Is there? The TT Professional Series watches are usually the least liked and, in the past at least, been often discounted.Originally Posted by Flasher
Is there? The TT Professional Series watches are usually the least liked and, in the past at least, been often discounted.
Two tone sub is £10350, stainless is £6750. There isn’t nearly £4k of gold.... so I’d say there’s a lot more profit for the same case, movement, crystal and caseback. Only the bezel/inset/crown/Centre links/clasp re different!
I see both points of view here; whilst there isn’t £4K of gold in the TT, if it’s discounted by, say, £2k then you’re getting to less than a £2k premium.
There could be £2k of gold in the head and bracelet so they’re not necessarily more profitable for the AD although they are for Rolex because the AD is still paying the higher ex works price.
Not forgetting that Rolex has its own foundry having acquired a quantity of gold and platinum. Thus boosting its profit margin especially if they purchased at a favourable rate
And although the list might be £6750 if you buy from a grey dealer the prices are much closer. I would think that people will soon feel that TT and gold are better value than steel and the margins would be better for Rolex on those models.
I feel that the number of people buying high value watches without any previous research are now very low. Rolex promote their sports models all over the World regardless of the fact that there are virtually none available Worldwide in their AD network. This is the age of the internet, so all a buyer has to do is Google the brand and they will be presented with the mass of reviews and articles on the various favourites. Or they will have seen the Sub or GMT on someone’s wrist and like the look. When they visit the Rolex website they find the model they want, then go to a dealer and find they can’t get it. At this point a dealer will show them a gold or TT datejust and they will say they prefer a sporty divers watch in steel. The dealer will be happy to sell them one made by Omega or another brand. Because Omega and Breitling and the other mainstream well known brands are also sold by most Rolex dealers.
Also, there are two reasons for ADs passing on watches to grey dealers. Over supply and under supply. If a dealer has way too many Datejusts and needs to shift some they will discount them out the back door to a trusted grey dealer just like they do the under supplied models at a premium.
Also my own observation has been that Rolex have taken under supply to an extreme. If a steel Sub or GMT is unavailable to people who want them for long enough it will become as if the models don’t actually exist. People hold off on purchasing. The period of high desire passes, thoughts turn to other things and the money is spent on something else completely like a car or holiday.
Right now I want a Rolex GMT2LN and have been trying to buy another (without success) since I foolishly sold my last one. I have looked at the options since finding it has been cancelled and not seen anything I like. Seems Rolex don’t want to give us choice. I can’t really think why as all they have to do is assemble in a modular manner like they do Datejusts. The buyer could choose bezel colour, bracelet style, and type of metal.
With this strange way of doing things, I am finding it hard to love Rolex. The last thing I would do is buy a model I don’t really want from them out of frustration. I am watch aware but not a true WIS as are an increasingly large proportion of buyers.
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