Your first Rolex: did you know what you wanted or did you just want a Rolex??

[watchdrummer]

I generally research the heck out of everything I buy--from microwaves to sports cars. The exception was my first Rolex. As I have told here before I wandered into an AD in the Bahamas after a night of great wine and walked out with a white YM. All I knew at the time was that I had always wanted a Rolex. I didn't know a YM from a Rado--just got lucky. Afterwards I came to this board and read some books and got into.

How about it--did you go in with research in hand or just spot a flashy watch and make an impulse buy for your first Rolex?

[Rto]

My story is that I started becoming a big fan of Tag Heuer watches since 12 years ago and was not familiar at all with Rolex models but maybe DJ (too classy for me on that time) and Sub (too expensive for a kid, but a dream).

A year ago I started paying some more attention to other brands and of course Rolex, then...you can imagine...After learning about all the history of this brand, all models and unique details and importance I was taken by the RolexMania and became an insane fan of this brand>

My first one was an used Sub from a friend. (not a good experience)

So there was not too much research on my first one, but after becoming member of this forum (only this one) I learned a lot of stuff with all the family guys here and started playing very serious Rolex purchases.

[C.J.]

When I was nineteen I got my first one, a third hand no date sub. I had no idea what I wanted, I just wanted to be cool and have a Rolex . But, as I got older and others came along a fair amount of research went into them. With the research came a very little knowledge, repeat VERY LITTLE - minuscule in fact, of horology which sparked a deep respect and appreciation for mechanical watches and other brands, as well

[mike]

Well kinda---At 19 I knew I wanted a Rolex. When I saw my 1675 in an ADs window, I knew I wanted that Rolex!
The Red/Blue grabbed me!! After 37 years It's never really let go! LOL!

[C.J.]

Originally Posted by mike

Well kinda---At 19 I knew I wanted a Rolex. When I saw my 1675 in an ADs window, I knew I wanted that Rolex!
The Red/Blue grabbed me!! After 37 years It's never really let go! LOL!

Cool story, Mike. I'll bet that watch has some great stories

[TNRonin]

At 19 (20 something years ago) I knew I wanted a Rolex Sub-date. I started with a 14060M because that was what was available. I later traded into an SD sans bracelet. I am where I want to be now, I didn't know about the SD when I first saw the sub-date, or it would have been my grail.

Mitch

[mike]

Originally Posted by C.J.

Cool story, Mike. I'll bet that watch has some great stories

LOL! Oh Man!!

[C.J.]

Originally Posted by mike

LOL! Oh Man!!

Who says only Bond gets to do cool stuff with his?

[Gedanken]

In this context, I'll speak of my second as my first, since my first was a DJ given to me by my parents. By that time I'd become aware of the Sub, and the TT Blue grabbed my attention. However, a few things mitigated against my going for the blue:

1) I was looking for a replacement for my venerable old Seiko diver's, which had been through hell and high water with me over four continents, and the TT just wasn't utilitarian enough
2) From exeprience with the DJ, gold scratches way too easily for the daily abuse I tend to put watches through
3) Gold doesn't really go with what I wear the majority of the time

So SS it was, and since I was more in the market for a diver's, it came down to the Sub line.

Now my next observation will probably be controversial, but I'm just reporting my thoughts at the time. While I was in Singapore, the SS Sub Date was all over the place, and most of the time I saw it on guys who were more likely to drown in the bathroom sink rather than in open water. The image really turned me off.

Just about that point, I came across an old paratrooper mate of mine who was wearing an SD, of which I'd only been peripherally aware. It looked damned good, and despite the miniscule differences in dimension to the Sub, jumped out at me. I did a bit of digging around, looked up on the history of the design and found that its intent with Comex was much more application focussed than the Sub when it was originally released.

That's it, done deal, I thought. Haven't regretted it since.

[Paratrpr Tom]

I did research but not on purpose. In 92' after entering the service I saw my first Rolex in the display case of a jeweler in the local Mall. I really liked the white explorer but did not have the funds for the purchase. I could have saved up for it but I was having too much fun with my new found disposible income. So I forgot about Rolex and rotated through 2 G-shocks and 2 Citizen Quartz over the next 14 years. Both were great watches. I never warmed up to the G-Shocks but I really liked my Citizens, however they both died on me during deployments and that was unacceptable.

Last year a fellow officer arrived in the unit with a Sub-date and it reminded me of how much I liked that Rolex 14 years earlier. I started researching them on-line and it came down to two models, sub-date and GMT II. Like Gedanken, I am also a paratrooper so 10 feet is the max I will probably go under water but I will fly though multiple time zones to execute my profession. That realization made my decision for me and I have not regretted it at all these past 6 months. The GMT has travelled with me through three continents so far and the only thing left is for it to fall out of an airplane with me.

Tom

[JJ Irani]

Hi Terry,

My first date with a Rolex happened way back in October 1980....just about the time of my 34th birthday. A brand new coffee dial TT DJ on Jubilee caught my eye. Next to it was a Lady TT DJ also on Jubilee with a midnight Blue dial.

Zemina and I got them both - our very first Rollies. I used mine for TEN long years and Zemina for 11 before we both decided to trade up to our next ones.

JJ

[aaron850]

i knew i wanted one as soon as I enrolled in college to get an engineering degree

i thought all I would be able to afford is an airking, or a used one. after some price and function research I realized if I was ging to travel I would want a more functional watch. It took me 6 years from when I first dreamed of getting one until the day I bought my black/black gmt II. I'm still in the honeymoon phase being as I've only had my rolex for a little over 2 weeks....

[padi56]

Well suppose I wanted one because my Father had one, my first was a 60s Oyster Precision, which now belongs to my youngest grandson.But over the years my respect and knowledge of the brand has grown.And blossomed to to the love of all the brands of mechanical watches.And now the only one now I would love to own is a 30S 40S Prince pref in S.steel.

[miner]

I've always wanted a Rolex sub date or sd, not quite sure why, I've always wanted a Ferrari as well, must be a boy thing. Anyway in 1996 I finally got enough shekels together and I went to my local 2nd hand watch dealer. I had been there lots to look, couldn't afford new, but this time it was to buy, he didn't have a sub but he had a GMT II. So desparate was I, that I bought the GMT. I actually fell in love with the watch a week after getting it and it was 10 years before I was able to put together enough $$ to get No2. This time I could buy new (took 5 yrs @ $100/month) and its my grail watch, the sd.

[C.J.]

Originally Posted by JJ Irani

Hi Terry,

My first date with a Rolex happened way back in October 1980....just about the time of my 34th birthday. A brand new coffee dial TT DJ on Jubilee caught my eye. Next to it was a Lady TT DJ also on Jubilee with a midnight Blue dial.

Zemina and I got them both - our very first Rollies. I used mine for TEN long years and Zemina for 11 before we both decided to trade up to our next ones.

JJ

This of course was followed by many, many, many other trades, hence the nickname Flipper

[JJ Irani]

Originally Posted by C.J.

This of course was followed by many, many, many other trades, hence the nickname Flipper

Right on, copper!!!

[C.J.]

Originally Posted by JJ Irani

Right on, copper!!!

They call him Flipper, Flipper catcher of sheeeeeeeep.
No one you see, flipped as many watches as heeee
And we know Flipper, Flipper will flip evermore
He'll never be satisfied with the watch at his side

[infoe]

I realized I wanted a rolex when I turned about 23, I'm 25 now and my first one is on it's way. I started wearing watches around 20 or so. Started off with a couple of guess collection watches because it wall I could afford. I try to get the best of what I buy whenever I buy, and my father owns a couple of nice pieces so a combination of both is what turned me on to Rolex.

[amanda]

I have always liked watches but the Rolex was always way out of my reach, well at least I thought so until I found sites like this one and TZ and of course Ebay

Every watch I have had in between has always paled in comparison... well maybe not the Tudor Mini-Sub, if it was bigger I'd probably be more content to keep it, as I'd always worn womens sized watches I was too scared to buy a bigger size than 32mm - I briefly owned a Seiko Diver at 40mm and it wore fine....so ... now I have my sights set on a GMT, a used one and at the rate I am going I'll probably have one in the next 2 months I really like the pepsi bezel - saw the local AD wearing one, he's a small guy with small wrists and even tho he was wearing a pale pink shirt - the pepsi just looked mesmerising! At that point I thought 'thats the one I want'. Before that I was looking at the Explorer 1 but once again I think i was drawn more to the 36mm size other than the watch.

[redsrover]

Had an aunt and uncle who made a tradition of inviting each of my siblings on a trip to anywhere in the US for their 16th birthday. Oldest brother went to Chicago, middle brother New Orleans. I asked for a SS Rolex DateJust.

So in September 1984 I got the SS DJ with Jubilee bracelet. Beautiful, not bad for a 16 year old. Anyway, I put it in the center console of my Honda Accord hatchback one afternoon in 1987 when I went cliff jumping into the Tennessee River in Chattanoogo one afternoon and when I came back, gone. Someone broke into my car and stole my cassette collection (thanks!) and the stereo head unit (sweet Kenwood!) and the DJ out of the console.

So insurance kicked in and I got the check and bought a 1987 or 88 SS Explorer I. I sold that to a fraternity brother in 1990 after I'd bought a SS sub no-date . I had the Sub no-Date when I got married in 1993, and in 1997 I traded it in on a GMT II.

So there you have it. Next is a 2006-7 Sub.

[Rockrolex]

Until about 5-6 years ago, I was strictly a Casio mucho function quartz afficionado, with a couple of analog chronos thrown in for variety.

Then someone turned me on to Rolex. I started to do some research, and fell in love with a vintage (1983 model) TT DJ with champagne dial and printed Romans and leather strap. Bought that as my first purchased Rolex for about 40% of it's true value. From there it was just a matter of acquiring more as ones I liked came up. Now at 4 Rollies, I've got just about all that I want. The only one left on the wish list is a WG meteorite Daytona on black strap. But at current prices, that will likely remain on the wish list for a long time.

[roadcarver]

My first love and watch that I bought that was over $200 cdn was my Seiko 150m quartz chrono. I bought it to reward myself graduating from college. I've since given this to my dad as he doesn't want to wear his DJ regularly to work at home depot.

Rolex wasn't in my sights as didn't fancy it back then.

I then got fascinated with autos... and I got my second Seiko but a 21J automatic, the 7s26 workhorse movement.

From this point on, never thought that chronos in auto movement existed until I saw a Breitling Chrono Avenger... dreamt about this watch night and day for several years but couldn't afford it.

I then came across an Omega SMP Chrono that was previously at a great price so I took advantage of it. After owning my first chronometer swiss watch, I finally took the leap and bought a 14060 for its clean look and I didn't like the cyclops.

.. and here we are... having a Rolex.

So my 1st watch was not a Rolex

[howitzer]

Wanted a Rolex since I first met Jean Michel Cousteau in 1984. He was wearing a GMT. Couldn't afford one then so I opted for a SS TAG 1000, and a blue TAG formula chrono several years later. My interest never faded, and finally I got what I have wanted for over 20 years, a GMT. Now I'm looking for a second Rolex in the form of a White faced Explorer.

[s7horton]

I mentioned to my dad that Rolex had a new 50th Sub out. We went to the AD to see if they had any. Little did we know they were hard to find. (He already had three, so he was familiar with Rolex)

The AD didn't have one, of course.. So I walked out with a SS sub. My dad shook my hand and said congratulations.

..like father, like son..

[RogerF]

TT DJ, my dad has one and so do many members of the family. I fell in love with it when I was about 10 years old. When I was 12 my mom, whose WIS insanity is worse than many ppl on here, bought a beautiful brand new 16233 for me. I was allowed to wear it during family GTGs with my parents around and loved every moment of having a secret under my sleeve that no one else knew about (even when I was young I knew how to be discreet :D ) So there it began some 17 years ago at a very young age. Since then I have gone through numerous other brands that although were nice, never really could compare to my first love. However, lately AP's ROO and VC's Overseas Chrono has been calling out for me in my dreams. It may be time to bring back a VC into my life

[naptown airking]

Hello everyone,
Ok, here we go. My first ROLEX was a SS DJ that I brought on the grey market. It was calling my name. But this was also my first lesson to learn when owning a ROLEX----SERVICING. I brought the ROLEX never really understanding the real importance of service. I come to find out that the watch I brought had water damage on the dial and movement. I took to my nearest AD and it was so bad, he sent it off to RSC in New York. Boy, was I furious. I call that jewery store and gave them a piece of my mind. But the service was worth it.
From that point on, I been purchasing vintage rolex here and there.

Darrick

[C.J.]

Originally Posted by naptown airking

Hello everyone,
Ok, here we go. My first ROLEX was a SS DJ that I brought on the grey market. It was calling my name. But this was also my first lesson to learn when owning a ROLEX----SERVICING. I brought the ROLEX never really understanding the real importance of service. I come to find out that the watch I brought had water damage on the dial and movement. I took to my nearest AD and it was so bad, he sent it off to RSC in New York. Boy, was I furious. I call that jewery store and gave them a piece of my mind. But the service was worth it.
From that point on, I been purchasing vintage rolex here and there.

Darrick

I'm sorry to hear that, Darrick. I'm glad it all worked out though