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Old 15 July 2014, 10:30 PM   #1
Bendey
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Icon20 My 1st Review - "Japanese Spindle" Green TOG 116263

Hi, I am from Hong Kong and this is my first post. I have always been lazy and only read rather than post on forums. But for this Rolex which I have just acquired, I am compelled to write up a review since so little information is available online.
I have caught the Rolex bug ever since I bought a "Batman" BLNR GMT last year (Not my grail Rolex but it was to mark a significant event in 2013). Whenever in discussion with my watch buddies, we always talked about what would be our next Rolex. The Hulk? 116520 in Black always a safe bet? Sky Dweller or Chocolate/Platinum Daytona if money no object? Or go searching for a good condition "Flat 4" 116610LV?
Discussion always seems to gravitate towards the sporty spectrum of the Rolex Maison, and although I love a WG Panda or a Chocolate Daytona myself, I always see “jerks” wearing them on the street and thought “Do I want to belong to this crowd?” and “Can I still wear a Chocolate Daytona in decades to come?” and I have always hesitate to answer “yes” on both questions. As time pass (I am in my mid 30’s) the DJ and President models are starting to grow on me, reading the very funny “HK Snob” blog also influence me greatly. Personally I have always liked the look of particular version of the DJ, the "Turn-o-Graph" or Thunderbird for you Yankees, it has just the right amount of sportiness and tradition. In fact it was the first Rolex that caught my eye few years ago when I saw a pretty Sales girl in a Lane Crawford (Posh department store in HK) wearing a white SS TOG, and I thought to myself "she got style!"* The clean white face together with the 3 "Red" features (Hand, Date, TOG wording) plus the right amount of "bling" on the fluted bezel made this a very handsome dress watch. The only thing that held me back was at 36mm, I thought it maybe a little on the small side for me.
*Due to the boom in Wealthy Mainland Chinese tourist in recent years, luxury retail has made a killing and a lot even very young sales staff with fat commission can afford nice Swiss watches, but most opt for the "big fashionable watches" like PAM/Santos 100/Chanel J12 etc).
Then couple years ago when I heard about Rolex discontinuing the TOG, I made an effort to start searching for a nice 116261/116263(RG/YG with SS) . (My taste has graduate toward the Two-tone model) Unlike the Rolex sport range, I am convinced the TOG (especially the TT) are really in short supply** (or you can argue this is due to soft demand as numerous market have report slow moving of TOG, but hey Paul Newman also sat on shelves for many years in the 80’s), their relatively small size certainly didn’t help in this current “big is beautiful” trend either. And when Rolex updating their range and both Explorer 1 and DJ2 got the 39mm & 42mm treatment, that kind of sealed the death for TOG.
**A quick word search on Chrono24 for “116261” & “116263” yields 26 & 28 results globally, while the supposedly rare “116520” and “Daytona” yield close to 700 and 3000 respectively. Every non-AD watch/2nd Hand shop in HK almost certainly have at least half a dozen of Daytona on standby (everyone tells you 116520 in black is unobtainium, but as soon as you prepare to fork out 1.5-2K USD premium, they start to pop up everywhere).
A nice TOG in TT is really hard to come by, I recall seeing them less than 5 times in HK (new and 2nd hand combined). The new one was asking too much, and the other times it was either no box/paper or it was Jubilee (I prefer the Oyster bracelet for the TT). I really shouldn’t settle for no box/paper for such relatively new watch right? One thing lead to another, my Rolex thirst was somewhat quenched when I bought the “Batman” last year. So I kind of stopped looking for the TOG. But then last week I saw this:

I first thought it was a custom job like those Bamford/Prohunter Rolex, which in my personal view is a big No-No as a watch collector. Then after a quick chat to the Japanese staff inside and googled a thread on this forum and I am convinced this is the real deal. This is a D-series, Limited Edition 300 (White and Black each) Japan only “Green” Two Tone TOG released around 2011. For price not much more than a regular 116263, I can have something truly rare with box and warranty card (stamped by a Sapporo Daimaru Department store dated 2011), then I ask the staff to let me put it on and I try to find some excuse not to buy it, like “is this too flashy?” or “it’s too soon after the batman” or “It’s too small for my wrist”. All questions went away when I put it on, my mind just went blank, “It just works”, and it’s probably the only boy sized watch which had such presence on my wrist. Perhaps the relatively long lugs combined with the solid center link really extend the watch and made it felt much heftier.
Oh and did I mentioned the Green hand, the Green Date and Green “Turn O Graph” wording. This color combo is very very nice, kind of remind me of the Green Roman DJ II 116333 and even better because the hand is Green. When was the last time Rolex did something so unique, a slight variation is enough to drive Rolex buff nuts (flat “4”, Floating Daytona, devil 666, SR/DR, not to mention the various co-branded and exotic dial effort. Who in their right mind would pay premium for Domino Pizza Dial, but that’s just what WIS do). Surely Rolex must know what this could do to this TOG, a Space Dweller is multiple times more expensive than the essentially the same Explorer, how can they favor the Japanese market so much? It’s making the rest of us jealous.
I still can’t seem to find out the “marketing” reason for releasing such model. Realistically I think it’s very likely Rolex just want to clear the bulk of the TOG inventory before their discontinuation. And Japan is still the best & sophisticated market to sell such a 36mm watch with relative ease. With a touch of Rolex Green, they can charge a hefty premium instead of having to offload them with heavy discount as regular TOG. But whatever the reason maybe, I have found my perfect Rolex, something I know I will treasure and earn me bragging right in any Rolex meet for the rest of my life.
In my Google search of this watch using key word such as “Green, Gold, and Japan”. I came across a lovely picture of variegated forms of “Euonymus Japonicus”. An exotic form of “Japanese Spindle”. So if I may nickname this watch, I would call this the “Variegated Japanese Spindle” (A bit clumsy I know, so if you know anything that is “Green, Gold, Japanese and exotic”, I am all ears)
Attached Images
File Type: jpg 20140715_200556_HDR.jpg (79.0 KB, 3320 views)
File Type: jpg 20140715_182450_HDR.jpg (104.9 KB, 3293 views)
File Type: jpg 20140715_182152_HDR.jpg (82.5 KB, 3284 views)
File Type: jpg Japanese Spindle.jpg (261.5 KB, 3287 views)
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Old 16 July 2014, 02:10 AM   #2
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Very nice
Welcome
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Old 16 July 2014, 03:35 AM   #3
Bendey
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Hi, thanks and oh, forgot the wrist shot.
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Old 16 July 2014, 07:23 PM   #4
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Congrats, indeed a very nice combo, thanks for the interesting write up
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Old 16 July 2014, 10:00 PM   #5
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Congrats and that is a really nice piece. I like the green over the red
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Old 17 July 2014, 12:57 AM   #6
Bendey
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Thanks, yeah and it feels bigger than my 39mm shummy speedy
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Old 17 July 2014, 01:41 AM   #7
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Nice write up. Great looking watch. A fellow member here has previously posted his acquisition of this very same limited edition piece.
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Old 17 July 2014, 01:40 PM   #8
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Very nice write up. Thanks for the pics and that is a very unique piece indeed!
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Old 17 July 2014, 02:39 PM   #9
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Great review for your first. I still want to post one of my own. Keep up the posts!
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Old 19 July 2014, 03:35 AM   #10
Eric Chan
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Great review. It was unfortunate I missed this one. You have a very nice looking watch. It is too bad this was limited to Japan only.
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Old 22 July 2014, 12:45 PM   #11
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Nice review and watch!
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Old 22 July 2014, 12:56 PM   #12
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Oh so rare. Beautiful!
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Old 24 July 2014, 06:04 AM   #13
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Welcome and congrats
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Old 29 September 2014, 04:38 PM   #14
infashionistas
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nice and great job
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Old 30 September 2014, 01:03 PM   #15
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Beautiful! Congrats!
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Old 1 February 2015, 02:52 AM   #16
asq69
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Nice story! Nice watch! Green hand, some gold in bracelet, black dial are among the reasons I bought GMT Master II C TT, not as rare as your beautiful TOG though... Congrats!
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Old 1 February 2015, 04:08 AM   #17
Bendey
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Thanks asq, the 713 is an excellent watch! One which i should have bought instead of the BLNR :)


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Old 2 February 2015, 03:41 AM   #18
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Wow! I wasn't aware they did these with the grey/black dial, I thought it was just the white?

Very nice either way & congrats on your purchase
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Old 2 February 2015, 04:44 AM   #19
ndsleep612
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Great story. Patience is a big factor in this hobby to find what you really want.
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Old 28 February 2015, 03:15 PM   #20
sandysandy8888
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Beautiful! Congrats!
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Old 15 March 2015, 08:49 AM   #21
Slim_Pickin
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Excellent watch. Very enjoyable review, too!
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Old 5 April 2015, 01:38 PM   #22
Ace2Rolex
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bendey View Post
Hi, I am from Hong Kong and this is my first post. I have always been lazy and only read rather than post on forums. But for this Rolex which I have just acquired, I am compelled to write up a review since so little information is available online.
I have caught the Rolex bug ever since I bought a "Batman" BLNR GMT last year (Not my grail Rolex but it was to mark a significant event in 2013). Whenever in discussion with my watch buddies, we always talked about what would be our next Rolex. The Hulk? 116520 in Black always a safe bet? Sky Dweller or Chocolate/Platinum Daytona if money no object? Or go searching for a good condition "Flat 4" 116610LV?
Discussion always seems to gravitate towards the sporty spectrum of the Rolex Maison, and although I love a WG Panda or a Chocolate Daytona myself, I always see “jerks” wearing them on the street and thought “Do I want to belong to this crowd?” and “Can I still wear a Chocolate Daytona in decades to come?” and I have always hesitate to answer “yes” on both questions. As time pass (I am in my mid 30’s) the DJ and President models are starting to grow on me, reading the very funny “HK Snob” blog also influence me greatly. Personally I have always liked the look of particular version of the DJ, the "Turn-o-Graph" or Thunderbird for you Yankees, it has just the right amount of sportiness and tradition. In fact it was the first Rolex that caught my eye few years ago when I saw a pretty Sales girl in a Lane Crawford (Posh department store in HK) wearing a white SS TOG, and I thought to myself "she got style!"* The clean white face together with the 3 "Red" features (Hand, Date, TOG wording) plus the right amount of "bling" on the fluted bezel made this a very handsome dress watch. The only thing that held me back was at 36mm, I thought it maybe a little on the small side for me.
*Due to the boom in Wealthy Mainland Chinese tourist in recent years, luxury retail has made a killing and a lot even very young sales staff with fat commission can afford nice Swiss watches, but most opt for the "big fashionable watches" like PAM/Santos 100/Chanel J12 etc).
Then couple years ago when I heard about Rolex discontinuing the TOG, I made an effort to start searching for a nice 116261/116263(RG/YG with SS) . (My taste has graduate toward the Two-tone model) Unlike the Rolex sport range, I am convinced the TOG (especially the TT) are really in short supply** (or you can argue this is due to soft demand as numerous market have report slow moving of TOG, but hey Paul Newman also sat on shelves for many years in the 80’s), their relatively small size certainly didn’t help in this current “big is beautiful” trend either. And when Rolex updating their range and both Explorer 1 and DJ2 got the 39mm & 42mm treatment, that kind of sealed the death for TOG.
**A quick word search on Chrono24 for “116261” & “116263” yields 26 & 28 results globally, while the supposedly rare “116520” and “Daytona” yield close to 700 and 3000 respectively. Every non-AD watch/2nd Hand shop in HK almost certainly have at least half a dozen of Daytona on standby (everyone tells you 116520 in black is unobtainium, but as soon as you prepare to fork out 1.5-2K USD premium, they start to pop up everywhere).
A nice TOG in TT is really hard to come by, I recall seeing them less than 5 times in HK (new and 2nd hand combined). The new one was asking too much, and the other times it was either no box/paper or it was Jubilee (I prefer the Oyster bracelet for the TT). I really shouldn’t settle for no box/paper for such relatively new watch right? One thing lead to another, my Rolex thirst was somewhat quenched when I bought the “Batman” last year. So I kind of stopped looking for the TOG. But then last week I saw this:

I first thought it was a custom job like those Bamford/Prohunter Rolex, which in my personal view is a big No-No as a watch collector. Then after a quick chat to the Japanese staff inside and googled a thread on this forum and I am convinced this is the real deal. This is a D-series, Limited Edition 300 (White and Black each) Japan only “Green” Two Tone TOG released around 2011. For price not much more than a regular 116263, I can have something truly rare with box and warranty card (stamped by a Sapporo Daimaru Department store dated 2011), then I ask the staff to let me put it on and I try to find some excuse not to buy it, like “is this too flashy?” or “it’s too soon after the batman” or “It’s too small for my wrist”. All questions went away when I put it on, my mind just went blank, “It just works”, and it’s probably the only boy sized watch which had such presence on my wrist. Perhaps the relatively long lugs combined with the solid center link really extend the watch and made it felt much heftier.
Oh and did I mentioned the Green hand, the Green Date and Green “Turn O Graph” wording. This color combo is very very nice, kind of remind me of the Green Roman DJ II 116333 and even better because the hand is Green. When was the last time Rolex did something so unique, a slight variation is enough to drive Rolex buff nuts (flat “4”, Floating Daytona, devil 666, SR/DR, not to mention the various co-branded and exotic dial effort. Who in their right mind would pay premium for Domino Pizza Dial, but that’s just what WIS do). Surely Rolex must know what this could do to this TOG, a Space Dweller is multiple times more expensive than the essentially the same Explorer, how can they favor the Japanese market so much? It’s making the rest of us jealous.
I still can’t seem to find out the “marketing” reason for releasing such model. Realistically I think it’s very likely Rolex just want to clear the bulk of the TOG inventory before their discontinuation. And Japan is still the best & sophisticated market to sell such a 36mm watch with relative ease. With a touch of Rolex Green, they can charge a hefty premium instead of having to offload them with heavy discount as regular TOG. But whatever the reason maybe, I have found my perfect Rolex, something I know I will treasure and earn me bragging right in any Rolex meet for the rest of my life.
In my Google search of this watch using key word such as “Green, Gold, and Japan”. I came across a lovely picture of variegated forms of “Euonymus Japonicus”. An exotic form of “Japanese Spindle”. So if I may nickname this watch, I would call this the “Variegated Japanese Spindle” (A bit clumsy I know, so if you know anything that is “Green, Gold, Japanese and exotic”, I am all ears)
Bendy, Nice review. I just acquired the white version. Now that some time has passed, are you still loving your TOG?
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Old 5 April 2015, 10:19 PM   #23
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Welcome congrats
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Old 6 April 2015, 05:30 PM   #24
Bendey
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The 36mm is growing on me and I love wearing it very much, its a keeper for me :)
Congrats on your new purchase, I am on look out for one to completer a pair myself 😁


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Old 10 April 2015, 01:13 PM   #25
Ace2Rolex
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Very happy that I finally received mine and being able to take the stickers off solidified that brand new feeling :) I absolutley love it. Having a hard time wearing my 116610 now.

Last edited by Ace2Rolex; 10 April 2015 at 01:23 PM.. Reason: Images didn't work
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Old 16 April 2015, 01:32 AM   #26
watchwatcher
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Very nice...watch and review. Thanks for posting!
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Old 16 January 2017, 03:22 PM   #27
keshaandrea
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Hi, someone wants to sell this watch, no paper, only original box.
the price is usd.4.400,--
Is it a good deal?
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Old 3 August 2017, 01:42 AM   #28
Leeq
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Wow, that is an extremely nice watch! Good job!
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Old 30 November 2017, 04:33 AM   #29
Pte6000
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I recently acquired the black dial version, such a nice combo.
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Old 8 December 2017, 07:57 PM   #30
R2D2
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Thank you for a good review!
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