I've been a member quite a long time but don't post often. However, I really enjoy the forum and it has taught me so much. I have a collection of around 38 watches (I know - too many - soon to be reduced) but always came back to my sea-dweller 16600 when undecided what to wear. A bit like Tony (LTF) mentioned in his recent SOTC post. I particularly liked his description of the 16600 - the best of the best which I think sums up that watch perfectly.

It's a full set F serial and I'm always wary wearing it because of condition and the fact I have all the bits and bobs. Subconsciously I always want to keep it good but realise this goes against my instincts of wearing to enjoy. So, I finally decided I wanted a rolex to wear as a daily and to enjoy without fear or favour. After much thought and research I decided on the Submariner Date Ceramic as I felt a bit of modernity would also compliment my old school SD.

Like many on here I have looked with bewilderment on the hoops you have to jump through to obtain a new SS Sports Rolex. In any case, even if I did jump through those hoops and ended up with a new one I would not wear it as I want to. This got me thinking - what if I can buy a loose watch from a bricks and mortar seller that was very well worn, a price that reflected this, maybe throw in a trade deal to help and then I could wear and enjoy the hell out of it before it needed the inevitable service (at which point my OCD would potentially kick-in about babying it afterwards but I hope I will be a changed man!!).

It so happens the stars aligned and all the boxes were ticked with David Summerfield in the Metro Centre, Gateshead although he also sells on Chrono 24. I dealt with Tom who is the owner's son and a deal was struck for a very well worn SubC date, that has been polished (not very well) but which satisfied my quest for a Sub to wear and enjoy without a care in the world. Tom is a great guy to deal with and a true WIS so we chatted for ages too about watches in general. I've encouraged him to participate in TZ so here's hoping he will. I always try to buy the seller and this case I'm glad I did.

The watch is a G serial (2010 although apparently this serial appeared a bit later too - perhaps the forum experts can chime in) although the bracelet is stamped for 2011+. Tom said his source for the watch described it as a 2013 piece so this well could be true. In any case it runs consistently at -2s per day so it may have been serviced independently - it has not been though the Rolex service centre (this has been checked). If it has never been serviced then -2s per day is pretty excellent for a well worn timepiece and testament again to the robustness and accuracy of the 3135 movement. Incidentally, my SD runs at +5s per day!!!

Anyway, just thought I would add another perspective to the so called Rolex Madness - buying a well worn, loose example at the lower end of pricing to enjoy 100%. This will include a family holiday next month so I'm really looking forward to wearing something really nice that I can use as a one watch without a care in the world. For context, I normally take 3 on holiday - wife thinks I'm mad but perfectly normal around here

Some pics (poor - sorry). While a well worn watch - it still looks really good - a testament to Rolex Build quality. Some damage has been done though - someone has whacked something very hard as the crown has taken some punishment along with the glass (small chip and scratch).