My boss
Similar story bought his 2000 new and now can’t wear it because he’s afraid what grief he will get as it’s worth so much more than what he paid.
I've had my 16710 GMT II for the best part of 20 years. In that time it has been easily my most worn watch. We've been aboard together too many times to count and I've loved it as a tool as well as great design. I'd always assumed that I'd enjoy it until the day I died.
Since it came back from it's Rolex service in February last year I've not worn it at all. I know these are unusual times but, I've still worn my Explorer most days and I'm wondering if this might be an early sign of the time to let the GMT II go?
At the back of my mind is the fact that a couple of people approached me in the year before last asking me to confirm what they thought it was and saying how much they liked it. One was a waiter in a restaurant the other was walking past me in the street. I'm nearing 60 and I'm guessing that the implications of having something so noticeable and clearly valuable on display on my wrist might be part of my reluctance to wear it.
Anyone else having had this sort of problem with a loved watch, and solved it without selling it? When I bought it it was nice but not especially valuable, I'd hate to think of it sitting at home in its box when I next go abroad.
Please don't take this as an invitation to make offers for it, I'm a long way from a decision on its future. That said the 2 year service warranty has just under a year to run, I'm guessing that a current warranty would enhance its value if I did sell and thus puts some time pressure on me?
Last edited by raysablade; 11th March 2021 at 21:47.
My boss
Similar story bought his 2000 new and now can’t wear it because he’s afraid what grief he will get as it’s worth so much more than what he paid.
I see no reason for that to change due to a service and you being 1 year older (it's not like the value has jumped in the past year). But, if for some reason you feel you can no longer wear it, then no reason to keep it imho unless as an investment or heirloom.
Only you know the answer to that.
No, I have no problem wearing expensive watches on my wrist (even ridiculously-in-demand Pateks). But, then, I don't hang around dodgy areas like London, I'm mainly around central Scotland.
Yes, seems obvious.
Personally I wouldn't sell it unless you particularly need the cash. I understand why you'd be uncomfortable wearing it day-to-day around town, but I'm sure there will be occasions (once we're out of lockdown!) to wear it. Put simply, you can't buy back 20 years of memories/attachment/experiences with that watch. I'm personally starting to think that sort of thing matters a lot more.
I'll sell it if you have no more emotional attachment with the watch, meaning that you just put it on and see if you'll wear it for more than a day or so, if not, just let it go.
You just reminded me I might need to make plan for the rest of my few dozen cheap watches when I'm not around one day....
Do you have a son/daughter you could give it to, to wear?
This is very much the downside of the rapid growth of preowned Rolex prices in the last few years. For people who just want a reliable good quality "tool" watch this value appreciation is not always good news.
Not sure which bezel you have on your GMT, but the black bezel insert is the most low-key so might be an idea to switch if you have the red/black or blue/red insert currently on the watch. The same rationale applies to the jubilee versus the oyster bracelet. You could just put it away in the safe and forget about it for a few years and hope the "bubble" will burst leading to a drop in prices, or you could decide to turn a negative into a positive and sell the watch and pocket a tidy profit. I can't help but think that, regardless of the perceived risks, if you really liked the GMT you would be wearing it......but you are wearing your Explorer instead.....maybe that tells you all you need to know. Good luck with whatever you decide.
Thanks all. I think the problem I have is that it is a tool watch that comes into its own when I travel. I love it as such. If I feel uncomfortable using it as intended it would actually make me sad to leave it at home.
I don’t need the money but I guess the children might have an attachment to it. I’ll give them the choice.
If the Explorer ever gets much past being worth £5,000, I really will be stuck.
I doubt you will find an Explorer for sale for anything much less than £5,500.....dealers are now routinely asking £6,500-7,500. They have surged in price over the last 12 months.
Last edited by Woody74; 12th March 2021 at 19:11.
I was sorry to read about this -I can relate to an extent. I have a nine year old Submariner that is getting on for silly money versus what I paid. It makes me feel uncomfortable at times to wear it knowing it’s value today. I don’t think I’m ready to move away from that sort of watch, but certainly I understand the feeling.
My first thought I think someone else has mentioned - giving it to one of your children would keep it in your family and keep it gathering memories but perhaps find it on the wrist of someone more comfortable with it.
I’d be interested where your thoughts lead you.
I'm reasonably confident and surprised that mine will be towards the top of the scale as I'm the first owner so it is a full set. That said I can't see it ever attracting attention like the GMT does; If I'm mugged it will be by a WIS and that will ease the pain
I spoke to my son about it this evening and he's quite happy with the Smiths PRS 29a I got him for his 21st. He likes the GMT but wouldn't want the responsibility of looking after and potentially losing a £10K watch.
My Explorer is due a service, so my plan is to take it in after lockdown then wear the GMT for a couple of months in the place it now occupies. I'll decide on a course of action when the Explorer returns from its service. My AD has mentioned before that if I think of selling my GMT he'd be interested. I'm interested to see what he offers for it:)
My mate has a 116613LN (I’m rubbish with ref numbers, it’s a steel and gold black dial sub). He was nearly mugged for it in Rome a couple of years ago by two blokes, luckily him and his mate managed to fend them off but it was clearly his watch they were after. He travels a lot so bought a BB58 as a cheaper, less blingy alternative and hasn’t had any bother since.
If you love the watch I wouldn’t sell it out of concern, just have something a bit less desirable to wear when you’re going places where it might draw the wrong kind of attention.
Throwing it out there now, I bet if you do sell it you'll regret it soon after. And I don't mean because it's because it's a Rolex (investment blah blah).
A wise decision to sell imho. I wore a Rolex for years in central London day in, day out and never gave it a second thought. I wouldn’t want to wear one In the same situation now - or even in a pub in sleepy Norfolk. Sadly they are now a muggers target which imho makes them a bit of a liability. You can’t buy good health (and if I’m honest with myself I’m the sort of bloke who’d lose my rag with a mugger and probably get stabbed or worse rather than just shrugging and handing it over) - not a fashionable thing to say on this forum I know, but it’s the downside of the price explosion for those of us who just bought them as watches for a couple of grand 15-20 years ago!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I can't advise on selling, only ever having sold on here (in the good old days). I feel safe as houses wearing any of my watches up here in Scotland, maybe it's safer and more relaxed. If this changed, I might come to the same conclusion (despite my mantra of "never sell a Rolex"). GLWTS
I have a TT blue Sub that I bought brand new from AD back in 2000. It doesn't get worn at all now, expect maybe Christmas. I would never sell it though as I still enjoy owning it. Every time I look at it i am immediately transported back in time too when I was a care free 26 year old. My advice, keep it.
Within the last couple of weeks I’ve had an offer of £9.5k from watchfinder for the 1999 16710 that I bought from them seven years ago.
I’d expect you’d be offered similar money, or higher if it’s a full set.
Edit - I just noticed yours is recently serviced whilst mine isn’t so almost definitely higher.
I am strangely enough in the same position, I am wearing my Explorer1 almost all of the time because it seems to me to be the perfect watch. It is cool and understated which is just how I like it.
I also like my old freccione Explorer11 (1655) but the GMT11, Submariner and Daytona have just gone stale on me, I seem to have no interest in them at all. The GMT11, in particular, just looks like vulgar trash now a days whereas I once liked it.
They are going to become this years Christmas presents for family members who may as well have them whilst I am still alive rather than waiting until I depart from this mortal coil.
To the OP I would say keeping it in the family is the best way forward.
From my experience it’s hard to better Watchfinder for buy in prices.
I have also found it completely hassle free with agreed funds in my account within a week from sending them the watch.
Thanks for all the replies and this advice. Looking back, I've worn whilst travelling alone it in an awful lot of dodgy places in; Europe, Asia and the USA without a second thought. At the time it had a place as a well made and enjoyable tool for travelling and was insured if I lost it. If it becomes a liability it doesn't work as a tool.
Finding and using the right kit has always been my focus with watches, I've never been a true collector.
It will be interesting to see what Watchfinder offer. I've got all the service receipts and boxes so I guess over £10,000 which is amazing. There's a local firm called Watchtrader near me I'll try them as well
Last edited by raysablade; 19th July 2021 at 14:48.
It’s really difficult, isn’t it.
On one hand you should be able to wear whatever watch you want wherever you want. On the other hand, if it makes you feel uncomfortable or potentially unsafe, then common sense suggests that maybe someone else should enjoy it and you should bank a healthy profit.
I see a number of threads similar to yours and they always lead me to reflect on what it means for me. Firstly I live in London and so if wearing anything of any real value or distinctive appearance was a problem, then frankly I’d have to sell all my decent watches. Secondly I’ve never experienced any undue attention anywhere, so I’ve never felt the need to consider when and where I should wear anything.
Clearly some watches stand out more than others. I suspect all gold or TT watches fall into that category (neither of which I own or aspire to own), and perhaps your GMT falls into that category if it has a Pepsi or Coke bezel (although frankly I’d be a little surprised).
I own one Rolex and it’s a DSSD, but when all is said and done it’s a steel watch with a black dial on a black rubber strap, and to my knowledge nobody has ever given it a second glance.
Perhaps my most noticeable (?) watch is a Breitling Navitimer World, which I wear continuously whenever I go to India - again, nobody has ever noticed it or commented on it.
You mention that you’re approaching 60, but I’m not convinced that age is necessarily a factor - I’m 66 and my feelings about this haven’t changed.
Don’t get me wrong OP, I’m not saying I’m right and you’re not. I just think it’s an issue where we all end up drawing our own conclusions.
Good luck with whatever you decide to do.
Simon
Last edited by mycroft; 19th July 2021 at 15:03.
I would get an online quotation from WF and then email Mike Wood, Haywood Milton, Dom Hackett and Giles Waite. In all cases you’ll have to use RMSD to send the watch for inspection and a final price. Unless there’s a local dealer in or near Newcastle?
Sent from my iPhone using TZ-UK mobile app
I think that is the crux with this one. It is the only watch I own that has been noticed and remarked on. I'm 6'5" and 15 stone so even at my age I'm not particularly concerned about my security. It more that something that was personal seems to have become public and like most exceptionally tall people I'm very shy.
I've no similar feelings and concerns regarding my Explorer.
I’m not surprised that the OP feels like this. This is why the Explorer is such a great watch. Great to own and nobody notices it.
I know how the OP feels, I bought my favourite Rolex a 2021 GMT II Pepsi on a Jubilee bracelet.
Cost me an arm and a leg, but I am reluctant to wear it (1) because it could get pinched but (2) it could more likely get damaged, scratched, dinged etc..
So as a result it stays in the safe and I wear my “cheaper” watches instead :(
I really get very sad indeed when reading threads like this.
I’ll say no more except - to say I wear my watches wear ever I want: I will not be dictated to. I am the same age as the OP now, I take precautions if in dodgy places (like London) but do consider the statics (like many walks of life) it is a case of risk assessment.
“ Ford... you're turning into a penguin. Stop it.” HHGTTG
I know exactly how the OP feels. I have several sports Rolex and am getting to the point of being wary to wear them in a lot of situations. I live in London so I guess that increases the concern. On a boiling day like today, I wore a shirt with long sleeves to cover up the GMT I was wearing when I went to an area that feels like it has slipped over the past few years (Putney).
I’m thinking of getting rid of the one I don’t like the most first (Daytona) to see how I feel about selling a watch. I’ve only ever bought.
I don't wear my 16710 that much, either. It was the initial honeymoon and my "grail watch". It looks so amazing in the pictures and it's very "photogenic" watch. But on the wrist... I wish it was as good as it looks in the photos but it's not. Actually I don't wear my 16570 and 16600 a lot, either.
Not saying that I don't like it. No... GMT is a great, classic Rolex.
If I wear a Rolex I almost always wear my black steel Sub 16610 because it's the nicest (for me anyway).
But those four are my favorites and I like to keep them in my collection... for collection purposes.
I guess nothing wrong with that.
I've worn the GMT II for the best part of 20 years whenever I want, often for months at a time, day in day out. Before the last few years the only time somebody asked about it was in a bar in Bucharest. One of my fellow drinkers asked if it was what he thought it was? I explained that it was, it was clear that he was an enthusiast, and we talked about it for a few minutes, i even took it off and handed it to him.
I probably wouldn't do that now, mainly because a "risk assessment" wouldn't allow me to wear it. I doubt that it would even be in the safe in my hotel room. It has been a great travel companion but it has become something different and as a result we've grown apart. Time for us both to move on.
.
Always hesitated to say this as I probably will get robbed tomorrow. But I wear any watch any day.
Today I wore a sports Rolex openly in London with a t shirt as I think I do 90% of the time. Have been doing it for years.
Maybe I need to change approach as possibly luck will run out! It certainly will now after this post…
A chance of getting stabbed etc. But that could equally happen when wearing no watch in this day and age?
End of the day it is a watch. It is insured. Enjoy it.
Interesting post. My partner and I were walking down brick lane yesterday after going for crisp bacon bagels. I was wearing my Apple Watch and she was wearing a datejust.
We heard a stall holder say to his friend he wanted to by his daughter a nice watch but couldn’t afford one of those.
I wasn’t aware she was wearing it until he said that. Note to self be more aware of surroundings ( and her choice of watches).
I am not frightened to wear any Rolex because the things are insured and also you have more chance of dying from covid as you have of being robbed of your Rolex.
I seem to have become a one watch man and it is the Explorer1 that still tickles my fancy more than anything else. The Freccione comes a close second and the others are now just a lump of metal that no longer excites me.
Last edited by Mick P; 19th July 2021 at 22:52.
I'm in a similar position as the OP.
My wife bought me my Submariner 14060M in 2004 and I've worn it quote frequently since until lockdown. It had its 3rd service by Rolex in 2019 since when I've worn it a handful of times.
Its not that valuable but I am a little wary of wearing it these days due to the various stories of muggings we hear about.
Obviously, it has a great deal of sentimental value and I don't think I could ever sell it so most of the time it languishes in my watch box.
Long sleeves and you can wear whatever you like whenever you like.
Not really - moved from London to sleepy Norfolk and still wouldn’t wear a watch worth the price of a decent car in the pub! - I suspect there are more Londoners up here now then when you left, along with stupid house price rises fuelled by second homers
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Spending less time out and about, or at work - combined with more time working in garden etc - I have been wearing my significant watches less, but my GMT-Master bought in 1980 is still my life-career-milestone watch, and despite the replacement bezel and hands............... will be with me forever.
I had a sentimental 16710 from 2000. I bought NOS and wore enjoyably for a good few years. I sent it for service at Rolex 2019 and in the meantime I bought a new Pepsi. Jubilee and all.
The 16710 came back immaculate , but I just didn’t wear it as I loved the new model too much.
I sold it luckily to a great forum member local to me who is a true watch lover. Watches should be worn and enjoyed. If not sell it I say.
I used to be like you. Wore a Rolex every day for 20 years and never gave it a second thought, no matter where I was in London. I then moved abroad in 2015 for 3 years to a very safe city. When I came back in 2018 I only really noticed then how bad it is, and it is getting worse by the day.
The other factor is the rise in glorification of “wealth” on social media.It used to be no one knew a good watch from a terrible one. Nowadays lots and lots do. I had a guy come around to clear a blocked drain and he asked me how long I had my watch for and he was staring at it. He looked like the sort of guy that stormed Wembley last week at the Euros.
Isn’t this a dilemma with anything valuable these days?
We’ve been through a phase of rising asset prices and severe cuts in police spending hence an explosion in such criminal activity. Just last month there were stories about an M3 being stolen in north London from a petrol station as the owner went in to pay, in broad daylight!!
Isn’t this a ‘catch 22’ situation? Buyers like the watch because the vivid design, especially colourful bezel, catches the eye. It’s a watch meant to be widely noticed. And guess which type notices..
https://apple.news/AUFQm9unVSZ2Y0dedKtdQ3Q
Another London watch mugging with fatal outcome.