The sub is still boring - help me understand the hype

[Soondooboo]

I may be in the small minority but I don't get the hype around the new subs at all.

The sub has always been a great every day watch and an anchor in any collection, but it's also always been a boring choice. To think that a normal sub date is going for $15K in the grey market and so hyped up is just plain confusing to me. I would much rather get a BLNR or spend a couple grand more for a BLRO.

And $24K for a sub with a green bezel? Would much rather go for an SS AP at that point.

[HideMyWalletPlease]

That’s a valid point. The AP 15400 isn’t the easiest watch to get at retail but it’s not impossible either. I guess some people just prefer a green sub.

[vh2k]

A bunch of substantive and positive updates to an iconic, well-loved piece. Demand is much greater than supply. Hype explained.

[HideMyWalletPlease]

Best bracelet in the business. RO bracelet is beautiful but not adjustable.

[KatGirl]

I think you are confusing boring with classic, or perhaps iconic. Nothing boring about a black dial sub, whether date or no date model, vintage or modern.

[SpaceDweller77]

Originally Posted by KatGirl

I think you are confusing boring with classic, or perhaps iconic. Nothing boring about a black dial sub, whether date or no date model, vintage or modern.

Well said!

[Sandpit]

The new one I agree. Looks aside (it's not for me - the bracelet doesn't look right) I think it was always going to happen though. Rolex have milked and hyped the GMT for the last few years and now they've moved onto the icon.

I do think though that, much like the previous model, the new Subs will become easier to get. And I think those paying silly money for the LV will be disappointed when they see the values plummet from the $20k+ mark.

The thing that set the previous LV aside from the LN was all about the dial. The new LV and LN are, bezel aside, the same watch. So in my mind Rolex has cut down on costs and made manufacturing quicker for the LV.

At least with the first Kermit they changed the dial markers.

[Soondooboo]

Originally Posted by HideMyWalletPlease

Best bracelet in the business. RO bracelet is beautiful but not adjustable.

Let's not kid ourselves here. Oyster bracelet is solid but it's never been regarded as the best in the business. Even Rolex itself has better bracelets.

[Phooi]

Originally Posted by KatGirl

I think you are confusing boring with classic, or perhaps iconic. Nothing boring about a black dial sub, whether date or no date model, vintage or modern.

You nailed it.

[Soondooboo]

Originally Posted by KatGirl

I think you are confusing boring with classic, or perhaps iconic. Nothing boring about a black dial sub, whether date or no date model, vintage or modern.

I think you can be both boring and classic. Nothing excites me about the sub, and most people would agree with me, but I'm also not denying that it's classic, I even said so in my own post. I think people are just falling into the trap of all the suspense and hype for this release because, well COVID and the fact that there's nothing much else to get excited about.

[dpt.calvin]

If it doesn’t excite you, then it doesn’t excite you. Nothing anyone here says is going to change that for you. And that’s fine. Just move on is all. Let others enjoy the Sub while you enjoy whatever it is that you enjoy. Simple.

[HogwldFLTR]

I prefer the Yacht Master; it's better looking and more comfortable. I could possible see a 14060 or 16610 jn the most modern versions, otherwise no way.

[csaltphoto]

Classic is often a bit stayed. 2 button suits. Porsche 911. Wedgewood. Etc. The sub has worked for James Bond to Jerome Powell and every person in between who chose one. I wanted one for half my life and wished I hadn't waited so long. It's a tasteful and timeless design backed up with street cred. While I know it's low on the list of horological magnificence it is also never out of place, always in style and can take whatever I can throw at it.

[214270Explorer]

Well, just because most people like the Sub does not mean that everyone else has to.

(Its history has nothing to do with my fondness for it.)

Personally I find its simplicity, design and size to be one of the best.

[Rori]

Originally Posted by Soondooboo

I may be in the small minority but I don't get the hype around the new subs at all.

The sub has always been a great every day watch and an anchor in any collection, but it's also always been a boring choice. To think that a normal sub date is going for $15K in the grey market and so hyped up is just plain confusing to me. I would much rather get a BLNR or spend a couple grand more for a BLRO.

And $24K for a sub with a green bezel? Would much rather go for an SS AP at that point.

The sub, old or new, black green or blue is a one of Rolex’s 5 legendary SS models that can’t compare in matter of value or hype to any other watch brand in the world. The “others” make matches, Rolex, with these models, made history and created legends.
When it comes to boring or not boring, that’s a matter of taste, I agree with you that the BLRO could appear more interesting visually but the blro is another legend and is hyped more than the sub.
You observation is valid and confirms the fact that Rolex is unique.


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[seabreeze60]

Price=Demand/Supply


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[Henrimontgomery]

iPhone are boring, VW golf are boring, like so many things, yet people buy them because they are a gold standard. Something can be very good and boring, because it’s a materialized median of multiple things.

[42itus]

It’s because the hype crowd are like sheep. They can’t decide what they want so they want what everyone says they should want.

Not hating on the sub. It’s an icon. But that’s my guess in why the price is so high.


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[Alfredo.]

The Sub is still the Sub before and after the hype. People paint a picture in their head that it will be the most incredible experience in their life, and then realize it's still just a Sub.

I personally love it and have had Ref. 16610 for around 4-5 years now. Crazy to see how things have changed since. The word that comes to my mind, instead of boring, would be perhaps overrated. Lots of people buying a watch for the hype and not the watch, or even a mixture of both, only to realize that again.... It's "just" a Sub...

I think the takeaway here is to stay true to yourself and buy what you like and enjoy. I bought my 16610 and didn't flinch at the decision. If I had to pay today's prices, I'd give the decision more thought and consider other watches that are on my list.

Anyone else with me on this?

[dmash]

Originally Posted by 42itus

It’s because the hype crowd are like sheep. They can’t decide what they want so they want what everyone says they should want.

Not hating on the sub. It’s an icon. But that’s my guess in why the price is so high.


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Ding ding ding, sheep mentality is strong in the watch game right now. Naysayers can stay in denial trying to justify their new mindsets, but Hulk and Nautilus are the biggest examples which come to mind as recently spoke of as being ‘ugly’.

We’ve been in hype levels so long it’s not even a ‘trendy’ thing so much anymore as it’s just become a blind following. This is around the point your original instigators of hype (celebrities/influencers) will start leaving the scene/moving to something else because it’s no longer cool when average Joe is now sporting it. Gotta stay fresh and on top of their game, these people don’t want to blend in with the masses.

We can deny it all we want but watches are a trendy fashion statement right now, it has nothing to do with horology. And even a lot of the new guys on the scene saying they ‘really are into watches’ will no longer be around once it’s not instafamous. Just the reality, people get caught up/obsessed and short sighted, it’s human nature

[Stevie..C]

We find various things boring in life, which is fine but perhaps then not to spend much time trying to understand why others may find it more to their liking.

Go with what you enjoy and let it bring an endless joy for you.

[42itus]

Originally Posted by dmash

Ding ding ding, sheep mentality is strong in the watch game right now. Naysayers can stay in denial trying to justify their new mindsets, but Hulk and Nautilus are the biggest examples which come to mind as recently spoke of as being ‘ugly’.

We’ve been in hype levels so long it’s not even a ‘trendy’ thing so much anymore as it’s just become a blind following. This is around the point your original instigators of hype (celebrities/influencers) will start leaving the scene/moving to something else because it’s no longer cool when average Joe is now sporting it.

We can deny it all we want but watches are a trendy fashion statement right now, it has nothing to do with horology.

The Hulk is the best example. It was the black sheep for so long and now people are fawning over it.


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[drrd]

Genuine question, have you worn one?

[DCheeta]

Help you understand? “If you gotta ask, you ain’t never gonna know.”

[007timer]

Originally Posted by KatGirl

I think you are confusing boring with classic, or perhaps iconic. Nothing boring about a black dial sub, whether date or no date model, vintage or modern.

On point


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[dmash]

Originally Posted by 42itus

The Hulk is the best example. It was the black sheep for so long and now people are fawning over it.


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I just commented on this in another thread. I think it’s kind of insane people think an all green watch is going to age well and be a ‘classic’. The Kermit was cool because it had a black dial and the aluminum bezel aged well. This new ceramic versions will always maintain this vibrant color, nobody might wear this in 2030.

Just my opinion

[007timer]

Originally Posted by csaltphoto

Classic is often a bit stayed. 2 button suits. Porsche 911. Wedgewood. Etc. The sub has worked for James Bond to Jerome Powell and every person in between who chose one. I wanted one for half my life and wished I hadn't waited so long. It's a tasteful and timeless design backed up with street cred. While I know it's low on the list of horological magnificence it is also never out of place, always in style and can take whatever I can throw at it.

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[MrJKLFoams]

The problem with buying and collecting rolex nowadays is that people buy them for investment and others purely for collection and there's the hype sheeples as well.

[kwingy]

Originally Posted by Henrimontgomery

iPhone are boring, VW golf are boring, like so many things, yet people buy them because they are a gold standard. Something can be very good and boring, because it’s a materialized median of multiple things.

+1 - I was just gonna say. The Black Sub is like the VW Golf GTI of the watch world. It's boring yes but at the same time it's a classic which has a place in everyone's collection. It might not give you the same excitement as an higher end model but the everyday things it will do well.

I feel the black sub is just one of those watches that you can wear and not feel like you are wearing an interior model to anyone else even if someone next to you was sporting an AP or Patek due to its iconic status.

[Soondooboo]

Originally Posted by Henrimontgomery

iPhone are boring, VW golf are boring, like so many things, yet people buy them because they are a gold standard. Something can be very good and boring, because it’s a materialized median of multiple things.

Again I'm not calling the sub boring because it's not good, I'm saying the market price for it is silly and I think for all the wrong reasons. No one is paying 150% retail for Iphones and VW Golfs lol.

And to the people asking, I own the previous generation 6 digit sub and it's a watch that'll probably always stay in my collection, but I struggle wanting to put in on these days after having had it for ~4 years now, because simply put it's a boring and "safe" watch. In my mind the new sub is really not all that different, hence the question.