Has the Rolex bubble finally burst? Perhaps it has

[ChonkyCat]

A new take on the “for exhibition only” signs 😂

[Geertsen]

Someone who hasn’t found it difficult to acquire various Oyster Perpetuals is Stuart Bingham. He has worn a different ‘snooker ball coloured’ Rolex for each appearance in the World Championships on BBC.




Red


Black


Green

[paulw123]

Yep, he was wearing green to beat Ronnie.

[dom9]

paulguitar said:

paulguitar said:

dom9 said:

Blue face OP in the window of my AD, thought they were pretty popular... available immediately!

Which AD? Do you know what size it is?

Dom?

Sorry, edited my post and forgot to reply as well - Kingston, Surrey Mappin and Webb.

[paulguitar]

dom9 said:

paulguitar said:

paulguitar said:

dom9 said:

Blue face OP in the window of my AD, thought they were pretty popular... available immediately!

Which AD? Do you know what size it is?

Dom?

Sorry, edited my post and forgot to reply as well - Kingston, Surrey Mappin and Webb.

Thanks do you know what size? I'm after a 41mm blue dial OP.

[dom9]

paulguitar said:

Thanks do you know what size? I'm after a 41mm blue dial OP.

It's a 41 - that's the edit I made

Was in the window, so may not have lasted long. You could call and see if it is still there, before making the trip. Rightly or wrongly, I think they'd prefer to hold it a while for a regular customer, but let me know as there are ways and means.

[FreeLitres]

I ventured into my local AD today which is the one I'm registered at.

My main contact wasn't in (again!!) but i had a chat with another Rolex representative.

Several models were available to buy. The usual full gold models and gold/oysterflex models. However, some of the steel 36mm Datejusts were also available! I was fleetingly tempted by a 36mm, slate grey dial Datejust on Oyster bracelet.

I mentioned to this new rep that I'm registered for a steel Sub and then she shared an insight..

"Oh Sir, that is a really popular model. I'd recommend that you build up your profile by buying some jewelry for your family. Building your profile moves you up the list. Have you heard of our certified pre-owned models"

I've obviously heard of this sneaky concept before but to hear it straight from the lips of a Rolex AD rep....

Does this basically mean I will not get a call for a Submariner unless I spend a few £k on extra crap? Not happy.

[paulguitar]

dom9 said:

It's a 41 - that's the edit I made

Was in the window, so may not have lasted long. You could call and see if it is still there, before making the trip. Rightly or wrongly, I think they'd prefer to hold it a while for a regular customer, but let me know as there are ways and means.

I called. There was no answer on the telephone and no response to the answer phone message I left.

[BigBen]

FreeLitres said:

"Oh Sir, that is a really popular model. I'd recommend that you build up your profile by buying some jewelry for your family. Building your profile moves you up the list. Have you heard of our certified pre-owned models"

I've obviously heard of this sneaky concept before but to hear it straight from the lips of a Rolex AD rep....

The chap in my local jeweller said the same and I told him I might buy one watch every decade. I still got the call in reasonable time for my deep sea. So don't give up hope

[Jamescrs]

FreeLitres said:

I ventured into my local AD today which is the one I'm registered at.

My main contact wasn't in (again!!) but i had a chat with another Rolex representative.

Several models were available to buy. The usual full gold models and gold/oysterflex models. However, some of the steel 36mm Datejusts were also available! I was fleetingly tempted by a 36mm, slate grey dial Datejust on Oyster bracelet.

I mentioned to this new rep that I'm registered for a steel Sub and then she shared an insight..

"Oh Sir, that is a really popular model. I'd recommend that you build up your profile by buying some jewelry for your family. Building your profile moves you up the list. Have you heard of our certified pre-owned models"

I've obviously heard of this sneaky concept before but to hear it straight from the lips of a Rolex AD rep....

Does this basically mean I will not get a call for a Submariner unless I spend a few £k on extra crap? Not happy.

This is not new news, they have been using this technique for a few years now

[FreeLitres]

Jamescrs said:

FreeLitres said:

(AD telling me to buy jewelry to bump me up the watch list)

This is not new news, they have been using this technique for a few years now

Yes I know of the general approach from Youtuber grey market dealers sharing their knowledge on ADs, but I thought it was behind the scenes and I didn't expect to be to blatant to come from the AD rep within the first few minutes of meeting them.

How much do you even need to spend on other stuff? £500? £1000? After £2000 spend do the say that I'm nearly there and need to buy a few more items? Even if you spend £5000 there is no guarantee that you get the watch you want. It's shady as hell. It's putting me off the brand massively.

[Fckitdriveon]

FreeLitres said:

Jamescrs said:

FreeLitres said:

(AD telling me to buy jewelry to bump me up the watch list)

This is not new news, they have been using this technique for a few years now

Yes I know of the general approach from Youtuber grey market dealers sharing their knowledge on ADs, but I thought it was behind the scenes and I didn't expect to be to blatant to come from the AD rep within the first few minutes of meeting them.

How much do you even need to spend on other stuff? £500? £1000? After £2000 spend do the say that I'm nearly there and need to buy a few more items? Even if you spend £5000 there is no guarantee that you get the watch you want. It's shady as hell. It's putting me off the brand massively.

We see plenty of stories with this old trick.
Fact is (particularly jewellery) the margins are very high so it makes sense (not ethically) to dangle the carrot of a higher place on ‘the list’ if jewellery is purchased .

Quite often we ll get calls from customers asking us to do the maths on what they will lose against what they will gain when making these loss leading purchases .

[Geertsen]

Buster73 said:

[...]
• We will reserve the timepiece for 7 days for you to decide whether you wish to purchase it. If you do not offer to buy the timepiece, or contact the showroom within this time, the timepiece will become available to another client. In this instance your registration of interest will continue to be active unless you indicate otherwise.

• If you offer to purchase the timepiece, full payment and collection are needed within one week from our initial contact. When your purchase is complete, the registration of interest will no longer be live.
[...]

Kind regards,
The Goldsmiths Team

I found this very interesting, it wasn’t long ago that people on here were being offered their allocation and bing told they had to visit the shop the same day to complete the purchase.

[Louis Balfour]

Geertsen said:

Buster73 said:

[...]
• We will reserve the timepiece for 7 days for you to decide whether you wish to purchase it. If you do not offer to buy the timepiece, or contact the showroom within this time, the timepiece will become available to another client. In this instance your registration of interest will continue to be active unless you indicate otherwise.

• If you offer to purchase the timepiece, full payment and collection are needed within one week from our initial contact. When your purchase is complete, the registration of interest will no longer be live.
[...]

Kind regards,
The Goldsmiths Team

I found this very interesting, it wasn’t long ago that people on here were being offered their allocation and bing told they had to visit the shop the same day to complete the purchase.

I have been pondering where Rolex is within brand lifecycle. Personally, I have become distinctly disinterested in them, whereas a few years ago I owned a number. They have become too prolific and, dare I say it, a bit played out.

This combined with people having less cash now suggests to me that ADs calling the shots may cease to be the case in the not too distant future.

[Cupid-stunt]

Louis Balfour said:

..... ADs calling the shots may cease to be the case in the not too distant future.

Isn't that the very origins of this post, 300+ pages ago?

[Louis Balfour]

Cupid-stunt said:

Louis Balfour said:

..... ADs calling the shots may cease to be the case in the not too distant future.

Isn't that the very origins of this post, 300+ pages ago?

History repeats.

[Blown2CV]

Jamescrs said:

FreeLitres said:

I ventured into my local AD today which is the one I'm registered at.

My main contact wasn't in (again!!) but i had a chat with another Rolex representative.

Several models were available to buy. The usual full gold models and gold/oysterflex models. However, some of the steel 36mm Datejusts were also available! I was fleetingly tempted by a 36mm, slate grey dial Datejust on Oyster bracelet.

I mentioned to this new rep that I'm registered for a steel Sub and then she shared an insight..

"Oh Sir, that is a really popular model. I'd recommend that you build up your profile by buying some jewelry for your family. Building your profile moves you up the list. Have you heard of our certified pre-owned models"

I've obviously heard of this sneaky concept before but to hear it straight from the lips of a Rolex AD rep....

Does this basically mean I will not get a call for a Submariner unless I spend a few £k on extra crap? Not happy.

This is not new news, they have been using this technique for a few years now

but the bubble has burst now so...

[Bob_Defly]

FreeLitres said:

I ventured into my local AD today which is the one I'm registered at.

My main contact wasn't in (again!!) but i had a chat with another Rolex representative.

Several models were available to buy. The usual full gold models and gold/oysterflex models. However, some of the steel 36mm Datejusts were also available! I was fleetingly tempted by a 36mm, slate grey dial Datejust on Oyster bracelet.

I mentioned to this new rep that I'm registered for a steel Sub and then she shared an insight..

"Oh Sir, that is a really popular model. I'd recommend that you build up your profile by buying some jewelry for your family. Building your profile moves you up the list. Have you heard of our certified pre-owned models"

I've obviously heard of this sneaky concept before but to hear it straight from the lips of a Rolex AD rep....

Does this basically mean I will not get a call for a Submariner unless I spend a few £k on extra crap? Not happy.

677 pages in and you're just figuring this out?

[Blown2CV]

wait till you go and try and buy a 911 GT3 next weekend

[popeyewhite]

Geertsen said:

Red

Spanish orange in that pic, surely.