Thanks for your insight Miles. The vintage Rolex world being a very different animal, a dangerous animal at that, I have heard many collectors like you say very similar things.
Funny - sounds almost the same path that I took.
And your collection is awesome. I wonder if your GMT MASTER collection is not " richer " than your Sub collection, now... [nt]
Bill. It wasn't the prices that scared me off it was the authenticity that made me run for the hills.
But good to know you had similar experience
M.
Not the price the volume of watches that came out of the woodwork.
Why wear Rolex?
It is rare and it is not only about the industrial or financial brands
As long as you like time, it is about understanding what draws you in and what you expect from the timer(s), then it is about histories/stories, relationships, appreciations and emotions, most of the rest is economics.
So long it is made with authenticity, personally I have the same interest for a 1$ watch right up to a watch that only Mansa Musa could have financed, okay okay I will not have this one ;-)
The best ever watch is the one that travels through generations, true watchmakers say it differently a movement is worthy only if it served a minimum of 30 years…
You have a large choice behind and ahead of you, over 20 millions watches per annum from Switzerland, close to 80 millions watches per annum from Japan and a few thousands more from everywhere else. So it is not only about one brand ;-)
I use Rolex and Seiko as touchstones to understand other brands. Ones mileage may vary. The process of knowing these 2, warts and all, helps me gauge the many facets of the word "value" and how that is represented in other brands..
Going by my experiences with the Rolex SD43, I may have reached some sort of a personal epiphany which may enable me to get off the merry go round of chasing pieces. More on that in a different post
No more Rolex? Never say never. But I think most of us are in a good place. We just don't realize it yet.
Thanks for this post.