity between a 3970J and 3970P is not as wide as between that of a gold Daytona and the Platinum. Or even between a 5130J and 5130P. Or for a 5960R and 5960P.

Any my point exactly. This is not a PC Chrono. But I'm simply pointing out the huge mark up for a platinum case and a cerachrome bezel on an otherwise ordinary movement. Would you rather buy the 5070J or a Platinum Daytona?

As for the Platinum Daytona...we both know people in common who were offered the watch in the low to mid 40s (no tax).

[toph]

Originally Posted by Mosco

this thread may as well be called "First World problems".

It's a rolex forum? What kind of threads do you expect?
How many people can you feed for a skydweller?

[HL65]

Originally Posted by Stuxnet

So a PP5070P is in the $130 - $150 range, depending on condition and where you are buying it. But I said that it is a rare piece. And the J or R are probably in the $62 - $64 range. I did say that the 5070P was different if you need to re-read my post. But the disparity between a 3970J and 3970P is not as wide as between that of a gold Daytona and the Platinum. Or even between a 5130J and 5130P. Or for a 5960R and 5960P.

Any my point exactly. This is not a PC Chrono. But I'm simply pointing out the huge mark up for a platinum case and a cerachrome bezel on an otherwise ordinary movement. Would you rather buy the 5070J or a Platinum Daytona?

As for the Platinum Daytona...we both know people in common who were offered the watch in the low to mid 40s (no tax).

First off this isn't a Patek thread but a 5070P if you can find one go for $115-120K fortunately mine was far less. As for difference in price the Platinum Daytona has a full platinum bracelet not a leather strap and the watch has far more platinum in general than any of the Pateks. Enough said about Pateks except that you asked if I would rather have a Platinum Daytona or a 5070J--clearly a Platinum Daytona since that is what I chose.

Secondly and far more important is your claim that people we both know have been offered the Plat Daytona in mid $40's--absolute BS and anyone who claims that is full of it!! The AD cost is 62.5% of retail and that equals almost $47,000. Your claim that AD's are begging people to take them off their hands at a loss--pure BS. Sorry but this is as I said before utter rubbish.

[MonBK]

Originally Posted by SteelerFan65

First off this isn't a Patek thread but a 5070P if you can find one go for $115-120K fortunately mine was far less. As for difference in price the Platinum Daytona has a full platinum bracelet not a leather strap and the watch has far more platinum in general than any of the Pateks. Enough said about Pateks except that you asked if I would rather have a Platinum Daytona or a 5070J--clearly a Platinum Daytona since that is what I chose.

Secondly and far more important is your claim that people we both know have been offered the Plat Daytona in mid $40's--absolute BS and anyone who claims that is full of it!! The AD cost is 62.5% of retail and that equals almost $47,000. Your claim that AD's are begging people to take them off their hands at a loss--pure BS. Sorry but this is as I said before utter rubbish.

Come on Ken, why are you holding back?

Tell him what you really feel.

[HL65]

Originally Posted by MonBK

Come on Ken, why are you holding back?

Tell him what you really feel.

I just appreciate when people speak factually my friend. Anyone who knows clearly knows and yes I know.

[MonBK]

Originally Posted by SteelerFan65

I just appreciate when people speak factually my friend. Anyone who knows clearly knows and yes I know.

I know that you know.

[Bulliondesk]

I'll chime in. Although I am more known here as a Patek guy I dabble in Rolex from time to time. Recently, I was offered a PTD from my AD for 34.67 to be exact (Slightly under 35%) back. 49 was the number wired to him. Told me he bought it from Rolex for 40 back his cost. Ken is right that now ADs are purchasing them for 37.5 back their cost. This piece was bought prior to the dealers margin decrease. Granted, I have done numerous Patek (mostly) and Rolex transactions with him over the years and have a wonderful relationship. If you have an established relationship with a great AD who is willing to work with you then good deals can be had if your patient and work them. As well.. I spoke to a respected TRF member on the phone recently who everyone knows very very well.. He was also offered the same number 49.

[HL65]

Originally Posted by Bulliondesk

I was offered a PTD from my AD for 34.67 to be exact (Slightly under 35%) back. 49 was the number wired to him. Told me he bought it from Rolex when it first came out at 40 back his cost. Granted, I have done numerous Patek (mostly) and Rolex transactions with him over the years. If you have an established relationship with a great AD who is willing to work with you then good deals can be had if your patient and work them. As well.. I spoke to a respected TRF member on the phone recently who everyone knows very very well.. He was also offered the same number 49.

That is great but $49k is not 40% plus off and AD cost is not 40 off any longer as Rolex changed their pricing to AD's a year ago and now it is 37.5% off and that is $46875. So if an AD chooses to make a few thousand on one for someone with a solid relationship that is great. To suggest AD's are out there begging to sell them for losses is utter rubbish as I stated and that is a fact.



Oh and by the way it is selling just fine. My AD has had 5 people come in and order them. As I stated most AD's sell these by order only much like platinum DD/DDII's. AD's like most business owners don't want to stock their stores with higher priced items. The average wait to get one from Rolex is a month just like Tom who ordered his this past Saturday. Now back on track with all of the many mistakes of Rolex as I am officially tired of this thread.

[HL65]

Originally Posted by MonBK

I know that you know.

PS. Biggest Rolex mistake: Only making 123 of the ever rare Seaking.

[davvman]

The Attitude that Rolex has to be reinvented; "high tech" materials as ceramics, cerachrome and so on.

What for? Until the 70s there was real demand for improvements, which ended up in a totally reliable product. automatic movements have already finished their cycle of development. Everybody who trys to convince people that it makes any sense to improve them any further, is telling fairy-tales in order to maintain the sales.
On the other hand, actual tool application for the Rolex Professional series keeps shrinking, which does not demand for new designs and functions.

By the way, where is this going? One day, the dial is made of carbon, the case is of aeronautics ceramics and whatever the rest is made of. How does it improve a watch?
I damned want a steel watch with a reliable, inexpensively changable aluminum insert! That's it.

Here's the biggest crap that rolex made from my point of view: The soldering joint in the clasp. It's just a crappy design, I would have never expected from Rolex. And why do the new clasps have to be tank-alike? The old clasps do a better job.


The sad buttom line is that Rolex was alway known to be innovative, which it cannot be any more, even if it wanted to be.

[CrownMe]

Danger will robinson....Danger

[JUSTROLEXES]

Originally Posted by Stuxnet

As for the Platinum Daytona...we both know people in common who were offered the watch in the low to mid 40s (no tax).

I wasn't offer one of those in the mid to low $40'S heck not even in the mid $50'S where can I find one at those prices as I would love to own one myself or maybe 2 one for each wrist

[T. Ferguson]

Wow, 4 pages and still going. One would begin to think Rolex makes money in spite of itself. Given Rolex's track record maybe I should try making more mistakes in my business.

[rmfnla]

Originally Posted by jay1988

Disagree.

The Sky-Dweller may not appeal to me aesthetically but it was a very exciting release.

I was particularly impressed by the functionality of the bezel and the allocating of the months to the numbers. Saying that the overall design of the dial still left something to be desired for me.

Funny, I was considering mentioning the S-D as a mistake; I certainly am not drawn to it.

To each his/her own, n'est-ce pas..?

[mailman]

Originally Posted by SteelerFan65

PS. Biggest Rolex mistake: Only making 123 of the ever rare Seaking.

I agree. Especially since I was #124 on the list