Why Rolex is the most important brand in vintage market?

[tavv160]

Besides the reasons stated above, I think Rolex sports watches age more nicely than other watches. I am a big fan of APRO for example, but somehow the vintage pieces don’t cut it for me. Yet nothing gets me more excited than a beatiful aged 5513 or 1675.

[037]

Originally Posted by Frosty

They should! Rolex hands them out free at the academy awards like they are tissue paper.

No wonder the average Joe has trouble getting one.

Rolex hands out vintage watches at those events?

We aren't talking about modern here.

[roh123]

Originally Posted by 037

Rolex hands out vintage watches at those events?

We aren't talking about modern here.

Lots and lots of PNs.

[037]

Originally Posted by roh123

Lots and lots of PNs.

Really? That goes to show how little I follow what happens in Hollywood.

I wouldn't be surprised if they were modern references but PN Daytonas is a bit surprising.

[roh123]

Originally Posted by 037

Really? That goes to show how little I follow what happens in Hollywood.

I wouldn't be surprised if they were modern references but PN Daytonas is a bit surprising.

Of course they don’t hand out premium vintage watches.

Many celebrities do buy them however.

[037]

Originally Posted by roh123

Of course they don’t hand out premium vintage watches.

Many celebrities do buy them however.

Yeah, I knew they bought them. My question was if Rolex handed out vintage watches, which didn't make any sense.

[powerfunk]

Originally Posted by roh123

Fake cases to meet demand for mint condition pieces? Please show us an example.

Watches are absolutely put-together by both dealers and collectors. Not from scrap parts but rather from halv good watches where you take two decent ones and build one great and one poor in order to maximize or just to get a nice watch.

Fake parts aren’t really a problem unless we speak about ultra-rare and possibly unique pieces. For normal watches most collectors collect there are always references and then only uneducated buyers risk to buy counterfeit stuff.

As for market manipulation I think Thomas meant that Patek sometimes flood the market with what is supposed to be limited production. That aint happening with vintage but dealers do absolutely try to create hype. They buy a lot of something and suddenly they try to make it hot. Take stellas as an example or super blinged out pure metal models.

Dude, fake cases aren't hard to find. To give you an example of how blurry the world of vintage is, Michael Young makes replacement cases. If you think you only need to worry about shenanigans with really rare vintage Rolexes, well...I disagree

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[roh123]

Originally Posted by powerfunk

Dude, fake cases aren't hard to find. To give you an example of how blurry the world of vintage is, Michael Young makes replacement cases. If you think you only need to worry about shenanigans with really rare vintage Rolexes, well...I disagree

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One thing that they are available and another that they often sell in the market as genuine. Very, very rarely that I come across fake parts. You probably run into them if you aren’t used to handle a lot of watches or if you are looking for the cheapest watch in the market. Ebay is of course also a place where you need to know what you do in order to not get burnt. As with pretty much anything else on there.

[FTX I]

Originally Posted by jdmi32

I’ll add a few more reasons to those that have already been brought up. First is that there are many vintage Rolex collectors and watches already out there. This pulls in new collectors because they feel more comfortable and secure joining in with a large and well established group.

Second is that these watches can be worked on by many independent watchmakers and parts are still readily available, as basically the same movement was used for a wide variety of models. I have no worries that my vintage Rolex watches can still be serviced when they pass on to my sons.

Lastly is the association with the rich and famous. We all know of Newman and McQueen from years past, and present day figures such as John Mayer and Adam Levine who prominently wear their 4 digit watches. Add in oday’s social media which has to add to the allure of these watches and it’s no surprise that vintage Rolex is more popular than ever.

I have to agree with you my friend.

[R!$]

Most popular and speculated
Not most impostant

[springer]

I'd like to add my perspective on Flavio's original post which seems to have gone off-topic.

Rolex has always been an important and premiere brand watch. While some of the other watch manufacturers certainly have some very nice, vintage models that have a strong following, the difference with Rolex for me is that there are many vintage models from Rolex that offer the casual collector or die-hard collector several options when searching for a vintage watch - especially from the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.

Another aspect that makes the vintage Rolex brand coveted by collectors is the availability of most parts, value, reliability of their watches and being able to have the movement readily serviced. Aesthetics also play a big part in the collect market for vintage Rolex - you can't beat the look of an old pie-pan Day-Date 1803 or a vintage GMT, Sub, Explorer etc.

It really doesn't matter what the collector market is, there is always a premiere brand or model that the collector's covet and Rolex has certainly captured the vintage watch market with many of their classic and vintage models.