Were Rolexes really more affordable in the good old days?

[mrarchiegoodwin]

Kinda long post here. Sorry about that.

I have tried to look this up and hope it exists, but don't know enough about the WIS world to figure out where to look. Can TRF participants point me in the direction of a history of prices for Rolex watches? I would like to plot a graph of Rolex prices compared to other indices such as the price of a dozen eggs or Ford sedan in the US.

I bring this up because I have been reading comments on TRF about how Rolexes are expensive now. I have been away from watches for 6 or 7 years so I did not know prices had climbed much more than usual. But they do seem a bit high even to someone who has not been following closely.

When I was a child my father told me his insurance policy paid him more for his burgled watches than he had paid for them new. He was incredulous that used watches would fetch so much. One was a gold Rolex President for which he was paid $1800, but he bought it new for only $800. One was a Patek World Traveler for which he was paid $2000, but he bought it new for only $1200.

When he bought the watches a public school teacher's salary where we lived in California was under $2500 per year. When the watches were stolen a public school teacher's salary was around $4000 per year. An aunt was a public school teacher so I knew about that salary in particular over that time period.

Now the public school teacher's salary is $72,000 per year. I am guessing that a gold Rolex Date Just (if that is the current equivalent of the President) costs almost as much as a full year's salary. That would make it almost 3 times as expensive (relative to a teacher's salary) as when my father bought his.

On the other hand I recall he bought a new Ferrari 250GT convertible for $12,000 then. I do not know the equivalent model now, but guess that it could cost around the same 4.5x a teacher's salary. Does that mean Rolex prices have increased a lot more than Ferrari prices?

Sure wish I could chart the history of prices to share with everybody.

[Zakalwe]

Here you go.

I haven’t read it in a while, but the short answer is “yes, for steel watches”.

[WWC]

At MSRP it was cheaper to get I believe. With these inflated SS professional models definitely not cheaper these days.

[trfChris]

A gold day-date (AKA President) is around ~$36k, so about half a teachers salary. Equivalent to around $1250 when your father bought his. So the price relative to this baseline has increased by around 50% if your father bought his for $800. Seems fair considering there have been a fair amount of upgrades to movement, case construction etc since then.

[SilverJackHammer]

A friend of mine told me he paid $1,000.00 for his Submariner in 1981, and he said he still has the receipt and the box. He said he has worn that watch all the time, he has even worn it while he was welding.

He did say after 5 years it started to slow down and he sent it in for a rebuild which cost him $500.00 but it has kept perfect time since. He said it has been a great purchase

[oldman2005]

Your dad was living large in the old days being a teacher with gold DD and Ferrari. Now here in the Bay Area California, you can't even afford to rent a home with $72K a year. With a family of 3, you're bordering poverty. Maybe that's why many people want to bring back the good old days a.k.a "Make America Great Again".

[AboutTime]

One of my friends bought his GMT "Pepsi" in the PX during his military days in the 1960-70 era. I believe he paid something over $200. He still wears the same watch.

[rominvicta]

Definitely PPP speaking Rolex became less affordable for markets in NA and Europe. Though from Rolex point of view they got so many new markets - China, Sing, HK etc, that they always gain on sales figures. Last but not least you may easily claim they are Masterminds when it comes to marketing. So yes, their market share should have increased significantly, even more the influence of the brand on the market. Literally speaking first quarter of 21st century is the Golden Age for Rolex. Looks like second quarter will become the Precious Metal Age for Rolex! It is just a matter of time PM Rolex to become even more sought after than SS one! Wish ‘em all the best, Rolex brand really deserves it!

[LoveTheCrown]

In 1995 I paid approx $5k for a brand new Rolex SS date and approx $3,500 for a used date just with jubilee bracelet. I don’t know what they equates to in modern day money. But what I vividly recall is the availability of the Rolex models. The AD always had a full rack of all models. That’s the biggest difference that I’ve noticed


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[SearChart]

I could have bought a brand new 14060M for €4000 in 2012

[kieselguhr]

Well in 2013, you could find 16610LV going for average $6500-7500. Sometimes even in the low $5000. I took a hiatus and now find them going for $13,000 minimum.


AOW

[roadster198]

Originally Posted by AboutTime

One of my friends bought his GMT "Pepsi" in the PX during his military days in the 1960-70 era. I believe he paid something over $200. He still wears the same watch.

There was a man on Americas Antiques roadshow with a watch from this era. It’s not him was it?

https://youtu.be/li0mRLcGbU8

[bezler]

Originally Posted by oldman2005

Your dad was living large in the old days being a teacher with gold DD and Ferrari. Now here in the Bay Area California, you can't even afford to rent a home with $72K a year. With a family of 3, you're bordering poverty. Maybe that's why many people want to bring back the good old days a.k.a "Make America Great Again".

His aunt was the teacher. His father wss the Ferrari guy.

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[J-E]

Originally Posted by mrarchiegoodwin

On the other hand I recall he bought a new Ferrari 250GT convertible for $12,000 then.

Please tell me he still owns that Ferrari....

[Boaters]

Those were the days wish they were back.

[Onikage]

Prices have taken off in recent years. That I didn't get into the little suckers sooner is my only regret.

[PeterC4]

Originally Posted by oldman2005

Your dad was living large in the old days being a teacher with gold DD and Ferrari. Now here in the Bay Area California, you can't even afford to rent a home with $72K a year. With a family of 3, you're bordering poverty. Maybe that's why many people want to bring back the good old days a.k.a "Make America Great Again".

Really large....

[padi56]

Originally Posted by mrarchiegoodwin

Kinda long post here. Sorry about that.

I have tried to look this up and hope it exists, but don't know enough about the WIS world to figure out where to look. Can TRF participants point me in the direction of a history of prices for Rolex watches? I would like to plot a graph of Rolex prices compared to other indices such as the price of a dozen eggs or Ford sedan in the US.

I bring this up because I have been reading comments on TRF about how Rolexes are expensive now. I have been away from watches for 6 or 7 years so I did not know prices had climbed much more than usual. But they do seem a bit high even to someone who has not been following closely.

When I was a child my father told me his insurance policy paid him more for his burgled watches than he had paid for them new. He was incredulous that used watches would fetch so much. One was a gold Rolex President for which he was paid $1800, but he bought it new for only $800. One was a Patek World Traveler for which he was paid $2000, but he bought it new for only $1200.

When he bought the watches a public school teacher's salary where we lived in California was under $2500 per year. When the watches were stolen a public school teacher's salary was around $4000 per year. An aunt was a public school teacher so I knew about that salary in particular over that time period.

Now the public school teacher's salary is $72,000 per year. I am guessing that a gold Rolex Date Just (if that is the current equivalent of the President) costs almost as much as a full year's salary. That would make it almost 3 times as expensive (relative to a teacher's salary) as when my father bought his.

On the other hand I recall he bought a new Ferrari 250GT convertible for $12,000 then. I do not know the equivalent model now, but guess that it could cost around the same 4.5x a teacher's salary. Does that mean Rolex prices have increased a lot more than Ferrari prices?

Sure wish I could chart the history of prices to share with everybody.

Well today IMHO Rolex are no longer watches to be bought and enjoyed now by many little more than £££££$$$$.But today most all could buy a Rolex watch if they wanted too.But back in my days, and my Fathers days it was a lot harder to do.

I have a very special Rolex now my Father was fascinated with watches and
I can thank him I suppose for the watch bug.Now I can always remember,when I was quite a young lad, my Dad saying one day he will have a Rolex.Now myself at the time, had no idea what a Rolex was,my Dad saved hard and had about 3 other jobs eventually in 1980 he bought a Daytona 6263 for around £750 but not 100% sure, he wanted a Sub but the Daytona was cheaper and they gave him a £25 discount.At the time this watch, was quite a bit cheaper, than the other sports range,but still a lot of money.He was very proud of this watch,and it was only worn on special occasions.Dad was always a hard worker but suffered with ill health for most of his short life.Dad had 14 brothers and two sisters,a very large and close nit family.Now this 6263 is not a watch to me, its part of my Dad,and coming close, to his passing anniversary, thought I would share a part of his life with you all.Now thats what should be owning a Rolex today its not all about £££$$$$.

My Father was a miner for almost 40 years,but alas he died at the age of nearly 56 years.He suffered with his heart and chest after WW11 he lied about his age he was just 16 not quite 17,and although a collier,in then a reserved occupation.He joined the navy and was on aircraft carriers HMS Furious and HMS Glorious.Now the Glorious was attacked by the German battle-cruisers, Scharnhorst and Gneisenau and a direct hit in her magazine,caused her to sink.Out of a compliment of of around 1500 men there were only 39 recorded survivors.My Father was reported missing,presumed killed in action.But was picked up by a Norwegian fishing boat, after being in the sea for almost many hours.And with out a shadow of a doubt that experience, and 35 odd years in the mines after WW11 helped shorten his life.My Dad was a very strict, but fair, private man and did not complain about his illnesses.When he died, it was just like I lost my best friend,and now myself in the mid 70s, I still miss him.And in the 6263 a small part of him lives on,this watch is very special to me,and would never part with it.

[Unclebuck]

There's lots of pictures of early astronauts wearing GMTs. As Air Force employees, I'm sure they didn't buy luxury watches.

[beshannon]

Thank you Peter for reminding us what this hobby is really all about.

Everything was cheaper in the good old days, my grandparents said the same things about bread.

[shawn13ca]

Back in the days a lot of America was working on manual labor. No need for a watch, especially a good one. So as demand was slow prices were reasonable. Now good jobs are desk jobs, and everybody can wear a status symbol to work. So prices are up. Normal economy.

[Nikita70]

You also have to take into account the purchasing power of the currency you are using. I can’t speak to other currencies but the dollar doesn’t buy what it used to. It buys less so it takes more to buy goods and services.

[sillo]

Originally Posted by shawn13ca

No need for a watch

Except people actually needed watches back then to tell the time.

[lawrence1]

Originally Posted by Nikita70

You also have to take into account the purchasing power of the currency you are using. I can’t speak to other currencies but the dollar doesn’t buy what it used to. It buys less so it takes more to buy goods and services.

Inflation certainly takes its toll over several decades.

[The Libertine]

An unassailable fact that pricing increased over the years.

[Mlioon]

My father paid $3,500 for his flat 4 kermit new, when it came out

[Headshrinker]

I paid around $600 for my 1680 Sub, while working in a jewelry shop in the 1970s. It didn’t seem that hard for a high school student with a part-time job cutting grass and getting a generous discount with my employee status. Now, $10,000+ seems a tuff mountain to climb for any younger buyers.

[JDsnewwatch]

I believe that Rolex is still a good buy considering inflation and insecurity in the financial markets. A house in my community 50 years ago was right around 100,000 USD. Today, that dollar value means you can’t live in my community (house, condo, appt., all out of reach for a buyer wanting to spend 100k). In many instances the inflationary value of an item is lessened with technology. A nice suit in the 1920s was VERY expensive. A nice suit today, is also expensive, but inflation didn’t rise the price as expected (this is important) because we found ways to make the suits cheeper. Even if you want to buy a custom suit, the fabric prices are lower, the labor prices are lower and the computers that aid in the production mean that it will likely be correct the first time! Manufacturing costs came down.

With Rolex (and frankly other mid to high level watches), the technology has been tweaked a little here and there, but for the most part, the labor and quality is still there. So, a recent purchase of a sub or gmt should follow in line with inflationary predictions.

The inflationary value of $800.00 in 1920 converted to today’s money is $10,500!

What has changed with Rolex specifically is the company limiting production to make the watches scarce. (You could argue that they aren’t limiting, and that the demand shot up.. it’s safe to say we are somewhere between those two extremes). This (obviously) has created a cottage industry for the second hand market and in an unexpected turn of events, used watches are selling for more than their new counterparts because the new ones are largely unattainable.

The danger that needs to be recognized is that this is a finite situation. At some point, the market will correct. This can happen in a few ways.

1) Rolex quadruples production (look at what happened to Movado)
2) Rolex starts direct selling as opposed to using ADs (Gibson and Fender Guitar companies are trying this)
3) Rolex lessens the quality (I doubt this will happen, but countless other companies have done this)
4) The end user falls out of love**

*think about when you were growing up, did most of the guys in school or at work wear watches? Look around today, the guys 18-25 don’t wear watches as a general rule anymore. That leaves the buying of watches to those older than 25. Can the trend turn back? That’s tough to do.



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[JR16]

Originally Posted by padi56

Well today IMHO Rolex are no longer watches to be bought and enjoyed now by many little more than £££££$$$$.But today most all could buy a Rolex watch if they wanted too.But back in my days, and my Fathers days it was a lot harder to do.

I have a very special Rolex now my Father was fascinated with watches and
I can thank him I suppose for the watch bug.Now I can always remember,when I was quite a young lad, my Dad saying one day he will have a Rolex.Now myself at the time, had no idea what a Rolex was,my Dad saved hard and had about 3 other jobs eventually in 1980 he bought a Daytona 6263 for around £750 but not 100% sure, he wanted a Sub but the Daytona was cheaper and they gave him a £25 discount.At the time this watch, was quite a bit cheaper, than the other sports range,but still a lot of money.He was very proud of this watch,and it was only worn on special occasions.Dad was always a hard worker but suffered with ill health for most of his short life.Dad had 14 brothers and two sisters,a very large and close nit family.Now this 6263 is not a watch to me, its part of my Dad,and coming close, to his passing anniversary, thought I would share a part of his life with you all.Now thats what should be owning a Rolex today its not all about £££$$$$.

My Father was a miner for almost 40 years,but alas he died at the age of nearly 56 years.He suffered with his heart and chest after WW11 he lied about his age he was just 16 not quite 17,and although a collier,in then a reserved occupation.He joined the navy and was on aircraft carriers HMS Furious and HMS Glorious.Now the Glorious was attacked by the German battle-cruisers, Scharnhorst and Gneisenau and a direct hit in her magazine,caused her to sink.Out of a compliment of of around 1500 men there were only 39 recorded survivors.My Father was reported missing,presumed killed in action.But was picked up by a Norwegian fishing boat, after being in the sea for almost many hours.And with out a shadow of a doubt that experience, and 35 odd years in the mines after WW11 helped shorten his life.My Dad was a very strict, but fair, private man and did not complain about his illnesses.When he died, it was just like I lost my best friend,and now myself in the mid 70s, I still miss him.And in the 6263 a small part of him lives on,this watch is very special to me,and would never part with it.

Thanks for sharing a part of your life with us, I very much enjoyed reading. I’ve been fortunate to acquire several special watches, Rolex and otherwise, and wear them all without hesitation , hoping that when they are passed down to my children they will recall those watches on my wrist and feel the connection that is lost with simple inheritance of $$.


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[Soultime]

I enjoyed reading about your father too Padi.

He was from a lost generation when people had dignity, pride and were selfless.
All but gone nowadays unfortunately.

I note a sense of melancholy and reminiscing in your posts of late.

Will you post a pic of the Daytona please?