Welcome back to the Gentleman's Gazette in our series on Rolex watches. Today,
I'll discuss seven reasons why I would never buy a Rolex watch and maybe one
exception. A Rolex wristwatch taps a wish list of many men
but you might be surprised that personally, even though I admire the
history of the company and what they've done with it, I'm not one of those men. We
already published a video about Is it worth it? Rolex watches and in it, we argued
the pros and cons and overall, it seems like Rolex can be worth the money. So if
I think it's worth it, why do I then decide not to buy one? Well, there are
many reasons, specifically, seven. So number one is Rolex charges a lot for
the brand, not necessarily for the quality. In my opinion, the Rolex brand is
too much of what I would be paying for that watch. The value used Rolex watches
yield in the marketplace is mostly rated to supply and demand, not because the
watches are inherently superior to their competitors. Now, don't get me wrong!
Rolex makes good watches that are robust that don't need much maintenance and
that holder value if you get the right model. But a Rolex is no more reliable, no
more technologically interesting, or no more comfortable than other watch brands
on the market that cost a lot less. If you take a closer look of the retail price
development of Rolex watches, you can clearly see that it far outpaces the
rate of inflation. Let's say a Submariner no date that you bought 10 years ago for
about 3,800 today retails for 7,500, that's almost twice the price. Now, if you
look at the product, it remains virtually the same, there are very slight changes
mechanically, everything is the same so you're paying twice as much not because
the product has improved but simply because the brand is more valuable now.
The second reason I'm not attracted to Rolex is that at the end of day, it is a
mass-market product and I prefer unique artisanal products. One of
the reasons I am so infatuated with classic men's style is that even though
you can take similar or even same items, you can put your own spin on things and
create your own unique style. When I have to make a choice between a good
mass-market product and a good artisanal product, I choose the artisanal product
99% of the time. Also, a luxury product by definition becomes luxurious because it
is somewhat unique and limited. If everyone has a Rolex, it's not a luxury
product anymore. I'd say my style is very different from
most other men so why shouldn't I also have a wristwatch that is different from
other men's style? As you know, the style of Rolex watches has changed very little
throughout the decades so they produce eight hundred thousand watches a year
every year, all of which look mostly the same. On top of that, look at all the
fakes that are out there in the marketplace that again, look the same, you
realize that it is a mass-market product with millions of watches that all look
very, very similar to one another. Personally, I don't want to spend
thousands of dollars just to have something that is basically what
everyone else out there has as well. So even though Rolexes are the archetype of
a nice watch, I, personally, don't want to spend thousands of dollars just to keep
up with the Joneses and have the same watch. The third reason I'm having a hard
time falling in love with Rolex is that I love vintage goods but vintage Rolexes
can be very tricky because there's so many fakes out there. I'm a big fan of
vintage items for many reasons; one of them is that just by nature, they're
often unique items because they're no longer produced, the original items maybe
have been worn out or were destroyed so what's left is naturally a limited
edition. Also, back in the day, things were often made to last
whereas today, things are designed to break three days after the warranty
expires. Because of those reasons, I still buy a lot of things vintage even though
I can afford to buy the new version of it. Surprise! I feel the same way about
watches. I have a few of them, most of them are vintage and I enjoy them. I mean
just look at the Reverso, it's much smaller than most watches are today yet
I find it attractive on my wrist. I can wear it casually because the heritage is
a polo watch meaning it was used on a polo field that's why you could flip it
around so you wouldn't destroy your glass. At the same time, it has a black
dial so I can wear it in the evening with a tuxedo or with a suit and I like the
dial of it, I've never seen anyone like it in an old vintage Reverso. Because
most of them are now gone, it's probably even rarer than most limited editions
out there. I bought it for a little over a thousand dollars, I could probably sell
it for more because I got a good deal but overall, I enjoy wearing it and I
like the look. Rolex watches are aggressively counterfeited around the
world. The fakes are produced in such big numbers that the quality of them is
actually rather good even at a much lower price point. There's also a lot of
OEM parts, meaning parts that are exactly like the original part but they're not
original Rolex, and when you repair your watch and service it, they can be put in
there. When you buy from a vintage dealer, they
have a reputation on the line which is good because they don't want to sell you
fakes, otherwise, they lose their business and
they're not interested in that. At the same time, they buy watches from
wholesalers, they come without box and papers sometimes and maybe that watch
was serviced at one point in time by an unauthorized Rolex dealers who put in
parts that are exactly the same in a shape but they're not authentic Rolex
parts so maybe if you want to resell it one day, it'll be marked as being
partially fake or there are all these risks involved with buying vintage Rolexes
that you have to keep in mind. Even if it's a reputable seller, maybe there's a
part in there that is not original and authentic. If you truly want to buy original
Rolex, you have to buy new which comes with a high retail price ticket. The
fifth reason I'm not really into Rolex is because of their popular styles and
how they are not in line with my style. I saw it a lot in our is it
worth it videos. The popular Rolex' holder value are the sports or
professional models. My style is more formal and more dressed up than most men
out there and because of that, I prefer dress watches. Now, Rolex has a dress
watch line which is not so well known but it's called Cellini. It, today,
starts at over 15,000 from a retail price point which is much higher than
many of their sports models which usually sell for six, seven, eight, or ten
thousand dollars but they're made out of gold and because gold is so much more
expensive, the retail price is higher. However, if you buy those watches vintage,
they are not faked as often because they're less desirable and at the same
time, you can pick them up at three-four thousand dollars. Personally, I find
sometimes their looks can be very dated depending on the decade they were
produced in but they also have very classic watches in their lineup and if I
would ever buy a Rolex, it would most likely be a Cellini watch that is
very classic that is gold that I can wear with a tuxedo or with other things.
It is just much more my style because they're smaller, they're slimmer, and
they're more elegant, in my opinion, than a stainless steel sports watch. The sixth
reason I'm not interested in buying a Rolex is that I don't need to impress
anybody. As you know, I run my own business,
the Gentleman's Gazette website and the Fort Belvedere retail e-commerce
accessories. I'm not doing million-dollar sales deals in boardrooms across
corporate America but if I was doing that, I think I would strongly consider
buying a Rolex watch because it can indicate success and it can signal to
the other person this guy is serious. As such, it's more part of a uniform than an
expression of personal style. On the other hand, I have an online and offline track
record that is very public. People can see that I'm really into men's clothing,
they could see that we have happy customers so I don't need to prove
anything to anybody with the watch I am wearing. Last but not least, I wouldn't
buy a Rolex because at the end of the day, I am not head over heels into watches.
If you know me, you know that I'm truly passionate about a lot of things,
however, watches is not one of them. For example, if I drive a fast car,
I feel very emotionally attached to it, I feel alive. When I see a nice watch,
I like the look of it but emotionally, it leaves me cold. I mean, I honestly like
the look of certain watches, right? I like the Reverso, I like the Tank
Americaine, I like the Royal Oak, I like the Patek Phillippe Calatrava, or some watches from
A. Lange & Sohne, however, when push comes to shove and I
have to decide to put money down to buy that watch, I decide to spend my money on
other things even though I could afford to buy that watch. For example, personally,
I prefer cufflinks and rings over watches and I know many men don't but I do;
they're collectible, they're a lot less expensive, they're more unique. If you want
to check out my collections of rings and cufflinks have a look here. Now, rings and
cufflinks are an accessory, an object just like a watch, so emotionally, they are
not as exciting as driving a fast car and feeling the acceleration and the
breaking. At the same time, I would say I still like cufflinks and rings more than
a watch. Frankly, I struggle to remember to put on my watch because it's
just not natural to me. I like to have my wrist free of any weight even though I
know that if I would wear a wristwatch every day, I would probably become used
to the weight and it would be second nature, however, I'm not at that point yet
because I simply don't wear often enough. So in conclusion, I would not buy a
Rolex because A: it is not my style, B: I don't really care for the design that
much and C: it is simply too expensive and I would rather spend my money on
other things. So why am I telling you all of this? Well, basically, I want you to
know that just because the world around you loves Rolex doesn't mean you need to
have one if it's not your style or you just don't like the look of it.
Conversely, just because a lot of other men like Rolexes doesn't mean you can't
like it too. We, at the Gentlemen's Gazette, truly believe that big purchases of this
nature should be more about staying true to yourself
especially considering all that marketing hype around watches that's out
there right now. You know Brock McGoff from the Modest Man, he
did a video about buying his first Rolex recently and at the end of the video, he
mentioned that no one ever called him out on his Rolex and he thinks that he
didn't notice it at the same time, he seems very happy with his investment
because he likes the look of it and it makes him feel good. If that's you, then
by all means, go out and buy that Rolex. For me, it's just not that big of a deal
and I like other watches more and in particular, I like other things more than
watches. In today's video I am wearing a Rolex GMT master with a blue and red
dial and a black face in stainless steel I also chose cufflinks in lapiz lazuli
with sterling silver and a carnelian in sterling silver because they are red and blue
so it works well is consistent with my watch my jacket is a double-breasted
petrol blue fresco jacket that is a part of a suit here I'm wearing it with a
pair of dark brown and white seersuckers and a woven leather pair of
penny loafers it's a very summery combination because of that I added a
white shirt with a knit tie in a mottled gray which is from Fort Belvedere and
you can find it in our shop here just like the white Italian linen pocket
squares with hand-stitched or embroidered polka dots which works well
with my outfit it picks up the white of the shirt as well as the blue of the GMT
Master and my cuff links