Rolex shuts all plants and prepares for worst year ever
- Thread starter DerekJohnson
- Start date
Apple doesn’t sell watches.
Apple makes vapid wrist devices.
Excellent use of vapid in a sentence.
Freeme thinks all of this is a good thing because the government is valuing health over business. Basically anyone that doesn’t sell a necessity is fucked because of the Corona hype. Other than the makers of toilet paper and bottled water, business has cratered.
ThomasFremont
New Fish
Yeah, that’s totally what I said.
I am looking forward to taking advantage of the cratered luxury watch market.
Sensei, is it better to buy during the panic now, or in 6 months in the middle of the recession when people are jobless and flooding the used market with inventory to pay their rent? I'm looking at Tudor Black Bays, Breitling Navitimers, various Speedmasters, etc. Step below the Rolex tier.
No crystal ball here but I figured the sheer panic in many sellers last week when the stock market was sliding 10% a day almost every day would promote panic selling prices, and I wasn't wrong. Picked up a full set unpolished Kermit Flat 4 for well under 20K. That watch was 30K 6 months ago. Now, could it be 15K in another 6 months? Sure. But, it is a historically significant one year only reference that will ALWAYS be in demand with collectors and Rolex lovers. 20 years from now it's a 50K watch, minimum. So, long view says any great deal right now will work out long term. Might they go down quite a bit more, yep. But savvy collectors I know are buying now during the panic. My best guess is both will work. Now and in 6 months. I think the good times of the last 3 years are over, and we will be back to the "buy a watch you love, wear it, and watch it appreciate slowly" game.
I don't know why I didn't think of this when first reading the article, but doesn't Rolex shutting down operations and planning for their worst year ever make the whole "waiting list"thing bs?
Doog_de_Jour
New Fish
Maybe. It takes a year to make a single watch:
https://www.manufacturingglobal.com...facts-about-watchmakers-manufacturing-process
@Swaye, what say you?
Sounds legit. But this isn't like some handmade watch that a guy spends a year crafting. It's just that all the individual pieces creation and then final assembly can be a year start to finish. Rolex makes an outstanding watch. But it is nowhere near the level of Audemars Piguet, Patek, or certainly something like ALS or FP Journe. But they are super robust, classic, and really define what it means to have an enduring yet accessible "luxury" watch.
@Swaye I wish Rolex would switch to sapphire backs so you could see the guts. This is one thing I love about Omega's direction.
The problem is you wouldn't want to see a Rolex guts. They do not do any movement finish, pretty much at all. I do agree that in their PM offerings it would be nice to see them actually finish these movements nicely, and show them off. Especially for the prices they ask.