A year with "my first Rolex"

[Speed Badger]

I don't know why it would be perceived as a piss-take , thanks for sharing. Taking the plunge and buying a Rolex is not exactly the work or thought of a moment amongst most regular folk - to me a Rolex, Omega et al are the kind of watches you see George Clooney advertising or Le Mans winners being presented with. It's not a watch you actually buy for goodness sakes! It's a watch you lust over, but never actually own so when you do it's exciting and makes you feel a bit naughty for having it, even if it's just a thing, just a luxury object at the end of the day.

[CardShark]

Great posts OP and fair play to you for taking the plunge, so to speak. Sounds like you feel that you made the right decision *for you* and that the appreciation of what you have appears to be growing.

It's unfortunate, though I suspect that if you'd posted about something other than a Rolex there'd be no daft comments.

[crispyshark]

The original Nick the Greek said:

Zod said:

It was more that I hoped it was a piss-take. If not, take a step back and think about how it comes across.

Very straight forward .

I can afford a Rolex.

You can't because you are poor.

Very satisfying.

Dear Lord, that made me chuckle!

[Ayahuasca]

Similar here, although not only did my wife notice, she bought it for me!

Sea Dweller 4000. I wear it for most things except outdoorsy stuff where it could get damaged or if going somewhere dodgy where it could get stolen - then my trusty G-Shock is a better bet. Yes, I have taken it Scuba diving!

People do notice it, although I guess 99% of them think it is a Submariner!

[Xtriple129]

I have the same watch, bought on the 26th of October 2013 and I have worn it for every minute since! I have loads of other watches, but now never wear them. The Rolex was always 'the' watch to have and I love it.

In three years, no one has noticed it and that suits me fine. This is for me no one else.

[A10]

Speed Badger said:

I don't know why it would be perceived as a piss-take , thanks for sharing. Taking the plunge and buying a Rolex is not exactly the work or thought of a moment amongst most regular folk - to me a Rolex, Omega et al are the kind of watches you see George Clooney advertising or Le Mans winners being presented with. It's not a watch you actually buy for goodness sakes! It's a watch you lust over, but never actually own so when you do it's exciting and makes you feel a bit naughty for having it, even if it's just a thing, just a luxury object at the end of the day.

No mate, it's just a watch.

[Nigel_O]

A10 said:

No mate, it's just a watch.

Ultimately yes, but for many, its the realisation of significant aspiration and the result of a lot of hard work (or good fortune)

For me, its my "pat on the back" for holding down several jobs and working long hours (which I enjoy, but a trinket on my wrist helps remind me why I do it)

I know some people for whom a Sub is their daily beater and their "best" watch is worth ten times the price of the Sub, but I bet I felt as good when I bought my Sub as he did with his PP (or whatever it is...)

Now that I've realised the satisfaction is ME knowing, rather than other people knowing, a side of me thinks a Rolex was a bit predictable and I should have gone for something a bit more subtle. However, if you look back at the thread from a year ago, I had already decided I wanted a black-faced, black-bezelled diver watch, with chunky white hands, so my choice was also based on style, because it just happened to be what I liked.

I see photos of some watches on this forum and (to me) they look very ordinary and not at all desirable - I'm then staggered to find they cost £20k+ - just as well we're all different eh?

Perhaps I'll grow out of the Rolex - some posts seem to suggest that its simply a logical step to an even better piece - we'll see

[leglessAlex]

A10 said:

No mate, it's just a watch.

A watch that costs thousands of pounds is a luxury object, as he described it.

[A10]

Nigel_O said:

A10 said:

No mate, it's just a watch.

Ultimately yes, but for many, its the realisation of significant aspiration and the result of a lot of hard work (or good fortune)

For me, its my "pat on the back" for holding down several jobs and working long hours (which I enjoy, but a trinket on my wrist helps remind me why I do it)

I know some people for whom a Sub is their daily beater and their "best" watch is worth ten times the price of the Sub, but I bet I felt as good when I bought my Sub as he did with his PP (or whatever it is...)

Now that I've realised the satisfaction is ME knowing, rather than other people knowing, a side of me thinks a Rolex was a bit predictable and I should have gone for something a bit more subtle. However, if you look back at the thread from a year ago, I had already decided I wanted a black-faced, black-bezelled diver watch, with chunky white hands, so my choice was also based on style, because it just happened to be what I liked.

I see photos of some watches on this forum and (to me) they look very ordinary and not at all desirable - I'm then staggered to find they cost £20k+ - just as well we're all different eh?

Perhaps I'll grow out of the Rolex - some posts seem to suggest that its simply a logical step to an even better piece - we'll see

Ive got a DSSD in my collection. I'm glad you enjoy your Rolex. I only took exception to speed badgers waffle about George Clooney, Le Mans winners, lust and never actually owning it.

[Nigel_O]

A10 said:

Ive got a DSSD in my collection. I'm glad you enjoy your Rolex. I only took exception to speed badgers waffle about George Clooney, Le Mans winners, lust and never actually owning it.

I read speedbadger's post as "lusting after the watch while not owning it, and then finding a way of owning it" - the Clooney and LeMans references were simply that the brand is associated (rightly or wrongly) with celebs and Motorsport success

Edited by Nigel_O on Friday 15th January 19:44

[wombleh]

Nice post glad you're enjoying it, are you going to be in trouble if the wife does notice?

[Nigel_O]

wombleh said:

Nice post glad you're enjoying it, are you going to be in trouble if the wife does notice?

Not in trouble, but she definitely wouldn't understand

She's known I've wanted a good watch for years - she just doesn't know I've done it. Or maybe she does - my lads are crap at keeping secrets

Last time I broke the car was on the start-line at Santa Pod - wifey had been told before I crawled under the quarter mile gantry......

[jonah35]

Nigel_O said:

wombleh said:

Nice post glad you're enjoying it, are you going to be in trouble if the wife does notice?

Not in trouble, but she definitely wouldn't understand

She's known I've wanted a good watch for years - she just doesn't know I've done it. Or maybe she does - my lads are crap at keeping secrets

Last time I broke the car was on the start-line at Santa Pod - wifey had been told before I crawled under the quarter mile gantry......

After a year on your wrist she will have noticed. In bed, in the shower, when driving, when having dinner and on holidays how could she not notice. If she hasn't I'd be worried lol.

Enjoy your watch

[Nigel_O]

I'm not so sure - I have half a dozen watches, and the only one she ever notices is a 1961 (birth year) gold Smiths - she only ever notices it because it ticks so loudly it keeps her awake. Otherwise, she wouldn't notice whether I'm wearing the 7t32 Seiko, the Skagen titanium, or the fake Tag ( a pressie from my brother from a holiday abroad - hardly ever worn)

Heck, she didn't notice I'd shaved my beard off for a week.....

[jonah35]

Nigel_O said:

wombleh said:

Nice post glad you're enjoying it, are you going to be in trouble if the wife does notice?

Not in trouble, but she definitely wouldn't understand

She's known I've wanted a good watch for years - she just doesn't know I've done it. Or maybe she does - my lads are crap at keeping secrets

Last time I broke the car was on the start-line at Santa Pod - wifey had been told before I crawled under the quarter mile gantry......

After a year on your wrist she will have noticed. In bed, in the shower, when driving, when having dinner and on holidays how could she not notice. If she hasn't I'd be worried lol.

Enjoy your watch

[Tiggsy]

How do you spend (to you) a large amount of cash on something that means so much to you and not mention it to your wife??? Wouldn't she be as excited about it as you? If only to share your in your enjoyment? Odd

[HairyMaclary]

Nigel_O said:

wombleh said:

Nice post glad you're enjoying it, are you going to be in trouble if the wife does notice?

Not in trouble, but she definitely wouldn't understand

Fair play working hard to get what you want, but I find this quite sad. Not sharing news of your purchase with your wife but getting excited enough to post on a internet forum. I get people in the watch section will get it. I have done this with some scuba kit. Yeah dear it came off ebay. Dead cheap...

I dont have a rebreather for scuba diving because I cant justify spending £10k to the wife because she definatley doesnt get it. I cant justify it to myself to spend that kind of cash on myself. Appreciate this is relative to my circumstances.

Im interested in what you guys think when you see a person wearing a lesser watch. Say you come to my office in central London for meeting and notice Im wearing a £15 casio digital watch or an £80 Apex diving watch?

That Im not into watches or I should have tried harder at school?

[MitchmachineUAE]

Great post and a good representation of what ownership of a quality timepiece can be like.
Glad you are enjoying it and wearing it as intended by the manufacturer.

[Nigel_O]

HairyMaclary said:

Im interested in what you guys think when you see a person wearing a lesser watch. Say you come to my office in central London for meeting and notice Im wearing a £15 casio digital watch or an £80 Apex diving watch?

I'd just think - "there's a person, who isn't a watch enthusiast" - no judgement, no opinions as to your disposable income or how well you did at school

Its the same when you see someone driving a very ordinary, or even a bad car - PH'ers don't need to judge, they just think "not a car enthusiast..." and get on with their own life

There's another aspect of course - for example, I have no idea what a rebreather is, no idea why someone might want one, no idea why it should cost £10k and absolutely no interest in diving (which I guess is pretty ironic given the watch I'm wearing....) - when you find out I don't own a rebreather, do you pass judgement, or do you simply think "he's not interested in diving..."

Whilst I'm on a low rung of the watch ladder, I rather suspect that the further up you go, the less you are concerned about what other people think or what other people have on their wrist - as I mentioned in my opening post, I've now twigged that its a very personal satisfaction which would make no sense at all to most other people (wifey included...)

PS - your £15 Casio isn't "lesser", just "different" - its massively more accurate than my Sub, probably more resilient to knocks and scrapes, easier to wear, far less to worry about and easier to live with. It probably has the ability to tell you the time in other places, it'll tell you the day, date and month, it'll wake you up at a predetermined time. If you listed features and benefits side by side, the cost/benefit ratio of the Casio is off the scale compared with the Sub

I have an old black plastic Casio Illuminator in my collection somewhere - I wore it for a couple of years after I found it on a beach in South Wales - only stopped after the rubber strap broke

[HairyMaclary]

Cheers for the reply. It offers some balance to your opening post.

Rebreather diving is a type of tech diving. Lets you dive deeper for longer. Step up in complexity and expense over normal scuba gear. Suppose it could be an anology for casio v rolex. Different watch for different applications. Similar outcome for differing costs.

Enjoy your watch!