Rolex GMT $1000 more

[MRBolton]

Originally Posted by GoingPlaces

Anyone concerned with a several thousand dollar increase for a Rolex, shouldn't be buying a Rolex.

The higher it goes, the more Rolex moves away from its roots (in my opinion), and some are going to be alienated. Every trend upwards in price is a breaking point for some, especially a decent increase like this and if it’s back-to-back years of it that could happen next year. People say MSRP is unattainable, but there are still ADs out there who don’t solely cater to “whales” and help out the “little guy” trying to celebrate an occasion.

I fall into the latter category and probably always will. Rolex is being opportunistic with the marketplace, and I understand that they want to cash in on some hype. I do still think the increase this year is a little extreme—although we’re in a period of extremes right now.

That being said, if I get called on a Daytona or Sub on Monday (I probably won’t), I’d be up at my AD to fork over the increased price as fast as I can. My wife is mad enough that I have money set aside for the call now; she’s going to be something around 10% madder now I guess.


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[GoingPlaces]

Originally Posted by MRBolton

The higher it goes, the more Rolex moves away from its roots (in my opinion), and some are going to be alienated. Every trend upwards in price is a breaking point for some, especially a decent increase like this and if it’s back-to-back years of it that could happen next year. People say MSRP is unattainable, but there are still ADs out there who don’t solely cater to “whales” and help out the “little guy” trying to celebrate an occasion.

I fall into the latter category and probably always will. Rolex is being opportunistic with the marketplace, and I understand that they want to cash in on some hype. I do still think the increase this year is a little extreme—although we’re in a period of extremes right now.

That being said, if I get called on a Daytona or Sub on Monday (I probably won’t), I’d be up at my AD to fork over the increased price as fast as I can. My wife is mad enough that I have money set aside for the call now; she’s going to be something around 10% madder now I guess.


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Rolex as a brand has already moved away from it's roots. Whether by design or circumstance it really doesn't matter anymore. Hijacked by social media, greys, and hype the brand will continue to be elusive for most. It's now a luxury brand that makes really nice and well built watches leveraged by legacy and history.

There was a time (until recently) that one could save up if they needed to and reward themselves with a Rolex to mark an accomplishment or simply because a certain watch "spoke" to them. Now it's become a must have to signify your "arrival".

Based on worldwide events and costs, IMO Rolex have been undervalued for a while. If you have a line of people years long, raise prices. Common supply and demand, right? If you have a secondary market that allows for several levels of markup until it reaches the end user, raise prices. Sure, it hurts some of the people but ultimately we all want filled display cases with inventory to buy. Not sure if that ever happens again, we'll see. One nasty global recession or geo-political event and anything is possible.

Fortunately there are so many other brands that make amazing timepieces.

[paxjedi]

Basic economic law of supply and demand pricing.
Been going on for hundreds of years

[Goin2drt]

Originally Posted by paxjedi

Basic economic law of supply and demand pricing.
Been going on for hundreds of years

Yep and until they increased production or drive prices up (which I hope they keep doing) a normal person will never be able to just walk into an AD and try on watches and buy what you like.

Let them go higher. Then maybe one layer of cost, labor, margin and overhead will be removed from the business.

[DoctorsOrders]

Originally Posted by JLM3

look at Daytona steel prices

Why was the SS Daytona before the price hike?

[HJZS2K]

Anyone remember how much the BLRO blue dial was? I can't remember.

[cvo]

I would be happy to pay $2k more for BLRO from an AD.

[Beo3]

So glad I was able to score a BLNR and a CHNR in 2021.

A $1,000 increase is a substantial amount of money for some (and me).

[7enderbender]

Originally Posted by GoingPlaces

Rolex as a brand has already moved away from it's roots. Whether by design or circumstance it really doesn't matter anymore. Hijacked by social media, greys, and hype the brand will continue to be elusive for most. It's now a luxury brand that makes really nice and well built watches leveraged by legacy and history.

There was a time (until recently) that one could save up if they needed to and reward themselves with a Rolex to mark an accomplishment or simply because a certain watch "spoke" to them. Now it's become a must have to signify your "arrival".

Based on worldwide events and costs, IMO Rolex have been undervalued for a while. If you have a line of people years long, raise prices. Common supply and demand, right? If you have a secondary market that allows for several levels of markup until it reaches the end user, raise prices. Sure, it hurts some of the people but ultimately we all want filled display cases with inventory to buy. Not sure if that ever happens again, we'll see. One nasty global recession or geo-political event and anything is possible.

Fortunately there are so many other brands that make amazing timepieces.

Honestly, this is nothing new. Rolex has had a bad reputation (depending on where you stand on things) for many decades now. I always have and still do associate the brand with pimps, show boats, celebrities, phonies and fakes. They are the Gucci handbag or Range Rover of the watch world. And the fact that they are now mostly catering to “emerging markets” makes things worse in many ways.
That said they still do certain things that a watch enthusiast can admire - the same way a car enthusiast can still a viable Porsche (even though the brand has been mostly wrecked in a similar fashion, by catering to people who want to have the brand name association while knowing nothing about cars or driving).
It’s actually a tough spot to be in I think. But it’s working for them now, while in a sea of gaudy bling there are still some great things to be found for the watch lover.

[tkdgod]

I’ll pay these prices any day. Compared to grey market it isn’t that bad at all. Rolex just needs to make them available

[badlarry]

Originally Posted by 7enderbender

Honestly, this is nothing new. Rolex has had a bad reputation (depending on where you stand on things) for many decades now. I always have and still do associate the brand with pimps, show boats, celebrities, phonies and fakes. They are the Gucci handbag or Range Rover of the watch world. And the fact that they are now mostly catering to “emerging markets” makes things worse in many ways.
That said they still do certain things that a watch enthusiast can admire - the same way a car enthusiast can still a viable Porsche (even though the brand has been mostly wrecked in a similar fashion, by catering to people who want to have the brand name association while knowing nothing about cars or driving).
It’s actually a tough spot to be in I think. But it’s working for them now, while in a sea of gaudy bling there are still some great things to be found for the watch lover.

So based on this, you have to be a degenerate to like the core of Rolex's line? And by the same logic you're saying anyone driving a Range rover, has gucci products is also a pimp, show boat or fake? Quite a statement on a forum that caters to Rolex and by association other luxury items that "you" deemed for phonies..

[Hpozzuoli]

Originally Posted by 7enderbender

Honestly, this is nothing new. Rolex has had a bad reputation (depending on where you stand on things) for many decades now. I always have and still do associate the brand with pimps, show boats, celebrities, phonies and fakes. They are the Gucci handbag or Range Rover of the watch world. And the fact that they are now mostly catering to “emerging markets” makes things worse in many ways.
That said they still do certain things that a watch enthusiast can admire - the same way a car enthusiast can still a viable Porsche (even though the brand has been mostly wrecked in a similar fashion, by catering to people who want to have the brand name association while knowing nothing about cars or driving).
It’s actually a tough spot to be in I think. But it’s working for them now, while in a sea of gaudy bling there are still some great things to be found for the watch lover.

I like the Range Rover comparison for suburbanites. Add the Escalade in for the hip hop crowd. Gucci has some decent offerings unlike Supreme which could be added to the list.

[7enderbender]

Originally Posted by badlarry

So based on this, you have to be a degenerate to like the core of Rolex's line? And by the same logic you're saying anyone driving a Range rover, has gucci products is also a pimp, show boat or fake? Quite a statement on a forum that caters to Rolex and by association other luxury items that "you" deemed for phonies..

Nope. That’s not what I said or meant. My point is that In the general public that is often the perception - and it’s sometimes rooted in truth. I own a Rolex. I was very selective and sat on the decision for a while. It’s a watch I like a lot, have respect for its history, and capabilities. I had to get past the fact that more often then not people will look at it and draw conclusions about me because I wear it. Bottom line is that I really try not to care what others think. But it is a fact that Rolex has brought onto itself this reputation and happily caters also to a customer base that has, well, in part caused this. Not my problem. I still like my watch and I’m sure that’s how most of the good people in this forum and elsewhere see it.
That said, I do not wear my Rolex to work for instance.
But yes, my other criticism/observation was that many of the former (?) enthusiast brands now suffer from changes in their audience who simply look for something different than what it originally was but still want the brand association. So would I personally want a modern Range Rover or AMG G class? Hell no. But I might pay extra for an old one. Same reason I happily cling to my older BMW - there simply is no replacemt in the current lineup that fits my idea of a car. And yes, I may have to go full on classic one day. There are essentially two or three modern cars that I would enjoy I think, none of them practical enough or in a price range that I would currently consider. And I get that there are probably many who will consider this a even higher degree of snobbery. So be it. Guilty as charged.

[Joearch]

Money is money.