[Snow-Dweller]

Buying a precious metal Rolex was a major purchase for me. I wanted to be as sure as possible that I was doing the right thing and wouldn't be flipping it for a huge loss further down the road. The BLRO had been on my radar since it first came out (thank you Dr. Tom) but at the time I was more interested in quantity than quality. My collection had slowly grown to six Rolex before I decided this was too many. Three were sold and became two APs....which I loved until the honeymoon was over. A year ago I saw the writing on the wall...the two APs would eventually become my Pepsi.

I had owned a BLNR for a while a couple of years ago. I had it for long enough to know that I loved the complication, the case, and the ceramic bezel. The watch was sold when I realised that I really didn't like that blue. Last September I bought an LN with the express purpose of making sure the BLRO was right for me. It worked.

I have now owned the 116719 BLRO for six months....

The white gold constantly and consistently makes me go "wow". I remember the moment when "I got it". I was at an AD trying on a BLRO for the umpteenth time when I took it out into natural daylight. Next to my stainless steel LN the white gold had a warm tone, and ironically looked less blingy to me. To put it another way, I find the WG to be like warm light, and the SS to be more like cold light.

I absolutely adore the weight. I had read many times here on TRF that the heft makes it more important to have a good fit. I would take it one step further.... I have found that I wear the WG slightly tighter than the SS model, and use the easylink extension a little less. The weight of the bracelet makes the entire watch feel better balanced to me than the SS.

I find the reports of white gold being as "soft as butter" to be laughable. I generally take care of whatever watch I'm wearing, and to me Rolex's WG is not noticeably more fragile than steel.

I am a lover of the ceramic bezels in general, and of the GMTc bezel in particular. Whilst the blue and red of the Pepsi has always held a sense of nostalgia for me, I was slightly wary of the "purple and cranberry". This has gradually changed (even if the red does not IMHO look at its best in bright sunlight) and in most lighting conditions the BLRO's bezel puts a smile on my face.

Note to Rolex: it's easy to understand why you don't want people dressing-up their SS GMTc to look like a WG model....but what about the other way around? Surely I have spent enough to be able to "dress-down" to a black bezel if I want to, so how about a changeable bezel system on pm models?

We all know that the 3186 is a solid movement, and mine consistently loses 2 seconds per day (which is ok). My one, however, is not easy to stop to set the time. I find it difficult to pull the crown out to its second stop. It usually takes a number of tries (read minutes) to get it stopped. Not serious enough to send it to RSC....but irksome....especially because the same movement in my SS model works perfectly smoothly (and keeps better time as well).

Within a week or two of getting the BLRO I took a conscious decision not to "baby" it. On hindsight this was a very good decision, and has contributed greatly to my enjoyment of the watch. In six months there have only been a handful of days when I have not worn this piece. It has absolutely become my daily wear....I love it.

The downside: I've basically worn the BLRO for six months solid (it might as well have been my only watch). I can see more consolidation of my collection in the future....maybe flip two for another pm piece.....but which ones, and for what? What wonderful problems to have!