Buying a luxury watch? Look towards a Rolex.

A newbie’s perspective, who lately “got the call” for her first Rolex!

Once upon a timepiece…

About a year and a half ago, my friends and I got together and asked about what we would get for ourselves to commemorate milestones. A few of us have bought some not-overly-expensive trinkets, and one thing that we all agreed on was that we’d like to collect something of good value that will last. We already collected handbags and clutch bags before, so when someone threw in the idea of a luxury watch, we thought about “Rolex”, after all, we had seen many of their advertisements online and in magazines. Rolex watches are said to be in high demand all over the world, as their watches gain recognition, their designs are evergreen, high quality, reliable, and value-retaining. We took our phones out to look through the official Rolex website, and then thought it would be a good idea to visit their stores to check them out.

Picking out a place

We started looking on the Rolex website to find the closest retailer to us, and it showed a list of official stores in our area. We got a reply from this store within an hour after messaging them on WhatsApp. To jump to where I collected my Rolex, this is the place. They have been in business for decades and had great reviews online. The initial messages sent were short, polite and with a fair explanation that they would prefer to discuss our requirements in-store. They invited us to their store where we could view displayed models for try-on and comparison. Two of my buddies encouraged me to get an appointment fixed because they had visited this place together a year ago, and it was busy the last time.

When I arrived for my appointment, the gentleman who met me showed me around and introduced some of Rolex’s newly launched timepieces. We spent some time talking about my existing watch collection and what type of watch I wanted to add to it, and I showed him what sort of watches I had saved from the website.

Exhibition only

Although the models I viewed online were not available at the store. I was pleasantly surprised and even a little swayed after he invited me to try on different models showcased at the time. He explained that authorized dealers were told by Rolex to put watches. They received on display ‘for exhibition only’, for up to several weeks. To allow prospective customers to view actual models instead of just guessing how the watches might look and feel. Apparently it was Rolex’s answer to address the empty showcases seen at every retailer. And boutique around the world for quite some time. Because the demand for their watches is at an all-time high!

After we combed through a selection of sizes, gold types, and dials. I gained a better appreciation of the range of watches manufactured. Even though some were pretty but not within my initial preferences. He took notes of what I liked, suggested some alternatives, and assured me that it will be worth the wait. Towards the end of that visit, he sent me an email with the watch details I wanted to waitlist for. And said that it was going to take at least a year for my turn on the list. Fast forward 15 months, I was back in the store for the unboxing my watch!

Conclusion

It was nice to be able to view entire collections of watches on the Rolex website, but the help I got from an expert really helped me understand what I was looking for. In the past, I had a different experience when I bought watches from other brands. And finally adding a Rolex into my collection made me feel like I have arrived. And I am seriously considering to add another one, or even two, Rolex watches sometime in the future. Life is beautiful and I can’t wait to hit more milestones! Thanks for reading!