What was the last year where you can walk into AD and see a variety of SS in cases?

[jaychief]

I was in abu dahi at the Rolex boutique in January a guy had walked in 10 mins before me and had bought a GMT 2 in SS that was in their case....

[Zippy+]

005101B7-A5B7-4A1E-AB80-4373AB31A71C.jpegLate 2017 U.K. ad

[J. Alan]

Originally Posted by Zippy+

Attachment 1028850Late 2017 Ben bridge in Seattle also a blnr out of shot sorry the Batman!

YEP! Those were the days - I think I am going to

J. Alan

[ZOOK]

Originally Posted by Zippy+

Late 2017 Ben bridge in Seattle also a blnr out of shot sorry the Batman!

Crap, I wish I had known that. The display cases in Portland have been bare since I started my Rolex craze in Summer 2017. Because folks from Washington and California and Asia come to Portland to avoid sales tax. I should have headed to Seattle and had the watch shipped home.

[Spoonage]

Last Rolex I bought was Dec 2016, and the cases were pretty stocked then. Havent been in to visit my AD much between then and now, but of the times since I purchased the Rolex cases were pretty weak on Professional Models.

[Zippy+]

Originally Posted by ZOOK

Crap, I wish I had known that. The display cases in Portland have been bare since I started my Rolex craze in Summer 2017. Because folks from Washington and California and Asia come to Portland to avoid sales tax. I should have headed to Seattle and had the watch shipped home.

Yeap , picked up a black 500 there whilst visiting , sorry..

[ZOOK]

Originally Posted by Zippy+

Yeap , picked up a black 500 there whilst visiting , sorry..

Visiting Portland or Seattle?

[Loevhagen]

Late summer of 2017; Hulk.

[Fleetlord]

Approx 5yrs ago (wow time flies) I noticed that Rolex sports models had essentially reached the point of ubiquity in terms of AD inventory.

https://www.rolexforums.com/showthread.php?t=342567

All AD's were fully stocked of everything...including Daytonas, still in the vault, but they had them if you asked nicely.

I personally thought it was "boring". Nothing "exclusive" about seeing every watch at every AD. I felt that this, combined with grey market lowballing pricing was a pretty toxic mix for a "luxury" brand. Yes, I do consider Rolex to be a luxury brand...

So, about 2.5 years ago, less and less SS sports Rolex references were hitting the dealer showcases and the grey market pricing started to rise...which in turn created a FOMO atmosphere which has driven sales of Rolex to record levels...across all references in their lineup...

Now why this occurred is a polarizing question...and has been discussed plenty of times on this forum...so I will leave that there...

At the same time brands that were overly available started to fade in status among WIS and general public alike....such as Breitling, IWC and Omega..

Even Panerai, who had carried amazing clout and respect when their production was limited, was now old news as references piled up upon each other through overproduction and the brand opened boutique after boutique across the world...just too much out there...

So here we are 5yrs later from my initial observations with way less SS sports Rolex available through the AD channel and prices on the grey market exceeding retail on the majority of SS references by a significant amount.

The market has reacted favorably to this environment by rewarding Rolex with record sales and increased luxury segment dominance of space...

Sitting here now, barring economic recession, it's hard for me to see an era of ubiquitous availability via the AD channel coming back anytime soon...the market has spoken and this is clearly what it wants.

[Zippy+]

Originally Posted by ZOOK

Visiting Portland or Seattle?

SeattleBA7C5C59-BEA5-43D9-9D78-08F8238D8C1F.jpeg

[ZOOK]

Originally Posted by Zippy+

SeattleAttachment 1028879

thank you

[sensui]

For me this was early 2016.

[Amochosto]

I saw an LN Sub and a GMT LN in the case in Cayman Islands as recently as June 2018 and in Toronto, probably April 2018. Probably 50-50 chance even now that you will find an Explorer 1 or Explorer II in Cayman, and maybe 25% chance in Toronto. in fact I tried on both Explorer l and Explorer II black out of the case in Toronto about two or three weeks ago.

[delboylee]

For me in London, around 2016 most SS were still obtainable. Wouldn’t say they were ‘fully stocked and on display’ thought. They might keep a few pieces in the safe

[Caynuck]

2017

[Pete17]

IIRC the rot set in just after Basel 2017.


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[Starwalker]

2016

[SS Oyster]

I’ve never known such a Year


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[grimps]

I went into my local AD in the UK in 2009 and asked if they had a steel Daytona in stock , they asked me which colour id prefer .
When i picked my Hulk up in Dubai in 2016 the sales lady boxed the watch up for me then immediately pulled out another Hulk and put it in the display case .
I have also picked up the 2018 James Cameron and the new Seadweller in Airports in the last year

[MinMay]

2018

[ajas]

2017 Bangkok aiport

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[mosanman]

I think the last time I remember walking into an AD in London with a good selection of SS models available to buy (Subs, GMTs and SDs) was WoS in Knightsbridge in March 2016.

[SkyJuice]

I was late to the party so don't have this memory.

[Terrakot]

The summer of 2017
FE10C256-BA0C-4C28-889E-B311D61D17D9.jpeg

5F32F305-2E4E-467C-A8C6-B8AD164CFEBB.jpeg

[Swiss Mad!]

In the UK I remember seeing a Sub date LN in the window of Goldsmiths in early 2016.

I've never seen one, or any other SS Professional model for that matter since.

While on a family trip to Cancun, Mexico in October 2017 I was very surprised to find the AD chain 'Ultra Jewels' had just about anything you wanted - pics below.

However a family friend went to the same resort the following year (2018) and reported nothing...even they were struggling to supply the good stuff by then...

[topgear]

Mid 2017 in Dubai.

[khalifam]

May 2016.

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[Rocket launcher]

Summer 2016 saw a hulk in Goldsmiths window at the Metro center.. was in 2 minds to get it
Looking back I should have...
How times have changed in nearly 3 years

[nick800]

2017. Saw BLNR at two AD’s and passed. They even offered me 10%off.

Same year, walked in to HKG airport AD. Had most everything. Offered 10% as soon as I walked in the door.

[Mohawkman450]

2017 Montreal area