Real cost of Rolex ownership
Discussion
traffman said:
I am about to add to my collection another Submariner. Traded a Rolex white dial explorer for it. i was given 3k and i had to add 2450 to the Sub. Dealers are making the profit , i was offered 5k for a Gmt 2 that i paid 6750 for. As someone said if you want to make sure your Rolex will be a worthy investment then you need to keep it at least 10/15 years before you see it rise.
Depends on which model you buy as this is not necessarily the case. You could also use sites like chrono24, Rolex forums to sell. UnclePat said:
What I do admit to finding fascinating is that in this day & age - when we routinely chuck away clothes at fashionable whim, replace £500 iPhones every two years, experience brutal year-one depreciation on new cars, and bin working TVs for the latest, largest model - you can purchase & wear the hell out of a quality item that tends to appreciate in value, has no built-in obsolescence, and has every chance of working just as well 100 years from now. That’s worthy of note, I think.
This is my attitude exactly. I was lucky enough to win £4,000 on a slot machine a few years ago, and bought a Speedmaster. I reasoned what else could I buy that I could use and enjoy for the rest of my life? Similarly to mark four years off the booze I purchased a 39mm OP last year.I still get pleasure out of both these items, and will do for many years when the newest gadget I could have bought is gathering dust in a drawer, or that trip of a lifetime is a fading memory...
The retail price of the Speedie has gone up £1,000 since I purchased mine (although you go get a bigger box and a NATO strap now), and the Rolex went up 10% the week after I bought it (this price rise was widely anticipated). This is just the "icing on the cake" as I will never part with either.
I have to explain this often to people when they say "nice watch, how much was it?"
The price is almost irrelevant, i'm only looking at the cost between purchase and sale.
Same with cars - if you get a new GT3, the £110+k won't be an issue if you sell it on a year later, it will have cost you most probably nothing at all.
I think it would be much harder to justify Rolex purchases if they depreciated to £0
The price is almost irrelevant, i'm only looking at the cost between purchase and sale.
Same with cars - if you get a new GT3, the £110+k won't be an issue if you sell it on a year later, it will have cost you most probably nothing at all.
I think it would be much harder to justify Rolex purchases if they depreciated to £0
I find Rolex to be a sound investment I have 5 and on a waiting list to get another (BLNR)
I have a LV which I paid 3k for some years a go which is worth around 6.5k now
Plus a Red sub which is around 14k now which is a hell of a lot more than I paid for it
The others are maybe worth around 10 or 20% more than what I paid for them
I have a LV which I paid 3k for some years a go which is worth around 6.5k now
Plus a Red sub which is around 14k now which is a hell of a lot more than I paid for it
The others are maybe worth around 10 or 20% more than what I paid for them
Blown2CV said:
Also standard rolexes are not an investment.
Long term they are. I bought a humble Datejust umpteen years ago, and it's risen steadily in value - now worth 5x what I originally paid for it. Never bought for financial gain, and not for sale, but nice to know that my faithful friend has also looked after my investment. So, I treat it to a service every 10 years.
Koln-RS said:
Blown2CV said:
Also standard rolexes are not an investment.
Long term they are. I bought a humble Datejust umpteen years ago, and it's risen steadily in value - now worth 5x what I originally paid for it. Never bought for financial gain, and not for sale, but nice to know that my faithful friend has also looked after my investment. So, I treat it to a service every 10 years.
Blown2CV said:
and in real terms the return is?
Well I paid £800. RPI factor has increased that figure to £2,250. I've spent £319 on servicing. It's now worth £3.5-4k. Someone else can do the maths, but to me that's a pretty good real return on something that's been a practical asset and a pleasure to own and wear.
paul-fueju said:
Does a service include strap repair? My watch needs a couple of new links and probably all the pins replacing, is that included in the price? I dont want the stretched strap just polished up.
Any idea how much that would cost, for an Oyster Perpetual??
my understanding is that the service doesn't include things like that - they will just do it and then add it on top of the service bill. Any idea how much that would cost, for an Oyster Perpetual??
paul-fueju said:
Does a service include strap repair? My watch needs a couple of new links and probably all the pins replacing, is that included in the price? I dont want the stretched strap just polished up.
Any idea how much that would cost, for an Oyster Perpetual??
You can buy perfectly acceptable replica bracelets on eBay for around £20. Any idea how much that would cost, for an Oyster Perpetual??
I fitted one to my Sub ND (using the genuine clasp) as I needed to hacksaw a rivetted link off to get a good fit. The original parts are in the box, should I ever decide to sell it.
clockworks said:
paul-fueju said:
Does a service include strap repair? My watch needs a couple of new links and probably all the pins replacing, is that included in the price? I dont want the stretched strap just polished up.
Any idea how much that would cost, for an Oyster Perpetual??
You can buy perfectly acceptable replica bracelets on eBay for around £20. Any idea how much that would cost, for an Oyster Perpetual??
I fitted one to my Sub ND (using the genuine clasp) as I needed to hacksaw a rivetted link off to get a good fit. The original parts are in the box, should I ever decide to sell it.
I just sold my IWC GST 3707 covering the total cost of ownership. I worn that watch all day every day. I bought it used with scratches so I could relax a little. After 3 years I decided to buy a Planet Ocean and sell the IWC. I had it cleaned up at a jeweler and it looked like new. A few pictures later and it was on chrono24. My investment in cleaning it, listing it and shipping it to the buyer (in Switzerland) was all covered by the appreciation of the watch.
My Planet ocean was bought at a good price so I will not lose anything on it either.
A friend has 50% employee discount at a large department store chain in the US. They now sell used Rolexs at reasonable prices. With his discount he could double his money very quickly. His latest was a SS pepsi GMT for about $3.5k
My Planet ocean was bought at a good price so I will not lose anything on it either.
A friend has 50% employee discount at a large department store chain in the US. They now sell used Rolexs at reasonable prices. With his discount he could double his money very quickly. His latest was a SS pepsi GMT for about $3.5k
LaurasOtherHalf said:
traffman said:
I own three Rolex , not had any serviced at the moment. I know a major service is from 550 to 750 pounds.
Compare with my real life prices above.Slightly off topic from the OP question but running with the current theme somewhat, I'm looking at my first Rolex purchase and considering the Milgauss GV z-blue @ around 5.5k. I can't be certain that it's going to be a forever watch as much as I would like it to be; would this particular model be classed as a sound purchase with the potential to move it on in the future? I like a DJ or OP almost as much and could 'save' some money on the latter but I'm keen to hear thoughts on this.
ps I don't work @ CERN
ps I don't work @ CERN
clockworks said:
You can buy perfectly acceptable replica bracelets on eBay for around £20.
I fitted one to my Sub ND (using the genuine clasp) as I needed to hacksaw a rivetted link off to get a good fit. The original parts are in the box, should I ever decide to sell it.
Wait, this sounds very off to me. You buy a watch that's worth 1000's of pounds and then skimp out on another bracelet?I fitted one to my Sub ND (using the genuine clasp) as I needed to hacksaw a rivetted link off to get a good fit. The original parts are in the box, should I ever decide to sell it.
Why not get a replica watch in the first place then? Impossible to distinguish from the outside...
ZesPak said:
Wait, this sounds very off to me. You buy a watch that's worth 1000's of pounds and then skimp out on another bracelet?
Why not get a replica watch in the first place then? Impossible to distinguish from the outside...
Because I didn't want to take a hacksaw to either the original bracelet or a genuine replacement. With all the removable links taken out the watch fitted, but the clasp was not centring nicely on my wrist. Cutting off the first fixed link on the "6 o'clock" side made it much more comfortable to wear.Why not get a replica watch in the first place then? Impossible to distinguish from the outside...
None of the non-original parts on my watch carry any Rolex markings, so I don't have a problem with it.
I did actually buy a cheap Chinese fake before I bought the real thing. I had always said that I'd never buy a Rolex, preferring to buy Zenith and Ulyssee Nardin as the less obvious choice. Wearing the fake helped me get over my anti-Rolex prejudice, snd I bought my ND Sub a few weeks later. I also own a Steinhart LV, a Seiko LV lookalike, and an LV sterile dial homage that I put together myself using Chinese and American parts with an ETA 2824.
I have just aquired one of the "perfect" Chinese fakes with a fake Rolex movement at a price too low to resist. It is actually very convincing, even placed side by side with the real thing. Keeps rubbish time though, so I'll probably take it apart one day. The Chinese rarely lubricate the movements properly in my experience. I have a few watches with the Chinese Unitas movement, and they all perform a lot better after a service.
I own well over 100 watches. I appreciate them for what they are, not just for the brand.
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