Buying a Rolex without a box

[flynnbod]

Hi. Obviously it’s possible to buy a pre-owned Rolex watch on its own, with papers, or with box and papers (and if you’re really keen, the “full set”). The price obviously rises in each case.

Whilst I won’t sit and look at b&p for long after I get it, I like the comfort of knowing I have them. However it looks like there’s a massive premium (£500+) to include the box vs watch and papers only. Seems crazy when you can pick up a Rolex box from eBay and other sources at 10-20% of that price. Appreciate some buyers want the original box but is that it? Or are these “genuine Rolex boxes” actually generally fake when sold separately like this?

[sj24k]

like everything else. some are real and some are fake. same thing for the watches themselves. stick with trusted resellers for everything and all should be AOK. yes a watch with a "full set" will command more. is it worth it? it is to me, but not to everyone. a very personal decision. i would never buy a box off of ebay to go with a watch i bought somewhere else, but again, that's me. i look for watches that are sold complete with box and papers, just because it makes me feel better. i like having it all together. but again, my biggest piece of advice it to ONLY BUY FROM TRUSTED RESELLERS WHO HAVE BEEN VERY WELL VETTED BY MULTIPLE SOURCES.

[Kyle3130]

Buy the seller.

[doboy007]

Personally wouldn’t pay a premium for the box. I have 4 sitting around somewhere just taking up space :)

[Chewbacca]

I’d pay up to 5% more for a full kit on a special watch. All others the price has to reflect overall condition.

[Ona]

Buying with a box doesn't really guarantee the authenticity of it's content. The watch can be fake all the same. So one has to be careful not to conclude that the content is automatically genuine if it comes in a box...

[doboy007]

Originally Posted by Ona

Buying with a box doesn't really guarantee the authenticity of it's content. The watch can be fake all the same. So one has to be careful not to conclude that the content is automatically genuine if it comes in a box...

Hope no one is that dumb.

[sportsfan0704]

Bought a full set (obviously) from an AD 5 years ago. The box hasn’t been used once since I took the watch home and since I don’t plan to ever sell the watch, the box has 0 value.

[Holishi]

kept the 2 tags and dumped the box of my first, used to keep all the boxes of all things thinking I would sell them one day only to realize I am too lazy to post for sell ads

[acheronsgrief]

The box doesn’t matter at all but I would pay a small premium for the papers (5% or so). If you buy from a seller you can trust then you will be fine…in my experience you save about the same amount skipping B+P as the hit you take when trading/selling it later.

[Mendota]

It will have value at some point. There will come a time decades from now when you sell it, gift it, or your family sells it after you die. It will happen. The only other option is you lose it or it gets stolen, but otherwise at some point in your lifetime it will change hands. It just will. We aren't getting out of here alive and carrying all of our shit with us. It's at that point where those things are valuable because the watch will be vintage at that point. A vintage watch with full set can easily be twice the value of a naked piece without anything else. It adds provenance to the piece and vintage collectors pay handsomely for that.

There's a fantastic YouTube video of an old veteran who brought his 1950s GMT Master 6542 to the Antiques Roadshow. He bought the watch on base in Germany on his last day there because his CO said he should buy a Rolex at the commissary before he went home. It was expensive, at around $150, but his CO said it was good. He didn't know which one to get so he picked the GMT. He saved everything - the box, tags, receipt, every single piece of paper ever issued for it, and the whole thing was original including the original bakelite bezel insert. The appraiser was so excited to tell him that because he saved all of those things it doubled the value of the piece. This video was probably 10 years ago, long before the recent vintage value explosion, but at the time of shooting it was a crazy high value. The man was in tears. He couldn't believe that he owned something like that.

I keep all of that stuff. JMHO

https://youtu.be/li0mRLcGbU8


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[BNA/LION]

I have a bunch of boxes and they are stuffed away. I guess if I ever sell a watch it will make a difference of maybe $500 per watch rater than not having it. I can see why over the years they are thrown out, given away and they go missing.

If you find a nice watch that has been verified by a CW21 Watch Maker the box and paper aren't really key IMHO.

[Casotakar]

I’d buy any Rolex without box and papers and as a matter a fact I have. And it wasn’t scary. It was fun.


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[MasterBlaster]

Personally, if I am not getting it from an AD I want the full kit. I don't mind if it costs a bit more.

[RJRJRJ]

The box is not unique to your watch. The AD just goes in the back and picks out the proper size box for the watch you bought. So as long as you have the proper size and generation of box, they are all indistinguishable. As to whether you're buying a genuine box, that's another story.

[joli160]

I don’t even consider buying any watch without B/P.
There are always equally good examples that come with everything.

[saxo3]

Originally Posted by joli160

I don’t even consider buying any watch without B/P.
There are always equally good examples that come with everything.

I understand your point but it is not true for many vintage models

[HideMyWalletPlease]

The boxes do not actually go with any specific watch. The AD has a ton of boxes. The watches come in a small plastic and styrofoam “coffin” and then when you buy the watch they randomly select a box from the stack and insert your watch and warranty card.

I think as long as your box is from the same time period as the watch in question, nobody would be able to tell.

With that said, all my watches came from the AD.

[2loaded]

Originally Posted by HideMyWalletPlease

...then when you buy the watch they randomly select a box from the stack and insert your watch and warranty card.

I think as long as your box is from the same time period as the watch in question, nobody would be able to tell.

With that said, all my watches came from the AD.

Not entirely random.
The box size must match with the watch. The watch tag identifies which size box to pull for the customer.