In the world of luxury watches, you cannot avoid but see attractive and memorable tag lines such as… “You never actually own a Patek Philippe, you only look after it for the next generation”
“To break the rules, you must first master them”
“When Eiffel Towers was being built, Vacheron Constantine was already 80 years old”
These three ad lines are from the top three watchmakers of the world, Patek Phillippe, Audemars Piguet and Vacheron Constantine, respectively.
They offer watches of ultimate quality and superior hand crafted movements, yet if you can only buy one watch that you can sell it back quickly without losing much of what you paid for, you may have to consider the one with the tag line: ‘A crown for every achievement’. We are talking about a watch brand no other than Rolex, the best selling luxury watch in the world. From the famous James Bond watch ‘Submariner’ to the new ‘Sky-Dweller’, Rolex fans collect various iconic models to wear in different occasions.
Being a small time watch collector myself, my collections included top ten names such as Audemars Piguet, Breguet, Jaeger Lacoultre, Cartier, Omega, Zenith, Rolex, etc. After trying out each and every one of them on different occasions, I have never been more pleased with my Rolex collection; Explorer II, Submariner, GMT Master and Yacht-master. I can proudly say that the only brand that I have bought additional models after an initial purchase still remains Rolex.
The reasons for getting a Rolex are simple:
- They are easily recognizable. Called me vain, yet if you had paid top dollars for a watch, you definitely want people to know you are wearing one.
- Since more people know of Rolex brand than the rest, people are aware of its market values and prices. As a result, in the event that one needs money quickly, a Rolex can be sold off or pawned more easily than the other less well-known luxury watches
- Being the best selling luxury watch also means more demand for Rolexes out there than the rest. Higher demand leads to higher second hand prices.
- The screwed capped movement of Rolex is also easy to master compared to other complicated watches.
- You have more fun in the community of Rolex lovers, some Rolexes even given nicknames such as Pepsi, Coke, Hulk, Polar bear, etc.
Obviously, not all Rolexes sell like hot cakes. Some models are not so popular, such as those within Cellini range. Even the dress watches such as Oyster Perpetual, Day Date, President, etc., does not demand much resale value as professional Rolex watches, which include Explorers, Submariners, Seadwellers, GMT Masters, Daytonas, Yacht-Masters, Sky-Dwellers, etc. Even among the professional models, stainless steel models retain more value than the two-toned or fully gold or diamond models. Yet, my way is only looking at Rolexes purely based on value retention and not on aesthetic or other features.
My two cents worth of advice for a novice watch buyer would be to get a stainless steel professional Rolex model of your choice and, as Mr. Monk (‘Monk’ the detective) used to say, ‘you will thank me later’.
