Ask an Insider Thread

[Submariner G]

Hi Chris,

Fantastic thread, hats off to you for taking the initiative with this. I have a couple of questions.

Within the last few days bought a Sub non-date stainless steel, black face, black bezel. The watch I have has a G Serial number, to be honest, I am new to buying Rolex and in the store there was a suggestion that particular Serial Numbers are rarer than others, if that is the case do you have any thoughts on the G Serial? I had also seen the same watch with a random serial number, but the shop I went into were appauling in their service, so we went to another dealer. I understand the random serial numbers are what Rolex are now using so again in relation to the random serial number, in relation to the Sub non-date, is nothing particularly special?

The AD we purchased said it was increasingly difficult to find the Sub non-dates on stainless steel, do you have any views on this?

Also, I wanted to formalise a complaint about an AD we met (as per above) do you have any Rolex contact emails for this purpose. We are based in Yorkshire if this helps??

Sorry to go on and again thank you for your kind offer to answer questions.

[The GMT Master]

Originally Posted by Submariner G

Hi Chris,

Fantastic thread, hats off to you for taking the initiative with this. I have a couple of questions.

Within the last few days bought a Sub non-date stainless steel, black face, black bezel. The watch I have has a G Serial number, to be honest, I am new to buying Rolex and in the store there was a suggestion that particular Serial Numbers are rarer than others, if that is the case do you have any thoughts on the G Serial? I had also seen the same watch with a random serial number, but the shop I went into were appauling in their service, so we went to another dealer. I understand the random serial numbers are what Rolex are now using so again in relation to the random serial number, in relation to the Sub non-date, is nothing particularly special?

The AD we purchased said it was increasingly difficult to find the Sub non-dates on stainless steel, do you have any views on this?

Also, I wanted to formalise a complaint about an AD we met (as per above) do you have any Rolex contact emails for this purpose. We are based in Yorkshire if this helps??

Sorry to go on and again thank you for your kind offer to answer questions.

Hello, I'll try to answer these the best I can

I wouldn't pay any attention to the serial numbers - some people put too much emphasis on them, born out of a desire to try and document when a Rolex was produced. The G serial is a slightly strange one, as they seem to be being produced at the same time as random serial models - we have watches in stock with a mixture of the two styles. Some dealers are trying to spin it that certain models with certain serials are rare or special - the 16600 Sea Dweller had a final flurry of interest with a last run of watches with a V serial. Yes, they might have a different letter stamped on them, but they were still essentially identical to every other 16600 produced for the previous 20 years bar minor cosmetic differences - some dealers will do anything to get a sale, and I've always been uncomfortable with trying to tout a Rolex as rare, as they frankly aren't. I personally think it's a shame that so much discussion these days isn't about how great the watches are, but how rare they're perceived as - everyone wants to have the next Newman Daytona, or McQueen Explorer II. If you want an insider tip as to what has the potential to be a future collectible, I would put my money on the white dialled Milgauss - all the collectible mainstream models today were sales failures, and the white dialled Milgauss is really, really tough to shift.

If you want my advice, just sit back, relax, and enjoy your new Rolex. It's an interesting one as it has the feel of a vintage watch, and is probably closer to the great Rolexes of the 60s and 70s in terms of feel and design ethos than the latest generation of models. How long it'll stay in the line up, I don't know, but it is unique within the range now.

As for how difficult it is to obtain them, I don't think they're particularly hard to find. Supply never has been as strong as for the Date model, and they continue to trickle in. We had one on our previous allocation, but none this time around. They also tend to sell a little more slowly than the Date, so there is a bit of a better chance you'll find one in a window.

If you want to formalise a complaint to Rolex, it would probably be best to contact the St. James' Square HQ - their contact details are as follows:

19 St James's Square
London
SW1Y 4JE
United Kingdom

Tel: +44 20 7024 7300
Fax: +44 20 7024 7317

They're open 9-5, Monday to Friday, but I believe they are closed at present for Christmas. Call them in the new year, and I'm sure someone can provide you with an email address to send your complaint to

Hope this helps

Chris

[Submariner G]

Chris,

Really helpful response, thank you. I bought mine to wear, enjoy and hopefully pass down to one of my kids, I also considered the Explorer 1, but fell for the Sub at first glance.

Thanks again.

[gazp]

Thanks Chris for your time ,effort ,honesty and professionalism in doing this thread , it is in my opinion THE BEST THREAD EVER on TRF .

MERRY CHRISTMAS CHRIS AND HOPE YOU HAVE A GREAT 2011 MY FRIEND

[The GMT Master]

Originally Posted by gazp

Thanks Chris for your time ,effort ,honesty and professionalism in doing this thread , it is in my opinion THE BEST THREAD EVER on TRF .

MERRY CHRISTMAS CHRIS AND HOPE YOU HAVE A GREAT 2011 MY FRIEND

It's been my pleasure, Gary, thankyou so much for your kind words. Have a merry Christmas, and a happy new year

[tkc324]

Chris,

Thank you so much for this thread... I had a great time reading all the questions and anwers!!!

[chestercopperpot]

This is my favorite thread. So much good info!

[David Woo]

A wonderful thread: Chris, thanks so much for taking the time to share your thoughts with us!
DW

[TheVTCGuy]

Echo everyone thanking you for this thread Chris, now here is my question:

I am friends with the woman at my AD that sold me my Daytona, she tells me stories about the cut-throatedness (is that a word?) of the sales people at the AD. I.e., people are constantly trying to steal sales, customers, etc. Is that your experience?

Thanks again for the thread

[kenco]

Excellent thread.

If I may, I would like to ask about interest free financing (assuming your store offers it).

How does it work? Do AD's pass the debt onto a separate company to manage and collect every month and they take commission from it? Does the AD effectively make less profit when the customer takes the interest free finance option? if so, roughly how much?


Many thanks in advance.

[The GMT Master]

Originally Posted by TheVTCGuy

Echo everyone thanking you for this thread Chris, now here is my question:

I am friends with the woman at my AD that sold me my Daytona, she tells me stories about the cut-throatedness (is that a word?) of the sales people at the AD. I.e., people are constantly trying to steal sales, customers, etc. Is that your experience?

Thanks again for the thread

Hi Paul,

Where I work, it's exactly the opposite - we're always looking out for each other, and make sure people get credit where it's due. I suspect that might be to do with the fact that we don't operate on commission, which a lot of the bigger stores do. Without it, we have a very tight knit team that's more like a family, and we can focus on the needs of the customer properly - when we're selling, we have the needs of the customer on our minds, and not how much money we can squeeze out of them. We'll often do buddy selling, where, if there's the opportunity, more than one of us looks after the customer - it makes the customer feel special, and makes it an experience, not just a cold transaction. It makes it a really pleasant environment to work in

[The GMT Master]

Originally Posted by kenco

Excellent thread.

If I may, I would like to ask about interest free financing (assuming your store offers it).

How does it work? Do AD's pass the debt onto a separate company to manage and collect every month and they take commission from it? Does the AD effectively make less profit when the customer takes the interest free finance option? if so, roughly how much?


Many thanks in advance.

It's a very valid question, I'll try to answer it the best I can. We offer interest free credit, and we outsource it to a company specialising in it. They take a percentage figure as a commission, with the rates increasing with the length of the credit. As such, we have to pick a length of time that fits in with our discounting policies, so it works out at about the same from our point of view. Bigger organisations such as Goldsmiths have their own financing arm, so they can absorb the costs, hence they can offer much longer lengths of interest free than we can afford to. It's one of those things, though, most of our customers who take it are happy with up to 12 months interest free

[Catmonv]

Are you referring to the new 31mm Datejust with the speckled diamond bezel? In which case, I will investigate for you, we've just received the new master catalogue, which contains an updated dials booklet in

Oops, my mistake. You are correct, its the 31mm datejust. Let me know if it now comes in the pink floral face with the speckled diamond bezel. I know it comes in the rhodium floral face with the speckled diamond bezel but my wife does not like that color.

[darthmouse]

Enlightening thread, Chris. Very kind of you to field all these questions!

Happy holidays!

[The GMT Master]

Originally Posted by Catmonv

Oops, my mistake. You are correct, its the 31mm datejust. Let me know if it now comes in the pink floral face with the speckled diamond bezel. I know it comes in the rhodium floral face with the speckled diamond bezel but my wife does not like that color.

Thought I'd clarify I'll have a nose through the new master catalogue, I'll find out if the information is right or not for you

[kenco]

Thanks again for your answer :)

Cheers and looking forward to more great questions and answers! :)

[The GMT Master]

Thanks for another day of great questions - I'm signing off now, working tomorrow, and need to get some sleep. I'll be back around 6 P.M. GMT - plenty of time for you guys to think up some more

Until tomorrow!

[Mr. Greene]

Thank you fro this, it was truly enlightening reading some of the questions and answers. Thank you agian and If I am ever in England I would love to stop by your shop

[Tijssan]

What a thread!

Happy Holidays Chris!

[seand442]

Thanks for the thread. There is a ton of good info coming out. It's interesting how you can really tell someone's passion by doing something like this and answering all sorts of questions, albeit, work related on their own just because they want to help other people out. You the man.

[chrisshank]

Can you come to Houston and work at one of our ADs, please? It would be a huge step up from many of the sales people I've worked with recently... both in knowledge and professionalism. Thanks, yet again, for providing us with this opportunity!

Chris S.

[enronforme]

Really a great reading thread...very informative. Thanks!
Bob

YG DAY DATE! :)

[NEW]

HELLO CHRIS,
Will there be a lower production of the ss daytona in 2011 in the US or world wide? tx

[The GMT Master]

Originally Posted by Catmonv

Oops, my mistake. You are correct, its the 31mm datejust. Let me know if it now comes in the pink floral face with the speckled diamond bezel. I know it comes in the rhodium floral face with the speckled diamond bezel but my wife does not like that color.

Hey again, I've had a check, and the pink floral dial is only available on the steel and rose model - looks like the floral dials are only in the same colour as the prominent metal on the watch, i.e. rhodium for steel, champagne for steel and yellow, and pink for steel and rose. It's unfortunate, because a pink dial would look lovely on the all steel model

[The GMT Master]

Originally Posted by NEW

HELLO CHRIS,
Will there be a lower production of the ss daytona in 2011 in the US or world wide? tx

If there's any reduction in production, it'll be across the whole range, not just the Daytona. Rolex won't say anything officially on the matter though

[dddrees]

Fantastic read Chris.

Great idea, and a very generous offer of your time and knowledge.

Thanks.

[Puffy]

Chris, this is probably a question we'd all like to know the answer to.

When you're in the pub and you chat to birds and tell them you sell the finest watches for a living, do you find they a) think you're an English version of Puff Daddy and throw themselves at you or b) think you're a w@nker?

I hope for A but let's hear it from the horse's mouth

[Puffy]

Here's another question:

I have just bought an LV insert for my 16610 - would you be happy to swap this, pro bono, or do you normally charge? And would most ADs have an original Rolex bezel swap tool at hand?

[SC11]

Originally Posted by Puffy

Chris, this is probably a question we'd all like to know the answer to.

When you're in the pub and you chat to birds and tell them you sell the finest watches for a living, do you find they a) think you're an English version of Puff Daddy and throw themselves at you or b) think you're a w@nker?

I hope for A but let's hear it from the horse's mouth

Well B does have it's advantages !!!







It will keep his watch fully wound :-P

[Kokyuryoku]

Originally Posted by Puffy

Here's another question:

I have just bought an LV insert for my 16610 - would you be happy to swap this, pro bono, or do you normally charge? And would most ADs have an original Rolex bezel swap tool at hand?

Nice score Anders I've often thought about trying to source one myself. Did you find it difficult to come by?