My Days with Rolex

My First, 2nd and Third Rolex
I am not trying to saying everyone likes Rolex as I know at least I know there is one colleague hates Rolex and even the people who wear Rolex! That is is prejudice only.
Our Chairman Wear Rolex Date Just, at least 10 Sales staff wear Explorer II, one Marketing Director wears Explorer I, and One technical Manager wear Rolex GMT master II.
Plus numerous ladies wearing Rolex 3,6,9 and Date Just for Lady especially Pink Dial… and Of course, only one Sales man wears Day Date to work.
My Rolex stories started in 1981 as I had just able to get the first job to earn my real MONEY… I bought my very first Rolex Lady Date Just with HKD$4,000 and after 6 months I sold it to my 2nd Engineer on board ship at RMB 2,500. After a while when I worked in HK, I bought the first Rolex Date Just Boy stainless steel with Jubilee bracelet at HKD$5,025 in Shop at Jordan Road, Opposite the Liberty Cinema快樂戲院 (This cinema had been torn down some 8 years ago.)

1983, after a while I met the Watch master Kiu Te Yu and Conrad Lau at HK World Wide Watch Company. I bought my first 14K Bubble Back Rolex Perpetual Oyster from him at HKD$5,000.

Another year, I bought another Rolex Date Just Two Tone Yellow Gold Boy with Jubilee bracelet from a good friend at HKD$25,000, who received it as gift from Chinese friend and I still remember that has a very good number 27882888….Something like this, and that was 1992 whereby I sold that Watch to the GM of one of companies under Lau Luen Hung at HKD$28,000.

After that I stopped buying Rolex for a while and then I switched my collection to Swatch…till 1994 all swatch hits was gone.

Until recent years, I had a fever on my forehead with a temperature of 38.8 deg C as I started collection Rolex again…. Over the years I think I have owned about 43 Rolex and some of them I let go for a while and gradually I learn from master that My beloved model switched from Date Just, to Sport series…and then the Day Date.
Until now, my focus is just simple; Day Date and Daytona.

Rolex and Casio
I had an argument with one of the friends I know… why I like so much on Rolex, and When I showed him the watch, he said, he would not buy, and He would prefer o buy car, as he is a car lover. He is driving BMW X5 and 730i, his dream buy is Porsche, he told me a digital watch is good enough for him why have to buy a Rolex? So I had met so many people saying the same to me… and all the result is to use money to buy a Casio watch with US$40. No trouble and no stoppages at all, the Rolex will stop after using for 40 hours for Day Date and 72 hours even Daytona, is this the best Rolex can make. I told him this is something like a Bottle of Petrvs 1989 and a Bottle of red wine at 7-11, they are almost the same in the ingredients, they are almost the same colour (of course to me, their colour can tell a of big difference. They are same, Grape juice!?) But the Petrvs is about HKD$38,000.00 and the cheapo wine at 7-11 is just HKD$130. What is the difference?
So we do not bother to keep on arguing as if one saying this to the about a Casio and a Rolex, I had to stay away form the topics and or keep quiet, there is no way to end this argument, eventually. I win the argument and lose a Friend!

Remarks, I do not have prejudice and bad comment on Casio, they are good, vibrant, accurate watches, they produce millions of watch a  year under the production line. They really serve the purpose of watch, even nowadays GPS was built in it.

Use your Rolex Every Day
I know a lot of friend who wear a Seiko almost every day and they are serious Rolex Collector. Well, I do not understand. I think they are either going extreme mentally, either they are afraid to be recognized as they are wearing Rolex!? Or they are fed up the performance of Rolex, No, I think they are already passed over the joy of wearing Rolex, instead they are waiting for the dream Watch…. As for myself, I use it… I use it everyday.
By good to yourself, you have only 18,000 days on Earth after you have your first Rolex!

Serious Collector
Many Collectors keep buying watch, they keep the original invoice, original Box and packing, and put the watch Like 116610LV Submariner into the shelf, keep for years… and Never Open it , don’t mention of using it…They think that one day the price will be shoot up many times. it will, but that is still some production unit from Rolex. its price will rise with pace of dollar depreciation but not like those Comex, Paul Newman or stainless stell Day Date! Price would rise sky high!

The Rich man
HK Rich man Kwok Ping XXX bought a Grade A fake Rolex when he visited Beijing, I was a bit not understand why he like to use that kind of watch. Yes, he told people that “If I wear a Fake watch on my wrist, who dare to talk to me this is Fake? “ …a bit hilariously. But if I were there, I will talk to him, “ I am fully amazed on what you want to show as you fare Mr. Kwok, everyone one knows you are one of the richest man in HK, but I am feeling shame about what you wear on hand… It may jeopardize your image wearing. HK Celebrity to promote image of HKusing good geunine goods!

Charms of Rolex
Rolex watch, which can not be sold out in some period, can be bought after ten years of waiting on the long queue of purchasing order. It needs 6 months time of waiting to buy Daytona black Dial even in HK. And for Oysterquartz, you have to wait till 2013.
Rolex versus Casio; Toyota versus Aston Martin.

There are many people in the world, they believe it is really waste of money to spend so much on watch; my Casio goes more accurately than your Rolex. It just takes me several ten of dollars, and not need any preventive maintenance. From some point of view, they are right. But when they walk on the road and found someone is driving an Aston Martin, they might say it is super foolish chap to buy such car, it is better to buy a second hand compact Korean Car, it is still a car that bring you from one place to the other.

I can say only people owns the that car and that watch can tell the difference.
In USA, most of the owner of Porsche has debt on his house, but they are living happily!
All it says is, we have only 20,000 day on Earth, if you find out that keeping your money make you happy., go ahead’s, but sometime is think we should treat us better, in a way to feel better. Well, some people like cars, some people like Hi If and some people like wine, women, Smoking, investment, whatever that make you happy, go ahead., I had a friend talks to someone, Hey are you crazy, buy a Gold Finger VC 2 MC Cartridge with USD$7,000, just to play your Vinyl… I can’t tell the difference through listening!
The Man said, you are good lucky man, so long you enjoy you iphone MP3, go ahead you lucky man that you should stay like that… if you feel happy!! That is OK!

Limited Production Strategy
Panerai started it business in 1980 with an Italian Old man working alone in a small shop at Florence on the restoration of Old un-used Movement to make a new watch, the watch was big and was not catching any notice by the watchers, until Richmond bought the company 12 years ago make a series of heavy promotion, people like Silvester Stallone, Demi Moore, Bruce Willis, Sharon Stone, Carol Alt, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Gabriel Batistuta, Alessandro Costacurta and Alberto Tomba Leonard put on his wrist and was captured world wide on Movie and TV,,, It did created a hit, it was sold publicly in the past ten years; almost all of its style is called limited edition. Either 100 , 300, 1000 pieces,
The Marketing is good for revenue and sales, but the watch is lacking of mechanical design integrity and style. IWhat do you think an ETA movement would be the tomorrow Classic.

Patek Philippe and Audemars Piguet
Never underestimate the amazing charms and surprising feeling that Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet, Vercharon Constantin has ever made on the users. Unless you have chance to put one on your own wrist, even a temporary experience can make you enjoy a lot.
However, base on the calculation of TCO, total cost of ownership, Rolex is at best if you use it daily. Recently I like Roger Debuguis, they are beautiful watch… I am Mouthwatering about the Rich Chinese men bought the RD PT Double Tourbillon with Repeater function… at HKD$4,600,000!

Don’t under estimate the Rolex Fans
I have been start blogging on Watch just by co-incident triggered by friend, and I thought I know about watch the more I write,  the more I learn and the more I know I have nothing about any knowledge about Rolex. I need to meet guru like The Rolex-Chat.com, Time Zone watches bloggers to learn from them. Don’t under estimate the people who you may meet on the road, some of them are really humble and pretends knowing nothing about Rolex, In fact he might be the Rolex guru!
Don’t trust the sales ladies and Sales man in Rolex AD, not all of them, but a large portion of them just don’t know much about Rolex, unless those who has been working for more then 5 years.

Guido Mondani Editore
Don't Under estimate yourself, you may already know a lot of Rolex stuff, I encourage to go buying book likes “ Guido Mondani Editore” for Rolex Collection…They have numerous information and beautifully printed pictures about all Rolex Watches… a Magnificent book supply for Rolex, it is not cheap of course.
http://www.collectingwatches.com/en/

Ask Discount every time
When you are intending buying a Rolex watch, does not be afraid of asking discount from Rolex Authorized Dealer and distributor. You have nothing to lose. I had a friend who made a successful deal with Dickson watch to get a 116610LN at HKD$66,100 less 5% even he could use his AMEX card to pay in June 2011. That was a good deal!

Rolex Window Shoppers
Don't be shy to look at the Watches in the Rolex AD windows. Don't look down upon those people who stick their eyes and noses on the glass at the outside of the Rolex shopping window. The value of his collection might be much more worthy than yours. I used to stop and look at it for hours and my girl keeps on pull my hand to leave for that, and when the does shopping I went into the shop again and start talking to the sales, Most of the People in HK Rolex AD are old, Like Chow Tai Fook, Fung Leung key, Oriental Watch and King Fook, you can talk to them as much as you like.

Rolex for woman
Go buy a Rolex watch for your girl friend, wife, mistress/es…they love wearing it… I love to see them wearing it and I love to prepare one each for all my laughters.
Again, being poor is the biggest hiccups I have.
Never mind, it is already a good sunny day, expect tomorrow would be better!

HK Snob

PS, this is only personal experience and comment about Rolex, do not mean to demolish brand names of the other. in fact, Seiko, Casio, Panerai, PP, VC and AP are all good watces!!