Rolex Long Term Investment Pieces

[Maxym]

I'm with the OP in that if you're going shell out 000s, then losing a sizeable chunk of that in depreciation doesn't make sense (unless you've got stacks of the folding). SS sports/professional Rolexes make financial sense as well as being a pleasure to own and wear.

But the word 'investment' in the thread title was always going to lead to grief.

[lostkiwi]

Maxym said:

I'm with the OP in that if you're going shell out 000s, then losing a sizeable chunk of that in depreciation doesn't make sense (unless you've got stacks of the folding). SS sports/professional Rolexes make financial sense as well as being a pleasure to own and wear.

But the word 'investment' in the thread title was always going to lead to grief.

But if you buy to keep then it's a moot point.

[Guycord]

Might be slightly OT but we have to look at value and price.

I have a 1998 Breitling Chronomat GT purchased from new for £1750. It’s been my faithful daily beater in a tough environment. It’s not a 5hitter by any measure and light years better than Breitlings current quality.

A quick lookup on Chrono24 “suggests” it is now “worth” now £1850. Is this an investment with a modest rise of 5% in 20 years or only a price given that the real value of money/purchasing power has eroded well over 2-fold in that time?

Great investment in life and sentimentality, less so in terms of financial return

Edited by Guycord on Saturday 21st July 20:01

[jonamv8]

Guycord said:

Might be slightly OT but we have to look at value and price.

I have a 1998 Breitling Chronomat GT purchased from new for £1750. It’s been my faithful daily beater in a tough environment. It’s not a 5hitter by any measure and light years better than Breitlings current quality.

A quick lookup on Chrono24 “suggests” it is now “worth” now £1850. Is this an investment with a modest rise of 5% in 20 years or only a price given that the real value of money/purchasing power has eroded well over 2-fold in that time?

Great investment in life and sentimentality, less so in terms of financial return

Edited by Guycord on Saturday 21st July 20:01

Because its a breitling

Had it been SS Sub the increase would be far greater

[Tony1963]

jonamv8 said:

Because its a breitling

Had it been SS Sub the increase would be far greater

Well isn't that a pearl of wisdom.

[traffman]

Ive a nice 5513 i am selling , pre comex dial . If you go vintage then there's far more details in what determines the value , wether it has meters first on the dial or red writing .
The condition aswell , unpolished fetches higher premiums aswell as having a full set of papers and a box.

Any steel sub will appreciate over the years. Infact Rolex along with another handful of names allways increase in value over the years.

Daydates , presidentials and ladyjusts seem to buck the trend in not being as investment worthy as Subs , Daytonas and gmt's.

Have a look on Chrono24 , look at 5513 , 14060 , 1680 and 16800's. The latter being the date subs.

You'll need around 5k at least....20k plus for a red writing 1680.

Do your research and enjoy

[Guycord]

Tony1963 said:

Well isn't that a pearl of wisdom.

Ain’t it just. Should have got that 30year old Daytona which was going for a grand instead.

[Guycord]

jonamv8 said:

Because its a breitling

Had it been SS Sub the increase would be far greater

Yeah, and go back 3 to 4 years ago and I bet residuals would have been similar. Sub mania. Bubble.

My argument is about the value of money of today vs money of the past. Not the choice of watch as an investment

[bazza.]

traffman said:

Ive a nice 5513 i am selling , pre comex dial . If you go vintage then there's far more details in what determines the value , wether it has meters first on the dial or red writing .
The condition aswell , unpolished fetches higher premiums aswell as having a full set of papers and a box.

Any steel sub will appreciate over the years. Infact Rolex along with another handful of names allways increase in value over the years.

Daydates , presidentials and ladyjusts seem to buck the trend in not being as investment worthy as Subs , Daytonas and gmt's.

Have a look on Chrono24 , look at 5513 , 14060 , 1680 and 16800's. The latter being the date subs.

You'll need around 5k at least....20k plus for a red writing 1680.

Do your research and enjoy

I hear what your saying I got this just under 5 years ago before the big jump in price

[mikeveal]

calumc said:

Thanks for the opinions and advice guys.

Just to clarify for those jumping down my throat for asking a perfectly acceptable question:

It gets asked regularly. The search function does work.

calumc said:

- The purchase of the watch is not purely for investment purposes, but why would I not want a beautiful watch which will also hold/appreciate in value?

That's really not an investment then.

In answer to your rephrased question and only considering new watches, fashion dictates that bi-metals are currently the worst of the Rolex crop when it comes to value retention. You'll really only make money on limited edition or rare models. Everything else is a bit middle of the road.

Ignore anyone saying "I have made £xxxx" on my Rolex, unless they have actually sold it, or bought it cheap! Most are looking at asking prices advertised by the likes of Watchfinder, Blowers, or similar advertising on Chrono24. These are highstreet window prices. Expect to actually get a half to two thirds of that if you sold to one of these establishments, and about three quarters if you sold privately. Most people telling you how much they think they would make if they sold their Rolex are also neglecting service costs (or neglecting to service).

I'm fairly sure you will also see very shortly how they (posters telling you how much their Rolex has "made") really dislike having these facts pointed out to them. It undermines their self justification of the purchase. It's a shame they feel so insecure, they've bought a nice watch. If they could stop worrying about the performance of their "investment" perhaps they'd enjoy it more for being a watch.

Despite Rolex's strategy of making it look like there is a shortage of their watches, they make about a million a year.

So in summary, if you want to enjoy a Rolex watch without having to worry about depreciation, avoid bi-metal. Buy a stainless sports or dress watch, wear it, enjoy it. You might make a little, you might lose a little, in real terms it will, probably, more or less hold it's value. Kay sera.

If you want to make money on a (new) Rolex, then you need to buy something rare. You also need a crystal ball and a following wind. You don't know whether your 2018 rarity will become 2019's mainstream model, or whether your 2018 mainstream model will be pulled from the catalogue.

So you see, a Rolex isn't an investment. If you're looking to make money, it's a bet, a punt, nothing more. Buying a Rolly does not make you into the Wolf of Wall St. If you ask about "investing" in a Rolex, you will always get a strong and mixed response - positive from owners self justifying and circumspect from others.

If you want a beautiful, new watch that will appreciate in value, get an R.W.Smith.

[Teebs]

I bought a GMT Master 2 in January 2018 and sold in June 2018, lost £200 overall.

Bought from an AD and sold to Watchfinder. They were the best bid by a long way, one dealer even phoned me up and basically said I was lying about their offer.
Watchfinder did try and chip me down another £200 to £5800, but they revised their offer when I called them up....

[LaurasOtherHalf]

Picked up my Rolex on Thursday and was offered £4900 more than I paid on Friday.

Investment?

[Zoon]

LaurasOtherHalf said:

Picked up my Rolex on Thursday and was offered £4900 more than I paid on Friday.

Investment?

Out of interest from where do you receive random offers for a watch you've only just purchased?

[LaurasOtherHalf]

Zoon said:

LaurasOtherHalf said:

Picked up my Rolex on Thursday and was offered £4900 more than I paid on Friday.

Investment?

Out of interest from where do you receive random offers for a watch you've only just purchased?

Other collectors and a jeweller who I've bought and sold through before. If it's a new watch I'm buying, I will have offers lined up before I pick it up so I know what I can get in and out for.

[Zoon]

LaurasOtherHalf said:

Other collectors and a jeweller who I've bought and sold through before. If it's a new watch I'm buying, I will have offers lined up before I pick it up so I know what I can get in and out for.

I see makes sense. I'd get rid and get on the waiting list for another.

[LaurasOtherHalf]

Zoon said:

LaurasOtherHalf said:

Other collectors and a jeweller who I've bought and sold through before. If it's a new watch I'm buying, I will have offers lined up before I pick it up so I know what I can get in and out for.

I see makes sense. I'd get rid and get on the waiting list for another.

My thoughts exactly before I picked it up, it's just not worth what I can get for it. I'm considering holding out for £15.5k as £6k tax free is just a daft amount to make. It also means the Sea Dweller Anniversary on my wrist now will effectively be free as since late 2016 I've made enough buying and selling to pay for it and service it a couple of times.

But then the magpie in me appears and I don't want to sell it

[Zoon]

LaurasOtherHalf said:

My thoughts exactly before I picked it up, it's just not worth what I can get for it. I'm considering holding out for £15.5k as £6k tax free is just a daft amount to make. It also means the Sea Dweller Anniversary on my wrist now will effectively be free as since late 2016 I've made enough buying and selling to pay for it and service it a couple of times.

But then the magpie in me appears and I don't want to sell it

Although technically you should only need to service every ten years now.

[cbmotorsport]

I think you need to view Rolex ownership as a 'cheap' way to wear a nice watch these days. By cheap, I mean, you're unlikely to lose on it and may make a small amount, so zero depreciation. As for an investment, you might be better off putting your money elsewhere.

Having said that, I was keen on a used no date Sub back in 2013/14, and they were around the 3.5k mark, used, they're now selling for 5.5k

I ended up buying a new Sub Date in 2014 for retail price (£5.7k) and supposedly it's now worth around £7-£8k second hand.

[Harry_S]

Looking at these watch forums and other well known ones on the Internet seems like the OP's who are asking the Q's are perhaps newbies to the watch game or just looking for some advice/validation for the choice they will be be making soon.
For some spending £5-10k on a watch is a lot of money not everyone has the means to buy endless GT3's and Patek 5711's judging by what you read on these forums lol... Thats IF you can even get onto a list !
And so if we learned souls can give some help or advice or views good or bad on such choices is that such a bad thing ? This is a forum after all.
Good day to you all

Harry

[sad61t]

LaurasOtherHalf said:

... I'm considering holding out for £15.5k as £6k tax free is just a daft amount to make. ...

I'd be happy for someone more informed on the UK tax system to prove me wrong, but unfortunately I don't think it is tax free, depending on your other circumstances. If it is a 'chargeable asset' worth over £6000, any gain may be liable to capital gains tax (there's an annual £11300 threshold).