E-mail From Reader : First Rolex Watch

This was an e-mail that came in from a reader this morning. He informed that he had been following my blog for a while now, and wanted to buy his first Rolex watch. Demographic was a married man in his thirties, living in KL. He had a budget of between RM30k - RM45k, but was unsure which model should he go for. The most expensive watch is his collection now was an Omega Planet Ocean 43.5mm.

And in fact, I do received similar requests from time to time. There was always a first time Rolex buyer whom asked about which model to buy, and I almost always replied that he or she should buy the piece that speaks to him or her.

Okay, since it's raining cats and dogs out there and the game has been put on hold for the interim period, let me put in more thoughts while seated here at the club house.

More often than not, most of the readers whom e-mailed over would add that the first Rolex would be their first and last Rolex, and would not be flipped down the road, would be passed on to their future generation, etc. I know for a fact that most of them thereafter purchased a second piece of Rolex, and a third piece, etc as some of these purchases were in fact from me. I liked to tease them, asking if that first Rolex was supposed to be the last Rolex; which most would sheepishly smiled.

The truth was, you have to start somewhere when it comes to Rolex watches. If we only concentrate on the models that would tend to retain their value well and could be liquidated easily in the secondary market, then the choice would easily boiled down to the holy trinity in stainless steel variant : Submariner, GMT-Master ii, and Daytona. These were the base models- moving up the food chain, you would have pieces like the Sea-Dweller, Yacht-Master, and Sky-Dweller.

And if we were to limit ourselves to the reader's budget of RM30k - RM45k, then the only real options would be the Submariner and GMT-Master ii.

Taste was subjective from person to person, but generally the better-selling model within the above genre would be the 116710LN, 116610LN, 116710BLNR, and 116610LV. As demand outweighs supply, there's the premium being charged worldwide and the long waiting list. Some regulars were able to get consistent supplies from their regular ADs, and I have been fortunate to be able to work with some of these ADs. Take a look at these links if you were interested in ready stock for any of these models as per the following :

1. 116610LN : https://andywristwatches.blogspot.my/2018/05/wts-rolex-submariner-date-116610ln-5-may.html
2. 116710BLNR: https://andywristwatches.blogspot.my/2018/05/wts-rolex-gmt-master-ii-116710blnr-x-3.html
3. 116610LV : https://andywristwatches.blogspot.my/2018/05/wts-rolex-submariner-date-116610lv.html

I would advise to get the piece that you could afford best within your budget, as it might then be appreciated for a longer while. If one purchased only the most affordable Rolex, which was a decision made with the brain and not the heart, then you might find yourself hankering after the better Rolex models shortly after your purchase; and that thinking that you have the second best model on your wrist, ain't going to feel good.

But if budget was a real constraint, then the 114060LN would at least get you into the Rolex game.

This was the most basic and simple of the lot, sans any complications; but at least, one could argue that it was symmetrical in design. If you were interested in this piece, I have a BNIB piece in my safe that could be let go at RM29k. 

The Daytona Ceramic was doing at a high premium currently due to the very short supply worldwide; otherwise it would be a piece that would have fitted within the reader's budget too.

Other readers whom were opened to gold tones could also considered the following, some of which were in my collection :

So there you have it- these would be some of the Rolex models that I would put my own monies towards. Hope that this write-up could be beneficial to some of our readers whom were still on the fence on the matter.

Enjoy your Rolex watches in good health...