What does "New Old Stock" mean...

[mluther]

is it - a new watch (i.e. never worn/stickers in place) that is a few years old?

[millmax]

Thats what I would expect,

[Wolfgang427]

Should be a brand new unused watch, but could have the stickers off, and handeling marks on it. However its often misused to label a lightly used watch as a NOS piece.

[SaddleSC]

New = Never owned or sold to another person. (Your name on the Warranty Card)
Old Stock = The dealer has owned the watch for a while and has either been unable to sell it or has chosen not to sell it by keeping it in the safe.

[Time2time]

Yes.

[petesjag]

Yup, should be new as the day it was made..

[mjclark32]

yup, that's the way I understand it

[TempoKing]

Although it should be a brand new watch with all stickers intact
that was bought some years ago or it has remained unsold for many years.
I have seen at Rolex AD's NOS 15 years old (mid-size two tone DJ
before they became popular).
Many have visible signs of the in and out of the window display treatment.
The best kind are these that were bought and then placed in a safe forgoten
that they are there.
No more new old stock from ADs now.... with the random serials
ALL ROLEX WATCHES are factory fresh...no way to prove they aren't.

[shirtguy]

as long as you get your name on the warranty then its considered a new watch

[sprtrlx]

bought two of these from an ad a few years back at substantial discounts.inmho a great item to buy,if it a watch you were thinking of acquiring.i originally asked if they had anywhere in their organization where a zenith daytona was available?they came back with a u serial yg croc strap with a mop dial.2nd watch was a black face 18k sub.both were homeruns on the negotiated price.also on the sub i wanted a ss daytona thrown in at full msrp that they accomadated me on.

[mluther]

Thanks Guys.

[Vomtaylor]

i have heard thats part of the reason rolex has gone to ramdom serial numbers.....so dealers can sit on watches for a year or two, and its still considered new when sold.. the date of the watch will be reflective of the date issued on the warrenty card..

[pacifichrono]

"NOS" is a very misused term on eBay and sales forums. It's basically a watch that's never been worn or sold to a customer. In my experience, 80-90% of vintage watches described as "NOS" are not really NOS: they're either refinished watches, cobbled together from a parts bin, or a brand new watch that never existed back then.

Caveat emptor!

[springbar]

"NOS" is used to clarify that an item has never been sold ("new" def. 3) or used ("new" def. 2) without seeming to imply that it was made recently ("new" def. 1).

You see the term used often to describe items that are no longer made but that are in unsold condition (in the box and everything). These can be quite a treasure to find. Consider a NOS dashboard for a vintage car, or a NOS pre-ceramic Rolex GMT-II.

[Tools]

It's not "old stock" until it's been superceded by a later issue..

So, even a watch that may be in the Dealer for a few years, isn't NOS unless a later model has already come out..

So, if you find a new 16610 in a Dealer case, it is NOS. But if you find a GMTIIc in the same case with an old serial number, it is not NOS.

There is no shelf time or age that defines NOS, at least, not defined.

[Lion]

Interesting, I always though it was just a watch that is brand new and a few years old!!!

[Wolfgang427]

Originally Posted by Vomtaylor

i have heard thats part of the reason rolex has gone to ramdom serial numbers.....so dealers can sit on watches for a year or two, and its still considered new when sold.. the date of the watch will be reflective of the date issued on the warrenty card..

Though that may be a by product of doing it, I don't think 99% of retail Rolex customers even care or know what the serial #'s mean. More then likely its because thay ran out of letters to use, and simply went to a random system. All the letters except I, O, Q, were used up, and those letters were never used because they look like numbers. (B, H, J were used up by Tudor).