If you can recall, what was the moment you said to yourself “I want a Rolex!”

[JonTheKingJames]

Originally Posted by Oakley12

As much as I hate to admit it, growing up watching "professional wrestling" and the Nature Boy Rick Flair always sported a DD. Always bragged about his Rolex.......stylin & profilin.

Wooh! Lol I’m sure Ric Flair influenced a lot of people, he’s one of the most charismatic people I’ve ever met!

[FloridaGary]

Originally Posted by JonTheKingJames

Haha yes I was like wow! I actually have a pair of tortoise wayfarers as well lol. They are both still timeless items.

Haha I still have the original Tortoise Wayfarers I purchased in 1987. $50 and I thought that was high priced. Before moving to the Orlando area, I lived in Ft Laud during the 80’s while shooting Miami Vice. But I am digressing from this watch discussion. Long live the Day Date!


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[kbutler1]

Always liked wearing and having a watch since my teens. Started with a Citizen EcoDrive and wore one of those variants for years. As I progressed in my career, I wanted something to celebrate achievements along the way. My first Rolex (Exp II) was a reward for successfully completing a role within the company I was at that was known to be a make/break type of gig. Since then, the bug bit me and I have pursued other models.

[AboutTime]

While on a Caribbean cruise some years ago, my wife and I spent a day wandering through many of the jewelry and watch shops on St. Thomas. I knew next to nothing about watches. I tried on a number of watches, seriously considered a Breitling, tried on an "overpriced industrial-looking" AP Royal Oak, looked at a few Rolex sport watches (Sub and GMT that my wife and I thought were ugly), then settled on a blue stick dial 36 mm Rolex Datejust. Unfortunately I never bonded with the blue dial on the DJ and later traded it to buy a DJ for my wife. So, I didn't really have that "I want a Rolex" moment, I just sorta stumbled into the brand. Of course that started the sickness and I've owned a variety of Rolex watches (and other brands) since that time.

[2001jesper]

Early 2016. Had decided on a Navitimer and then I started looking at the Submariner which changed my mind an preference

[vicsdca]

I always wanted an Omega. Rolex was never on my radar because I associated the brand with my parents' and grand-parents' generations. Also, I hated the Rolex logo and the fact that the brand was too mainstream. I started appreciating the brand only after I got my first Rolex. I realized they were good watches and stopped caring about brand perception. Today, young people seem to like the Rolex brand. It's cool. It was not the case with my generation. We hated it.

[goodolejr]

Found out about the Daytona at the end of my senior year of high school. Discovered how hard it was to get even back then (2003).

Fifteen years and a of couple of up-and-down life events later, I finally managed to get a white dial ceramic.

[JonTheKingJames]

Originally Posted by goodolejr

Found out about the Daytona at the end of my senior year of high school. Discovered how hard it was to get even back then (2003).

Fifteen years and a of couple of up-and-down life events later, I finally managed to get a white dial ceramic.

That white ceramic Daytona (Panda) is a grail watch of mine.

[El Cascarrabias]

After reading THIS ARTICLE in Cigar Aficianodo I thought, "I'd like to own a watch from a company like that."

. . . and eventually I did!

[ras47]

Originally Posted by Etschell

When I was 14 and saw goldfinger.

Pussy Galore wore a GMT Master BLRO.

[nuts070]

When I was a kid, my mom used to tell me my grandpa's story on how he was looked down by an SA at a watch shop somewhere in old Manila area. He was then wearing only tattered pants (his comfy one) a simple shirt and a basket (which was containing a lot of money). After he was told off by the SA that the watch, a Universal Geneve, costs a lot (never said the price as my grandpa looked like he couldn't afford it), he told the SA he wants to see the manager, and when the latter went out, he pulled out the amount needed from the basket to the dazzling eyes of the SA.

My grandpa died when I was 1 year old, I was the youngest among cousins, and it took it that it was I who will be able to finally settle his estate last year. The story of my grandpa inspired me to get a Rolex when the settlement happens. Now I'm on my piece no. 4.

[blue lion]

Easy. I had an Invicta Sub knockoff and liked the way it felt. Decided to get the real thing.

[exador]

When I sold my first Tudor Snowflake for 3x what I paid for it and thought “I can afford a Rolex now!”

[kalo925]

My Thai girlfriend got me looking at watches again as I hadn't really wore one for a (other than a cheap digital needed for work) long time. Then on Facebook of all places, just before Christmas 2015 I saw an advertisement for the new gold Yacht-Master 40 on Oysterflex. I was just like WOW.. that is so cool.. But one of my old friends posted that I should be looking at submariners, and it was a good point based on our past history. Second hand Submariner 114060 was my first Rolex about 18 months later after a classic Panerai 210 eight months later.

[TempoKing]

In 1969 I was working for the largest Rolex retailer in the planet
...lol...I was forced to buy with two discounts ...half price from the retailer
...and on top of that ...another 25% from Rolex ...André Heininger was the
Director ...did not call them CEO then.
The final price I had to pay was $160-$175 bucks...in installments $20 per week
The watch was a Daytona manual wind (hated that) 6239 with an exotic white/black
registers dial...back then the term “Paul Newman” did not exist.
...all in all I never had the urge to buy ...I was immersed into it...

[easterbunny]

I grew up loving/wearing all sorts of watches and recall my cousin telling me about his family friend who had a one. Around the same time, his dads cousin came to the house wearing a DJ and was talking about it.

I was still just a kid but the idea that Rolex was a great watch I could potentially own one day stuck ever since.

[JonTheKingJames]

Great stories guys! It’s crazy how some watches can invoke such feeling and some just exist to vanish into obscurity (MVMT... cough cough)
L

[FreshPrince14]

I was 5 years old when my father bought his Sub. I can still envision the store in Spain. The salesman thought nothing of giving 5 year old me a gift of a Victorinox Swiss army knife (which I still have).

From then on I always thought his Sub was just one of the coolest things I had ever seen. I always knew it proudly as "dad's watch". I knew it as Bond's watch, although at the time that accolade technically belonged to Omega. As a child I was a big Bond fan and for my father, he grew up with the Sub as Bond's watch. So it only made sense that that's how I viewed it too.

From then on I always wanted my own Rolex.

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[cattleman41]

First time I saw a BLNR

[Carney0121]

Never liked Rolex and bought an Omega as my first Swiss watch. A couple of months after that, I decided I wanted something with a gmt hand and the two pieces I was going back and forth on were the explorer ii (16570) and Tudor bb gmt. The bb was a little big for me and also I didn't like that I'd have to be on a wait list to get one. Got lucky and found a 16570 in the configuration i wanted and in amazing condition and picked it up. Still not the biggest fan of Rolex, though I love the exp ii. Just not too keen on how common they are and how often I see people wearing subs, and would rather have something that isn't the same as everyone else. I'll probably pick up a ym40 at some point to replace my Seiko but nothing else really appeals to me from the current lineup. Next on my list is most likely a cartier.

[Oliver Mendl]

When I was looking for a new watch and saw the 16570 in a Rolex catalog.

Kind regards,
Oliver

[stevek84]

I didn't get into watches until I was in my mid 20's. After my nan passed away I was left a little money which I spent on an Oris as my thing to remember her by. Few years later my Grandad passed away too and I was left an old GWR Station clock from when he used to live at an old railway station. The clock wasn't really anything I could practically use, so I put it into an auction where it want for over double the estimate. after the auction I went for a walk with my mum and we went into a rolex ad for a browse, I tried on a black SubC and from that point knew its what I wanted to replace the clock with to remember my Grandad by. A month later when all funds and bits were cleared I went back up and bought the sub, with my mum gifting me the extra I needed to buy the watch as my early 30th birthday present .

[R.bartlett]

Walking in Cheltenham arcade my Casio strap broke just by a jewellers shop. I walked in and said "I'll have that one" pointing at a datejust. Assistant said I would have to pay cash. "Wait here" returned with 850 pounds and walked out.
Got mugged a few years later so upgraded to an white explorer ll. Which I had Rolex change the strap to Stainless Steel Jubilee Bracelet before I got it....

[Grimm]

Kind of embarrassing story I must admit. Started my medical training in Miami about 10 years ago. Piss poor but loan rich and wanted a watch with a black face, knew absolutely nothing about rolex, never knew anyone that owned one. Walking around endless grey shops in downtown Miami back then, I fell in love with a black invicta divers watch. It was automatic, had a cool display back, and shockingly kept amazing time. My obsession with watches really started at that moment. It wasnt until several months later that I walked into another high end shop when I was shocked (and incredibly disappointed) to find out that my beloved time piece was an homage (ripoff) of a Rolex classic. That watch didn't last long, but I knew what eventually wanted.

Through several humble but honest seikos and orient automatics my obsession has never ended, my tastes have changed a little. Still waiting for my first Rolex, but in my final month of training I'm at a point where I can finally afford one, just waiting for the call.

[Brew]

Some time between my third and fourth heart procedures I gave myself permission to spend a little, in celebration of being done with that (I hope).

[Rolex.c6]

Was looking online for a nice ss watch with black dial and bezel. Budget was under € 1000,. But kept liking the same watch which was a Submariner. Conclusion: Rolex was the best looking watch available. Had to raise the budget and ended up with a Sea-Dweller.

[Wrist King]

When I saw my younger brother’s 16610 submariner date and all the James Bond Connery and Moore memories came flooding back. I had a 2006 Sub date within a week.

[miamiclay]

Rolex arrived before the moment - I was dating a jeweler (actually a wax carver who did custom wax work for all the retail jewelers). For my birthday she gave me an 80s TT DJ that she’d had sitting in her safe (with what I later learned was a refinished dial, in a Frankenwatch), and I was surprised by how much I liked the feel of it. I eventually had a nice little collection ... which was all stolen, so I just wore Swatch Skins for years. (BTW, I got more random/public comments on the Swatch Golden Jelly than I ever have on any mechanical watch.)

[Halitosis]

When I saw the Daytona in the case (it was rare even in the 90s)

[GBD]

For me Tudor was a gateway. I got a Tudor Prince Date years ago, and when I put it on for the first time it was a revelation - I couldn't get over the amazing fit and feel of the oyster case. That's when I decided there must be something to this whole Rolex thing.