Buying my first ever Rolex ..... Please advise ....
Discussion
gentlemanwatchcollector said:
Congrats on being in a position to achieve your goal! I would say buy what you like. Hope that it appreciates but if it doesn't - you appreciate and enjoy it. I love yellow and rose gold but be careful you can end up wearing it a lot less due to the spike in watch related theft and also (depending upon your profession) it creating the wrong impression in work. The Daydate you picked out is beautiful and one of my favourite dials.
This is very true. I wouldn't wear it to work. If its a steel would be for weekends and special occasions. Yes love the day date with the ruby's but 35k would be my absolute max spend.rog007 said:
What a great position to be in!
I’d simply head to my local AD and ask your questions there. You could even get lucky!!
Let us know how you get on
I haven't visited yet because I am worried of being rejected or not being a 'big' enough customer. I’d simply head to my local AD and ask your questions there. You could even get lucky!!
Let us know how you get on
How or who would be my best authorised dealer? Would I just google some.
Think I will definitely go this weekend with my girlfriend and take a punt.
davek_964 said:
I hope you're budgeting twice the value of the watch then. In my experience, if the g/f is aware that you're spending £xxx on a watch, then that suddenly becomes the budget for jewellery at her next birthday / Christmas / Valentines Day / anniversary of us meeting / anniversary of us becoming official / anniversary of the first time we both wanted boiled eggs for breakfast / some other made up event.
(I'm not really as cynical as that sounded
)
haha just had a right laugh reading that in the office (I'm not really as cynical as that sounded
)paulguitar said:
It's amazing isn't it, this Rolex madness at the moment?
You are a customer willing and able to spend many thousands of pounds on a high-end product with a massive margin for both the manufacturer and the retailer, and yet you're made to feel as if you might be laughed out of the premises for attempting to give them your money.
That's why I will probably skip owning another Rolex until things return to being reasonable again.
Exactly its shocking You are a customer willing and able to spend many thousands of pounds on a high-end product with a massive margin for both the manufacturer and the retailer, and yet you're made to feel as if you might be laughed out of the premises for attempting to give them your money.
That's why I will probably skip owning another Rolex until things return to being reasonable again.
not fair for people like my self who is from a working class background who has always been fascinated with watches but never ever been able to afford them till now!!!
Edited by raihaan123 on Tuesday 14th May 14:37
andyman_2006 said:
You need find your local one (nearest postcode to where you live) and just to go speak with them, spend a little time with them discussing your options, explain your situation in the exact same way you have here, the steel pro models you want are extremely short supply and in very high demand, you could get lucky, but be prepared to wait, dont give the impression if you cant have it now, then you'll go playing off the AD's in various cities - they dont like this, and whether you like the process or not, they are actually assessing you - its a strange situation, where the customer does not hold all the cards (money) where this actually makes no difference to them, as they cant supply demand, so there is no shortage of customers in fact the exact opposite.
I recently visited a AD 230 miles from where i live (away on city break) so called in to discuss the Sub green LV, and of course they didn't have any, this AD was honest told me i'd be unlikely to get one from them: 1) i dont live nearby so postcode checks 2) i have no purchase history with them 3) short supply of stocks and so likely these will go to their regular customers, some of which have also waited nearly 2 years I mean these AD's are very cautious and you can get the feel of them scoping you out asking questions carefully examining your answers, its because so many buyers want to simply flip and sell to grey dealers, and there are handsome rewards as you know given WF prices!, if like me you actually want to own one, then i suppose its our job to convince them of this, which usually is where the 'getting to know your AD comes in handy'
On this occasion i didn't know this AD, though we had a decent chat, we looked at the usual DJ stocks and ladies for the missus, but by the time i was leaving he offered me an explorer which was arriving at store in 2 days, i actually declined as would be home by then anyway and for me my budget isnt as healthy as yours so that £5K will be sat to fund the Hulk should the call come! many would say there is a wait for anything at all steel from the pro range, not exactly true though given this example, just bear in mind the whole game play when you approach the AD, you never know your luck, but i think an explorer or air king is far easier to obtain than any GMT/Subs/sea dwellers.
Many on here will shout me down and prove you can get what you want, and quickly but the reality is chances are still slim, some have been lucky, given my experiences though you need to play the long game i'm afraid. :-(
One way to help try be allocated a GMT/BLNR or Pepsi/BLRO would be to use some of you healthy £35K max budget to buy an explorer or Air king first (still nice watches) or a more available DJ - now i know many dont agree with this approach (i have my reservations trust me) but often it appears this is the route to the good stuff like i say i'm not saying i agree this is how it should be, but they are not exactly horrible cheap watches and chances are you'll put yourself in a good or at least better position with your local AD, if worst case then frankly your still waiting the long game and have 1 or 2 nice Rolex's with a 5 year warranty you can wear and enjoy, and the rest of your budget sat in the bank ready for when you get the call on the good sports stuff.
high demand and lack of supply has driven the prices to a point where to be fair i'd wait it out rather than buy over list, that said you can afford to buy from WF right now, depends how good you are at waiting doesn't it!
I do wish you well though. and congrats on your achievements thats a healthy budget!
Andy
Andy, thank you for your kind words. Honestly it has been a dream of mine since a kid to own a submariner or a GMT. I think I will definitely visit my local AD and go from there on the weekend. Your words are so true.I recently visited a AD 230 miles from where i live (away on city break) so called in to discuss the Sub green LV, and of course they didn't have any, this AD was honest told me i'd be unlikely to get one from them: 1) i dont live nearby so postcode checks 2) i have no purchase history with them 3) short supply of stocks and so likely these will go to their regular customers, some of which have also waited nearly 2 years I mean these AD's are very cautious and you can get the feel of them scoping you out asking questions carefully examining your answers, its because so many buyers want to simply flip and sell to grey dealers, and there are handsome rewards as you know given WF prices!, if like me you actually want to own one, then i suppose its our job to convince them of this, which usually is where the 'getting to know your AD comes in handy'
On this occasion i didn't know this AD, though we had a decent chat, we looked at the usual DJ stocks and ladies for the missus, but by the time i was leaving he offered me an explorer which was arriving at store in 2 days, i actually declined as would be home by then anyway and for me my budget isnt as healthy as yours so that £5K will be sat to fund the Hulk should the call come! many would say there is a wait for anything at all steel from the pro range, not exactly true though given this example, just bear in mind the whole game play when you approach the AD, you never know your luck, but i think an explorer or air king is far easier to obtain than any GMT/Subs/sea dwellers.
Many on here will shout me down and prove you can get what you want, and quickly but the reality is chances are still slim, some have been lucky, given my experiences though you need to play the long game i'm afraid. :-(
One way to help try be allocated a GMT/BLNR or Pepsi/BLRO would be to use some of you healthy £35K max budget to buy an explorer or Air king first (still nice watches) or a more available DJ - now i know many dont agree with this approach (i have my reservations trust me) but often it appears this is the route to the good stuff like i say i'm not saying i agree this is how it should be, but they are not exactly horrible cheap watches and chances are you'll put yourself in a good or at least better position with your local AD, if worst case then frankly your still waiting the long game and have 1 or 2 nice Rolex's with a 5 year warranty you can wear and enjoy, and the rest of your budget sat in the bank ready for when you get the call on the good sports stuff.
high demand and lack of supply has driven the prices to a point where to be fair i'd wait it out rather than buy over list, that said you can afford to buy from WF right now, depends how good you are at waiting doesn't it!
I do wish you well though. and congrats on your achievements thats a healthy budget!
Andy
Although I have a decent budget It's just so frustrating to be being almost double for a batman for example. But then again I feel this is the market now and it won't change and that prices may only keep increasing.
Thank you again
CastroSays said:
Soooo - you’re 25 years old, and ‘from a working class background’ and looking to spend 35 grand on a watch......?
Must be the school holidays.
Firstly, why so judgmental and negative? Must be the school holidays.
Secondly,
From 17 I started a YouTube and affiliating channel (which I eventually fell off) and used the money made to invest in ‘flipping’ like the iPhones and ps4 games consoles (when resell was at a stupid premium 70-100%). Stocks and shares (with advice from my uncle who was a financial consultant with a major UK bank for over 40 years). Go take a look at the share prices for Lloyd’s , Greggs, Anglo American and s4 capital over the past 5 years as a small example of some I own!!
I graduated from university a few years ago and began working. However, I still invest regularly and have made some decent money off it.
Just because someone’s from a working class background doesn’t limit the amount of money they can make or their level of intellect.
Take your negative vibes elsewhere.
Carl_Manchester said:
The watch dealer next to the lloyds building usually has two on show in the window to the side of the shop. About ten years ago when i was on lunch i used to take a peek to see what he had on display that day to lift my spirits when i was having a bad one.
I used to think the White Gold was a real thing. Some time later, When i was in a position to buy one, i bumped into an owner at a pool party, the woes of scratches and discolouration of the white gold put me off and he advised me to buy a steel one and get the dial swapped.
I couldn’t do it so i ended up with something else and kept the white gold daytona as a grail watch.
Thanks for this, will definitely take a look.I used to think the White Gold was a real thing. Some time later, When i was in a position to buy one, i bumped into an owner at a pool party, the woes of scratches and discolouration of the white gold put me off and he advised me to buy a steel one and get the dial swapped.
I couldn’t do it so i ended up with something else and kept the white gold daytona as a grail watch.
I have taken the plunge and booked an appointment with my local AD for Saturday.
Let’s see how it goes I guess
Zoon said:
Has a boss and a colleague with £15 watch. Seems legit, most employees can afford a £35k watch.
Lol why so negative, please explain? I asked for advice if you don’t have anything constructive to add just don’t waste your valuable time. I’m sure you have better things to do.
Shrimpvende said:
How about a sub? I know there's a lot of talk of waiting lists, and some models are definitely far harder to get hold of (daytona, batman etc) however there's plenty of stories on here of people putting their name on a '2 year+' waiting list for a sub, only to receive a call within a couple of months.
I did exactly the same so can vouch for it, right before last Xmas when people were going even crazier for them! My dad had gone into the AD on a whim to explain I wanted one and get me on the list, low and behold I got the call about a month later - only stipulation was I had to go in on that day and buy it there and then, which of course I did.
It's a beautiful thing and I'm glad I 'played the game' in the end. Good luck!
Thank you so much. Have an appointment Saturday definitely always loved the two tone subs.I did exactly the same so can vouch for it, right before last Xmas when people were going even crazier for them! My dad had gone into the AD on a whim to explain I wanted one and get me on the list, low and behold I got the call about a month later - only stipulation was I had to go in on that day and buy it there and then, which of course I did.
It's a beautiful thing and I'm glad I 'played the game' in the end. Good luck!
Did you have to drop a 20% deposit for waiting list etc? Or is this dealer specific
Shrimpvende said:
No deposit required - my dad just told them that I'd always wanted one and had a small collection of watches but was getting upset that everyone had told me I couldn't have one etc...
When the call came the AD said something along the lines of 'the people in front of you on the list either didn't want it anymore or couldn't get here quick enough so we took a chance on you as we thought you seemed genuine'. This seems to tie up with other people's experiences.
When you say 2 tone sub - you mean black and gold? I know an AD that had one at the end of April and may still have it if so - PM me if interested.
Thank you so much When the call came the AD said something along the lines of 'the people in front of you on the list either didn't want it anymore or couldn't get here quick enough so we took a chance on you as we thought you seemed genuine'. This seems to tie up with other people's experiences.
When you say 2 tone sub - you mean black and gold? I know an AD that had one at the end of April and may still have it if so - PM me if interested.
Given me a bit more hope for my visit on Saturday to Fraser Hart.
Let’s see how it goes I’ll definitely explain the situation I’m in.
The standard steel/ gold and blue dial I am after
andyman_2006 said:
OP - if your really wanting to get the AD to take you serious, they'll expect you to have some focus on which specific model that is floating your boat, the manager of my AD made it clear it was not great to be asking for supply of several models or well anything steel sports not having a focus on what you like and asking to be placed on a list for several wasn't looked on well, and as such advised it was better to focus on a specific model - for me i was looking at both the Hulk and Batman - didn't mind which it was i was offered, but they insisted i only complete the expression of interest form for one model, so i made my mind up chose the GMT batman, and thats what i got. Its hard because you cant try on stock, so it could be worth visiting a WF to do your research, then hit the AD when you know what you want?
Just an idea.
Andy
Thanks Andy great idea. Just an idea.
Andy
I’ll visit on Friday then visit the AD on a Saturday with hopes of having mind made up for definite.
Will keep you posted
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