Reasons for treating yourself to a Rolex

[mlehman]

Originally Posted by Rebel1

I recently survived lung cancer ...

great reason

[TempoKing]

Originally Posted by kotsos

No no I do not mean because Rolex is a fine timepiece. What are you real reasons for buying a Rolex?

Myself I bought my first Rolex right after I got over some health problems. Kind of like a pat on the back that everything turned out ok in the end.

I bought my second, an Air King Date, when I received my first promotion at work.

And the last (well it is not a Rolex but a Tudor Hydronaut) when I received my second promotion. Ironically that was a month after the first promotion.

Any reason to buy a Rolex I guess is good enough....

Wow..promotion upon promotion...??
Man, I would buy a Rolex for every day of the week,
before you know it you will run the business.

It must be the successfull look you have when
you wear the AirKing Date... can you imagine what will happen
if you buy the 18k yellow gold Daytona 116528...?

Be carefull though...now they might think...they pay you too much...

[Green Arrow]

Originally Posted by Wooddog44

My Father for two reasons.

1. He always had, and passed on to my brothers and me, an appreciation for precision equipment and technologies. Along with that appreciation he taught us the importance of maintaining those things to maximize performance. He had a particular affinity for watches and owned many brands including Rolex.

2. He went to work one day, found himself in the middle of a bad situation, took a bullet in the neck and never came home again. As the oldest I was given at the hospital the plastic bag containing his blood stained clothes...the last clothes that he ever put on for the last time that he ever walked out of his own home. As I looked at the clothes in that bag it occurred to me that we all, in one way or another, take "tomorrow" for granted without ever sparing a thought that it really isn't granted for any of us. The idea that he was putting those clothes on, an act as simple as dressing himself, for the last time would never have crossed his mind yet that is in fact what happened. It made me think that if there is something, anything, that you really want, do it because you just never know. I try to have that attitude about the things I do each day - my job, my friends, family,etc...- as a way of honoring his memory not in reckless or frivolous manner but in not basing my life on making all kinds of plans for "later" but trying to live more for now.

A Sub Date was something that I always wanted and, along with the above story, my wife knew that. When we got married we used money that both had saved for "things" to buy a house but she told me that for our fifth anniversary she would get me the watch that I am wearing at this moment. She gave it to me a little over a year ago and except for three weeks being serviced it has been on my wrist everyday since. Each time I look at it I'm reminded of my wife and father and how much they both mean, and meant, to me.

Wow. I've owned quite a few Rolexes (not at the moment, now I'm wearing a Breitling Supenr Avenger that my old eyes can see) but none of them came to me with the gravitas expressed above. What a horrible and beautiful story.

[Green Arrow]

I bought my first Rolex in 1981 at the age of 31. I had been buying Seikos, and I kept breaking them, mostly by smashing the crystal against things. So I wanted a watch that could take a beating. At that time Red Adair was a man world renowned for putting out oil field fires, and going into some of the toughest situations on earth, and he advertised for Rolex. So, with a nice discount from a Monterey, California dealer I bought a GMT Master II with the acrylic "crystal" in Gold/Stainles Steel. It had the old tritium which was far superior to the later Superluminova, and I wore that watch unti 2004 with one trip in for an overhaul. I paid $2,200 for that watch.

Around 2002 the Tritium had finally died, and I could no longer see the time in the middle of the night, which for some reason has always been important to me. I sent it in for a "re-lume" and they used some form of Luminova that never worked all that well.

So in 2004 I went to a retailer in Palo Alto, and saw a good looking TT Submariner with blue dial. Liked that a lot, but Rolex had become very expensive over 22 years, and the watch was something like $6,000 then. So I wasn't going to buy it, until the dealer gave me $4,000 for my old GMT in trade. I could not believe it. Still can't.

That started me down a slippery slope of flipping and wasting copious amounts of money on watches. Solid gold Jaeger LeCoultre Master Calendar, several Girard Perregauxs, numerous Panerais including the 187, and several Rolexes including the DSSD.

Then the idea came to me that at 57 years of age (two years ago) that I had done pretty well for myself since leaving my parents home in 1967, finishing up high school and starting college living in a 1958 Ford Fairlane, working my way through college, law school, moving cities to try to get a law practice going in NOrthern California, finally moving 26 years later from trial work to real estate development. So I bought myself at full retail one of the first black dialed GMT Master II Ceramic watches in solid gold.

To me that signified success.

Now all of my watches are sold except the Breitling Super Avenger I'm wearing. My Mercedes E55 has become a new Audi Avant (four cylinder). I downsized homes a bit, but got myself a new home overlooking the ocean. And I paid off every dime of debt except my commercial real estate projects that I"m working my way out of at the moment, while I go back to law for some cash flow until that's done.

For me the new measure of success is being debt free, and working to put together enough money to live my life style a bit more frugally than I was doing in the Porsche, Viper, Ferrari, Rolex, JLC days. At first I thought that would be a "come down" not running with the "rich". But it hasn't turned out that way. Debt free is more satisfying than any watch for me.

In fact, I'm a bit disappointed with myself for ever having gotten into the cycle of super consumerism, with the Ferrari (Testarossa) and the solid gold Rolex being the two worse examples of my over indulgences of the past..

I will buy one more Rolex, probably a two tone Submariner with either a blue or black dial in the ceramic version or Maybe a Datejust II. And that will become my 1981 GMT Master spiritual successor. A watch that just went about doing its business for over two decades without screaming anything to anyone about "success" The next Rolex will come when I am done with my projects and with a small amount of luck "retired" ( I won't retire, but I'll do something without personal guarantee risk-maybe sell houses on the ocean)

As an old guy now, who has lived through 3 major recessions and worked my butt off in all of them, I have a bit of advice for the young crowd. When you're doing well and living high, try to convert as much of that financial success as you can into debt free items (house, cars, investments) as you can so that if things get really bad financially you will be secure and able to care for those who matter to you. After that's all taken care of, buy as many Rolexes as you want.

[bayerische]

I have always wanted one, and it's not like I couldn't have afforded one earlier, but I took over the family business this year, and didn't have any other "hobbies" taking too much money, so I thought why not finally get a Rolex?

[8888]

i made my living as an athlete. when i signed my first contract i did what any stupid 18 year old would do in the big 80's. i bought a ferrari, lol, and bought myself a datejust. i had all the pastel miami vice clothes too. sonny crockett had a testarossa and a president. i had a mondial and a dj.

[GoldenBear]

Personal and professional milestones achieved.

[landroverking]

I have done so on business deals...and boy do I need one now....Hope is for the first quarter of next year, maybe a new Daytona?

[roadcarver]

Never had one and I decided to buy one at a decent price. It was my first time purchasing a pre-owned and to top of that a Rolex, no date Sub.

A year later upgraded to a Sea-Dweller.

[JBat]

My reason was just always appreciating fine timepieces. When I finally got to the point in my life and career where I felt comfortable spending that kind of coin, I just went for it. I have not regretted it one iota. My first Rolex is, and will always be, one of the best and most truly satisfying purchases of my life.

[dukester]

Rolex doesn't need a reason - they are all too beautiful, just enough money in my bank account!!!!

[carlhaluss]

If I don't do it for myself, nobody else will!
Cheers,
Carl

[AllanChasse]

I couldn't agree with all of you more. As guys we get so few uniquely guy things, cars, stereo equipment, and, of course, watches! If you're lucky enough to wear one every day that you love it gets easier to justify the big outlay of cash.

[Maxtor]

Got my first Rolex for my 50th birthday. I plan on getting another before I turn 100.

[srv656s]

My wife got me my Submariner for my 30th birthday a couple weeks ago!



I'm a very lucky guy!

[User Name]

I was working pt for seven years then finally went driving, then it took two and a half years to get to top rate. So my Gmtc was a thank you gift to myself for finally getting to the mountain top.. Lol

But then I also upgraded my wifes ring to platinum just because I felt guilty spending so much money on myself.