Your Rolex Mistakes and Regrets

[kbutler1]

Originally Posted by Plai

I’ve had my share of mistakes and missed opportunities, but I couldn’t help to think every one of these regrets I read resulted in someone being very happy on the other end. May be interesting to read about “your biggest successes/luck Rolex deal” thread. Truly a zero sum gain, always winners and losers on both ends.

This is true, the guy I sold my 16710 to was very excited and had been looking for a long time. I hope he still has it and wears it often.

[grimps]

I walked into my local AD ten years ago and bought the Black dial steel Daytona for 7500 UK pounds , they also had the White dial in stock .
I sold it to a friend 4 years ago for 6500
I've hated myself ever since

[steve099]

Bought a mint full set U serial blusey in 2008. loved that watch & was my first Rolex.

House was broken into and the only thing taken was my Rolex. House was not insured back then either.

Still peaved to this day and yes now my house is insured.

[APPRF]

Hope I don't post in this thread in coming days. I have a buying decision to make today.

[SilverJackHammer]

Passed up on a Hulk at an AD two years ago. Big mistake.

That AD took my name and got me Hulk within one month recently. Big win.

[Krash]

Originally Posted by SilverJackHammer

Passed up on a Hulk at an AD two years ago. Big mistake.

That AD took my name and got me Hulk within one month recently. Big win.

Me too. I passed up a Hulk too. It was just sitting there on display. It was right before the market went crazy.

[bbgg]

Going to preface my post by saying that I don't flip watches, and generally sell watches that I don't wear because I like to wear what I buy and I don't like collecting for the sake of collecting.


I've bought and sold the BLNR a total of 3 times. At this point it just feels like a messy relationship with an ex-girlfriend. Years/months of breaking/making up, and then all of a sudden she's found a rich boyfriend and is out of reach(well, okay, still within reach but at twice the cost)

I love the idea of the watch; the colours, the GMT function, the kind of, go anywhere, do anything aspect of it.. Yet, I've always found it to look awkward on my wrist and I've never managed to get the bracelet to fit properly; even with easylink it still felt either a half link too loose or too tight depending on the time of day.

Bought my first one for around retail back in early 2017. Sold it 3 months later at a loss after spending 2 weeks with it as a daily driver in Europe. Wife commented that she didn't like it very much and thought I should have worn my Aquanaut more(very interesting considering it's been on her wrist most of the time since I bought it).

Bought my second one a few months later after looking at some pictures on Instagram and chatting with a grey dealer online while I was having a few drinks. Couldn't really bond with it and sold it to a friend at a loss in December 2017 - at that point in time I had to go for a pretty serious surgery and I kind of wanted to "declutter".

This last one is the only one that I "kind of" regret..

Once again, months passed and I started to miss the damn thing so I bought my third one in March 2018 from another grey dealer, this time at a more sizeable premium. This time, I was pretty convinced that I was never going to sell the watch and wore it at least twice a week. That is until some new hobbies came into the picture, and I also bought a BB58 which damn near monopolised wrist-time, so I almost completely forgot about the BLNR for awhile.

A pretty young friend of mine sent me a text to catch up, and asked if he could buy my BLNR. He told me that he'd just graduated and got his first job and wanted to buy his dream watch to commemorate the occasion. I'm not sure what exactly possessed me; maybe it was the high from witnessing the birth of my 3rd child just a couple of weeks ago, or maybe it was just the new hobby and a more comfortable watch displacing the old, but I agreed to sell it to him below retail (in December 2018) and said goodbye to my BLNR that very evening. I thought to myself, "eh, I've been wearing this, and I could really make this guy's day, so why not ?".

Months later, secondary and grey prices go crazy, the watch is discontinued, and here I am, sitting on my ass in the middle of the night, wondering if I should send that drunk text to my grey dealer.

If you sat through my story, thanks for being patient and bearing with my crappy writing.

[Overkill]

My first mistake was trading a Submariner Date (with lug holes) for a Panerai Radiomir PAM183 — but this was in 2014.

A more recent mistake (2018) my purchase of a Milgauss 116400GV when I was searching for a simple, straight forward, time-only Rolex. The reality is the Milgauss, while a quirky and unique watch, is not all that good-looking indoors — it looks better in the sun when its blue dial and green crystal can really shine. Indoors and in poor lighting, the dial looks grey and it is hard to read.

On top of that the watch is fairly flashy, and while I do have other more blingy watches (GMT-Master, DJ, etc), when I bought the Milgauss I was looking for a more straightforward daily wearer — a real tool watch. Bottom line is the Milgauss isn't what I needed and now I'm looking to replace it.

I should have bought the Explorer 214270; that watch really is pure Rolex DNA distilled into something super minimal. Although I am also eyeing up the VC Overseas 4500v.

[Texex]

Sold my 36MM Datejust to fund a Tudor Black Bay bronze Blue Bucherer. At the time they were hard to get and I got the opportunity get one in Europe. The datejust did not get much wrist time as I felt it was too small for my tastes. The problem is that it was my first nice watch and I'd had it for 10 years so there was a ton of sentimental value in that watch. And, I did not need the funds from the sale to buy the Black Bay, I just sold the Datejust out of guilt of keeping a watch I didn't wear. I know I wouldn't be wearing it much if I still had it but I miss it and deeply regret selling it. It was my first love and now it's gone : (

[equinox308]

Originally Posted by Texex

Sold my 36MM Datejust to fund a Tudor Black Bay bronze Blue Bucherer. At the time they were hard to get and I got the opportunity get one in Europe. The datejust did not get much wrist time as I felt it was too small for my tastes. The problem is that it was my first nice watch and I'd had it for 10 years so there was a ton of sentimental value in that watch. And, I did not need the funds from the sale to buy the Black Bay, I just sold the Datejust out of guilt of keeping a watch I didn't wear. I know I wouldn't be wearing it much if I still had it but I miss it and deeply regret selling it. It was my first love and now it's gone : (

I can relate, still have my sentimental 36mm DJ from the 90’s ; haven’t worn it in a decade and 36mm seems small for me as I’ve been wearing sports models 40mm and up frequently... I keep saying should I sell it since I don’t wear it every now and then.

[Nanasaka90]

Biggest regret was trying to avoid Rolex early on, I didn't want to be "the rolex guy" because I thought they were so common and I wanted to be different. I spent a lot of money buying things I barely used; money that could've gone towards some great pieces (the 116710LN was going for $6000 at the time).
I also regret even considering Omega, and buying a moon watch for 20% off retail from an AD. I lost an ass cheek when I sold it.

[jaychief]

Buying all my panerai !!!!! plus a yacht master !!!

[Heathen23]

Thinking all PM would be “too much” for everyday wear... then, while still pleased with my choice, wishing I’d gone full PM.

[harvey]

This should be a sticky!

[SEA watch addict]

Where to start...should never have sold any of them.

HAD 😔
1995 Omega Speedmaster Professional
1996 Omega Speedmaster Day-Date
2008 GMT II ceramic, all black,
2011 36 mm OP, silver 3-6-9 dial,
2012 Explorer II, black dial
2015 GMT II BLNR

Still have:
2016 SD 4000
2018 Tudor BB GMT
2020 Sky-Dweller, SS, black dial

[wgdaytona]

... Not buying a kermit when I looked at them for 5K, so I had to pay 13k when I finally bought it. Then later I was offered a Hulk for 7k and passed. Brilliant, never got one. But my biggest gaffe was selling my 2005 Daytona 116519 to pay for another watch. It is the only watch I really really miss.

[Andad]

I have never sold or traded a watch = no regrets.

[nauti1us]

No regrets in any of these...roughly sequential and some of these in pairs:

6 digit Exp II (Black dial)
6 digit Exp I
6 digit SD4K - do miss this one a little
6 digit OP39 (Black dial)
5 digit GMT Master (Coke)
6 digit GMT Master (LN)
6 digit Sub Date (LN)
5 digit SD4k - current
5 digit Exp II - current

I am thinking of selling the SD4K and ExpII to fund a VC, need to try one on though and I doubt I'll be done with Rolex, even if I do :)

[vcap826]

So two of my coworkers wear DJ41s, one is a little guy and the other is a woman and I thought it looked so oversized and disproportionate and when it came time to buy, I dismissed it summarily. That was a huge mistake, it’s a fantastic watch and it fits on me.

[cvo]

Picking up a BLNR before demand sky rocket.

[ndls]

Wishing I got the White or Black Daytona in 2017 for the 17-18k in the grey market vs the terrible price it is today.

[jets]

Around 2008 just got into higher end watches, I read a lot and still knew nothing kinda. "Overpaid" at a local grey for a full kit 11610LV Y Series flat 4 Kermit. I think it was $7500 CAD at the time. You'd think I'd keep my 1st Rolex but no at that time I couldn't sell it at a loss just no interest! I have bigger wrists and it looked smallish on me I felt. Always loved the shiny green olive bezel though...I decided to trade it plus cash for a newly released DJII around 2009. Could have had a few daytonas but they look like womens watches on me :P

Edit: Also had the presskit for the LV FML

[IamJacky]

I consider myself lucky. I only got into Rolex in 2012, bought a Datejust II at an AD and never thought I would begin collecting. Subsequently got Daytona LN, Submariner Date LN, and BLNR. When buying each sports piece I tried to hold the urge to pay the premium via grey but eventually couldn't help it. All of them have gone up in value ever since though - not that I'd sell them anyway. No regrets.

[wrussell]

Biggest regret was getting a sub C when they were readily available... Now I can't shake my affinity for the build quality and durability of a Rolex, but since I moved to a new city I have zero shot at getting another sports piece without paying Patek prices!

[belutak]

Does anyone here regret having the watch in the safe for many years and not wearing it just to preserve its value?

Anyone whose regrets have nothing to do with the financial factor?

Anyone...???

Sent from my SM-N976B using Tapatalk

[scurfa]

Selling my comex, selling four Rolex’s to buy a Nautilus and not buying a Daytona sooner!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[AK797]

No regrets really, maybe should have picked up a PP 5712 just before the prices took off, but didn't really want two Nautiluses back then.

[Strummer25]

Wasting time and not inconsiderable amount of cash on 3 x Breitlings Supericean Steelfish (only one wish I had kept), Navitimer and Chronomatic LHD

[whited3]

When I first started collecting, I was very into chronographs. So I started acquiring some cool pieces: broad arrow version of the Speed Master, 90s/2k era El Primero Rainbow flyback, a Russian analog to the moon watch, Breitling Causmonaut, and yes even a very cool Daytona blue arabic racing dial.

But, probably a couple years ago chrono complication just wasn't my interest anymore. Rather other things like history, purposeful design & engineering, and all the things that I used to choose a particular chrono piece over another were just as applicable to other kinds of watches.

In a nutshell I sold everything except the Zenith Rainbow Flyback. Yes even sold the Daytona, which I don't miss. Now I have only Sea Dwellers and a pm GMT along with the Zenith.

Along the way I've also sold other pieces besides those chronos:
16710 pepsi - no regrets, flame on
216570 polar - regret and miss it
JLC reverso grande GMT duo face with the steel bracelet (good lord i wanted to like this one so badly - too small) - no regrets

So in a nutshell my biggest regret is taking so long to hone my interests and realizing a big collection shift was needed. Makes me appreciate my current collection more. Not so bad really (unless we look at this from a fiscal point of view ).










Edit: Here's a partial old family photo

Only the Zenith survived

[strafer_kid]

I think many of us have regrets and might well have acted differently had we known then what we know now.....probably does not pay to think about it too much!