Rolex Milgauss

[skilly1]

I have the opportunity to buy a Rolex Milgauss for £4100 brand new. Black face with the green emerald outer. It would be an investment, what do you think?

[Fittster]

Very few Rolex watches turn out to be investments when you take into account inflation. They just don't do as badly as some other watches.

[Stuart]

However if you can buy one of the more desirable models at list, you may still be able to take a quick earn by flipping it without wearing the thing.

[Maxf]

Fittster said:

Very few Rolex watches turn out to be investments when you take into account inflation. They just don't do as badly as some other watches.

Pretty much all stainless steel sports watches from the 60s onwards seem to have done ok.

[Fittster]

Maxf said:

Fittster said:

Very few Rolex watches turn out to be investments when you take into account inflation. They just don't do as badly as some other watches.

Pretty much all stainless steel sports watches from the 60s onwards seem to have done ok.

That's a 50 year investment period. The fact that an old Rolex is the same price as a new one doesn't mean it's been a great investment.

A vintage sub isn't much different from the price of a new one but if you allow for inflation it's not a great investment.

Most alternative investments (wine, art, classic cars) don't do very well when compared to more traditional investment classes. Maybe a stainless steel sports Rolex will but I wouldn't bank on it.

[Dominic H]

Stuart said:

However if you can buy one of the more desirable models at list, you may still be able to take a quick earn by flipping it without wearing the thing.

Agreed, there's a quick profit now. But not necessarily any more if you keep the watch. There was a massive demand for these when they first came out, as there is for every new Rolex Sports watch. Coupled with a problem with the glass, lead to very small numbers being released. This saw the price rise as high as £7k. Now the watches are being delivered on a regular basis, the stellar premiums are long gone.

Hope this helps.

Dom H

[Fittster]

Maxf said:

Fittster said:

Very few Rolex watches turn out to be investments when you take into account inflation. They just don't do as badly as some other watches.

Pretty much all stainless steel sports watches from the 60s onwards seem to have done ok.

That's a 50 year investment period. The fact that an old Rolex is the same price as a new one doesn't mean it's been a great investment.

A vintage sub isn't much different from the price of a new one but if you allow for inflation it's not a great investment.

Most alternative investments (wine, art, classic cars) don't do very well when compared to more traditional investment classes. Maybe a stainless steel sports Rolex will but I wouldn't bank on it.

[thegobetween]

I could think of better ways to invest £4100 if you want to see a profit; buy what you'd like to wear, if you like the Milgauss, go for it.

I find it a real shame many Rolex owners covet the investment angle of the watch / brand, not the engineering / ownership pleasure as say an IWC or JLC wearer.

(Milgauss owner)

Edited by thegobetween on Thursday 26th February 13:29

[clonmult]

thegobetween said:

I could think of better ways to invest £4100 if you want to see a profit; buy what you'd like to wear, if you like the Milgauss, go for it.

I find it a real shame many Rolex owners covet the investment angle of the watch / brand, not the engineering / ownership pleasure as say an IWC or JLC wearer.

(Milgauss owner)

Edited by thegobetween on Thursday 26th February 13:29

Another Milgauss owner here - was bought by my grandfather in the early-mid 50s I think, passed to my dad, then to me.

It was valued by a couple of PHers at an amount considerably more than £4k though. I could never be rid of it, although the price was almost an indecent proposal.

Does the new Milgauss have the lightning second hand, or is it just a "regular" one? The original really doesn't look that stunning, but its beautifully put together, the tick-tick sounds absolutely perfect.

[thegobetween]

clonmult said:

thegobetween said:

I could think of better ways to invest £4100 if you want to see a profit; buy what you'd like to wear, if you like the Milgauss, go for it.

I find it a real shame many Rolex owners covet the investment angle of the watch / brand, not the engineering / ownership pleasure as say an IWC or JLC wearer.

(Milgauss owner)

Edited by thegobetween on Thursday 26th February 13:29

Another Milgauss owner here - was bought by my grandfather in the early-mid 50s I think, passed to my dad, then to me.

It was valued by a couple of PHers at an amount considerably more than £4k though. I could never be rid of it, although the price was almost an indecent proposal.

Does the new Milgauss have the lightning second hand, or is it just a "regular" one? The original really doesn't look that stunning, but its beautifully put together, the tick-tick sounds absolutely perfect.

Yes the new Milgauss has the lightening second hand, and if you'd like, I suppose we could swap if you'd like the newer model

[clonmult]

thegobetween said:

clonmult said:

thegobetween said:

I could think of better ways to invest £4100 if you want to see a profit; buy what you'd like to wear, if you like the Milgauss, go for it.

I find it a real shame many Rolex owners covet the investment angle of the watch / brand, not the engineering / ownership pleasure as say an IWC or JLC wearer.

(Milgauss owner)

Edited by thegobetween on Thursday 26th February 13:29

Another Milgauss owner here - was bought by my grandfather in the early-mid 50s I think, passed to my dad, then to me.

It was valued by a couple of PHers at an amount considerably more than £4k though. I could never be rid of it, although the price was almost an indecent proposal.

Does the new Milgauss have the lightning second hand, or is it just a "regular" one? The original really doesn't look that stunning, but its beautifully put together, the tick-tick sounds absolutely perfect.

Yes the new Milgauss has the lightening second hand, and if you'd like, I suppose we could swap if you'd like the newer model

Um. I'll get back to you on that

Maybe if you offered 5 of the new ones in exchange ....

[influential]

Have seriously considered this very watch for a while now but didn't like the premium. Interesting to see it at these levels (the s/s Daytona seems to be holding a premium, albeit not to the level it once was). What's the list on this green now?

[briano]

List for the GV is £4100.

Briano

[lightweight]

clonmult said:

thegobetween said:

I could think of better ways to invest £4100 if you want to see a profit; buy what you'd like to wear, if you like the Milgauss, go for it.

I find it a real shame many Rolex owners covet the investment angle of the watch / brand, not the engineering / ownership pleasure as say an IWC or JLC wearer.

(Milgauss owner)

Edited by thegobetween on Thursday 26th February 13:29

Another Milgauss owner here - was bought by my grandfather in the early-mid 50s I think, passed to my dad, then to me.

It was valued by a couple of PHers at an amount considerably more than £4k though. I could never be rid of it, although the price was almost an indecent proposal.

Does the new Milgauss have the lightning second hand, or is it just a "regular" one? The original really doesn't look that stunning, but its beautifully put together, the tick-tick sounds absolutely perfect.

50's Milgauss rolexes can go for up to £30K look at the bonhams auction results.

[clonmult]

lightweight said:

clonmult said:

thegobetween said:

I could think of better ways to invest £4100 if you want to see a profit; buy what you'd like to wear, if you like the Milgauss, go for it.

I find it a real shame many Rolex owners covet the investment angle of the watch / brand, not the engineering / ownership pleasure as say an IWC or JLC wearer.

(Milgauss owner)

Edited by thegobetween on Thursday 26th February 13:29

Another Milgauss owner here - was bought by my grandfather in the early-mid 50s I think, passed to my dad, then to me.

It was valued by a couple of PHers at an amount considerably more than £4k though. I could never be rid of it, although the price was almost an indecent proposal.

Does the new Milgauss have the lightning second hand, or is it just a "regular" one? The original really doesn't look that stunning, but its beautifully put together, the tick-tick sounds absolutely perfect.

50's Milgauss rolexes can go for up to £30K look at the bonhams auction results.

Seriously?

Just over a year back I was told circa £20k for one .... £30k is getting ever so slightly tempting.

[clonmult]

How many did they make of the 50s Milgauss? Can't have been that many if the current prices are any indication.

I'm almost scared to wear it anywhere now. Can't even begin to believe I used to wear it down the gym, whilst swimming, in the Sauna (which it didn't particularly like). Still, 50+ years on, and its still working quite nicely.

[clonmult]

Just done a bit of browsing ... almost wish I hadn't.

On ebay, an Oyster Milgauss back (yes, back!) is up for $9k. One guy a couple of years back had his valued at £45k.

Indecent proposal ....

[freeloader]

Take a look on http://www.watches.co.uk and search for Milguass.

They've got all 3 current models, the only one that is over RRP is the green.

Standard Black and White dials a way below, time was when unworn and 10/10 where all selling over list. Green crystal may be over RRP, but for how much longer?

[Maxf]

Fittster said:

Maxf said:

Fittster said:

Very few Rolex watches turn out to be investments when you take into account inflation. They just don't do as badly as some other watches.

Pretty much all stainless steel sports watches from the 60s onwards seem to have done ok.

That's a 50 year investment period. The fact that an old Rolex is the same price as a new one doesn't mean it's been a great investment.

A vintage sub isn't much different from the price of a new one but if you allow for inflation it's not a great investment.

Most alternative investments (wine, art, classic cars) don't do very well when compared to more traditional investment classes. Maybe a stainless steel sports Rolex will but I wouldn't bank on it.

Well lets look at some examples (I havent done the maths and these prices are off the top of my head)...

Double Red Sea Dweller (70s) - £20k? A new SD is £5.5k
Red Submariner (70s)- £8k? A new Sub is £3.5k ish
Milgauss (60s) - £30k? A new Milgauss is £4k ish
Paul Newman Daytona (80s) - £25k? A new Daytona is £6k ish
Orange Hand Explorer (70s/80s) - £10k? A new Explorer II is £3.5k ish

Prices for all of these in the day would be in the hundreds, perhaps with the exception of the Daytona which was maybe a couple of grand.

BUT... a SS oysterdate from 1970 is maybe £1000, and a new one is £2300+, but MOST sports models do seem to command significantly more once 'vintage' than their new equivalent.

[Fittster]

Maxf said:

Fittster said:

Maxf said:

Fittster said:

Very few Rolex watches turn out to be investments when you take into account inflation. They just don't do as badly as some other watches.

Pretty much all stainless steel sports watches from the 60s onwards seem to have done ok.

That's a 50 year investment period. The fact that an old Rolex is the same price as a new one doesn't mean it's been a great investment.

A vintage sub isn't much different from the price of a new one but if you allow for inflation it's not a great investment.

Most alternative investments (wine, art, classic cars) don't do very well when compared to more traditional investment classes. Maybe a stainless steel sports Rolex will but I wouldn't bank on it.

Well lets look at some examples (I havent done the maths and these prices are off the top of my head)...

Double Red Sea Dweller (70s) - £20k? A new SD is £5.5k
Red Submariner (70s)- £8k? A new Sub is £3.5k ish
Milgauss (60s) - £30k? A new Milgauss is £4k ish
Paul Newman Daytona (80s) - £25k? A new Daytona is £6k ish
Orange Hand Explorer (70s/80s) - £10k? A new Explorer II is £3.5k ish

Prices for all of these in the day would be in the hundreds, perhaps with the exception of the Daytona which was maybe a couple of grand.

BUT... a SS oysterdate from 1970 is maybe £1000, and a new one is £2300+, but MOST sports models do seem to command significantly more once 'vintage' than their new equivalent.

Play with this inflation calculator and even if you trust the governments figures you'll be shocked:
http://www.whatsthecost.com/cpi.aspx

The history of alternative investments (wine, stamps, classic cars, etc) is horrid and it would be quite a leap of faith to assume a Rolex will buck the trend.

A rolex from the 1910s is only about 6K http://www.vintagewatchcompany.com/Mens-Vintage-Ro..., which is a pretty poor return on almost 100 years. Can you be sure the fashion for sports watches will last 20 or 30 years?