Rolex Watches , Good As Gold ?

[004]

I truely would like to someday own a Grand Seiko & spend approx $5000 for a GS , am a Seiko guy first . But i like all fine watches "Rolex" inc "whats not to like about them" ? 
When i was in Singapore in 2012 , i went to several pawn brokers to check out their watches , i thought i'd test the waters so to speak .
I asked the Pawn shop chap would he be interested in buying my Grand Seiko 36000 Hi Beat ?
"I dont even own one mind you" he said no way , i said its worth $10k at "Thong Sia Singapore" , he still wasnt interested .
I then said to the pawn shop owner i have a 5 yo Rolex Milgauss , are you interested to buy ?
He said no problem & offered $4000 without even seeing it "true story" .
So even though i prefer Grand Seiko over Rolex , am not a Rolex hater , in fact am the opposite & have great respect for Rolex & would like to someday own a Sub mariner or Deep Sea , maybe even that Milgauss which i dont even own

http://www.grand-seiko.com/collection/9 ... GA029.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.grand-seiko.com/collection/9 ... GR083.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.rolex.com/watches/rolex-deep ... -0001.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.rolex.com/watches/milgauss/m ... -0001.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;







Edit add , links .

[herzausstahl]

I hope to save up enough for a used deepsea someday also. Just afraid that it's too big for my wrist.

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[ivan]

I hope to save up enough for a used deepsea someday also. Just afraid that it's too big for my wrist.

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Save up?
I hear wrongly bo?
Deepsea wear not that big btw.

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[004]

The Rolex Deepsea is a beautifull piece , as i said for watches up to $5000 & under "Grand Seiko" is hard to beat in terms of finish + superior quality & value for money . The awesome "Blancpain 5015-1130-71 Fifty Fathoms" my favourite Divers watch .

http://www.blancpain.com/en/watch/5015-1130-71" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;














Edit , add Blancpain link .

[stepper78]

1 hour pass...

And still no one post:
"I buy watch is for the design, not for investment/ maintain value...."

[ivan]

1 hour pass...

And still no one post:
"I buy watch is for the design, not for investment/ maintain value...."

I buy becos I like.


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[Solanum88]

Rolex, backed by years of strong marketing has established itself as a well known and well sought after brand by the masses. It would therefore be able to command a rather stable market price and allow the pawnbroker to promptly liquidate it in the event of a default.

Grand Seiko and many other brands appeal to a smaller segment of the market and tend to suffer badly in terms of resale (I have heard of offers of as low as 10% of purchase price for certain brands). With lower demand, resale prices can be rather volatile and I can see why pawnbrokers would steer away.
This is the case with 2nd hand watchbrokers in Singapore as well, many are willing to offer you up to 80% buyback gurantees for Rolex but I dont think you can see the same gurantees for other brands.

While I do respect Rolex for their marketing ingenuity and their "horological significance" (arguable I know), I find it way too common and cant seem to justify the value im getting for their price. As such they dont often last long on my wrist.

I suppose if you are buying a keeper, buy what you like. If you are buying with plans of flipping, get a Rolex or a Patek.

[fireal]

I buy watch is for the design, not for investment/ maintain value....

[Ed.YEO]

I buy watch is for the design, not for investment/ maintain value....

yeah... i'm one onto design as well. NAME? What can name guarantees besides high resale value that eventually falls onto the hands of clueless buyer who're just after the NAME?

[ckw]

as far as investment is concerned, i heard from my friend recently that his golfing kaki told him out of about 10 watches he buys, maybe only 2 will appreciate...basically its very hard to earn from collecting watches...and his golfing kaki is a very rich man (millionaire status), have ferrari, cayenne...changes them every few months and buy watches starting from 5 figures, nothing less, like APs, RMs, PPs...etc. so think he should know whats he talking...

if just for the sake of flipping...then i rather keep the $ in the bank, more liquid. i rather buy a watch i like with less $ to keep, than buy a watch i dun really like with a lot of $ just because its easy to flip, because will most likely lose $ doing so. why not save the $, due to depreciation when flipping, and buy more and/or more expensive watch you really like...

just my 2 cents worth...guess alot about buying GS and notable brands, Rolex included, have already been said in other treads in this forum and other forums...i had the conflict before plunging into GS and is saving to get another GS...no more conflicts...and hopefully 1 day i can afford a lange 1...

[sys12345]

http://www.timezone.com/2012/12/13/the- ... s-dowling/

[004]

^^
Thanks for sharing "sys12345" , Rolexes past history & its new factory is impressive . It seems Rolex has realized to be more effecient it must do , what Seiko has done from day one & become fully Vertically integrated . Hence why Rolex in the 1990s , began a decade long programme of consolidation.

[sys12345]

U are most welcomed.

There are some Rolex bashers out there who believe that Rolex watches are nothing more than some hyped up time pieces, with an almost year on year price increase. Truth is, Rolex watches are generally very hardy and stood the test of time. A testament u can see on many aunties and uncles wearing older DJs, hardly treating them with care. I have a 3 decade old DJ that is still ticking and keeping good time, never ever been serviced before! Generally, apart from how well a watch is taken care off, time is the best proof for the reliability of a watch movement. I have watches using Swiss ETAs (COSC) that keeps good time when its new but a few years down the road, u can see the drift in its time keeping. On the other hand, i observed that Rolex watches generally age well and keep consistently good time like when its new, stretching the interval required for a service.

^^
Thanks for sharing "sys12345" , Rolexes past history & its new factory is impressive . It seems Rolex has realized to be more effecient it must do , what Seiko has done from day one & become fully Vertically integrated . Hence why Rolex in the 1990s , began a decade long programme of consolidation.

[herzausstahl]

Very hardy indeed. One of my default travel-for-work watch is a Rolex (the other is a g-shock).

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[004]

U are most welcomed.

There are some Rolex bashers out there who believe that Rolex watches are nothing more than some hyped up time pieces, with an almost year on year price increase. Truth is, Rolex watches are generally very hardy and stood the test of time. A testament u can see on many aunties and uncles wearing older DJs, hardly treating them with care. I have a 3 decade old DJ that is still ticking and keeping good time, never ever been serviced before!

Some of my family members that live in Singapore own Rolex watches that are 20+ yo , their Rolex watches still run perfectly accurate to this day . I admit they take great care of them & have them serviced , but who wouldnt look after their high end watch regardless of brand .

[Vinc04]

I used to ask people why does the older generations uncles buy Rolex (at that time are the 6694 and DJ) to wear instead of investing the money on gold or other stuffs.

Now, after knowing more, understanding more and owning a Rolex watch, I have to agree that Yes, Rolex is like an investment because its retaining value is strong. You can easily retain 60-65% of the watch value most of the time and in some occasion, price even goes up!

For example.. I the 80's, a 6694 cost probably around $700-800 (which is quite big sum then)... Now one w/o cert cost easily $1700 and some even selling at $2400?

Only setback is... I always feel that the first owner bears the depreciations most. Usually 2nd owner will be of an advantage as the value has depreciated to around a stable point. So even if as a 2nd owner, you use for a few years and sell away.. The price won't go down too much. Better, as prices of Rolex keeps increasing evey year... You won't know.. You might not even loose any money.

NeverTheless.. It's all based on demands. Understand the Singapore has over the last 10years moved to like top5 in terms of watch dealings and buying. Watch appreciation is gaining popularity.. Thus driving the market o move up. What if 10yrs later the heat is no longer there? Will the price still remain as competitive now? Lets wait and see.. I also have no answer...

[004]

I used to ask people why does the older generations uncles buy Rolex (at that time are the 6694 and DJ) to wear instead of investing the money on gold or other stuffs.

Now, after knowing more, understanding more and owning a Rolex watch, I have to agree that Yes, Rolex is like an investment because its retaining value is strong. You can easily retain 60-65% of the watch value most of the time and in some occasion, price even goes up!

For example.. I the 80's, a 6694 cost probably around $700-800 (which is quite big sum then)... Now one w/o cert cost easily $1700 and some even selling at $2400?

Only setback is... I always feel that the first owner bears the depreciations most. Usually 2nd owner will be of an advantage as the value has depreciated to around a stable point. So even if as a 2nd owner, you use for a few years and sell away.. The price won't go down too much. Better, as prices of Rolex keeps increasing evey year... You won't know.. You might not even loose any money.

NeverTheless.. It's all based on demands. Understand the Singapore has over the last 10years moved to like top5 in terms of watch dealings and buying. Watch appreciation is gaining popularity.. Thus driving the market o move up. What if 10yrs later the heat is no longer there? Will the price still remain as competitive now? Lets wait and see.. I also have no answer...

Thanks for sharing your interesting & informative insight

[yoshiki]

Since young, I loved watches.. I got to know a doctor who loved watches as well.. my dad told me, his watch could probably fill your hand with rolexes. so 1 day when consulting him, I commented on his watch and he started chatting about watches. And he told me, there are only a few brands that you would want to keep.. ... "

Amongst those brands, rolex was 1 of them. and after hearing him talk, I got more interested and starting finding out more about rolex. And eventually bought 1.

[Quasimodo]

I think too much of the Rolex image has been driven by advertising and marketing. And hearsay. The "unwashed masses" will have all their rumours and beliefs about what makes a watch valuable ("You spent WHAT on a Seiko?") and valued ("See my new Ingersoll German watch.").

As collectors, we should see past the bullshit and determine the value of a watch for ourselves. Based very much on what we know. And on that level, a Rolex IS a good watch. Do I think Rolexes and other Swiss watch brands are overpriced? Well on occassion, yes. But on many other occasions, no.

And because of all the history, both real and hyped, Rolexes do command a certain degree of value retention and as such are the only watches that local pawn shops will accept. Incidentally, there is also a story that in the 60's and 70's, spooks from the west were issued with Rolexes as a means of carrying something they could easily sell in a foreign country to get cash in the event of an escape and evasion scenario to fund their efforts.

So I do think that for the time being, a Rolex is as good as gold, even if it's not exactly worth its weight in gold.

[telepgm]

What an interesting exchange of personal thoughts & ideas. A good read. Thanks to all.

My 2cents, but summarized by a fellow trader (pardon my plagiarism, dear CEO): buy what you like, keep what you love , don't spend too much.

I agree with this mantra wholeheartedly.


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