Ulysses writes:
Rolex are mass produced, made by machines. An average Seiko of a few hundred dollars properly calibrated will go toe-to-toe with any COSC certified "high-end" Swiss watch.
Rolex produces about a million units per year (so i've read) so unless a Swiss master craftsman can make a complete watch every thirty seconds, the brand image is basically a fabrication.
I have no problem with machine-made watches but driving sales based on deception alone is dishonest to the customer who thinks they are getting the equivalent of "The One Ring".
A Grand Seiko is more lovingly assembled.
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They produce about a million units per year (so i've read)so unless a Swiss master craftsman can make a complete watch every thirty seconds, the brand image is basically a fabrication. I have no problem with machine-made watches but driving sales based on deception alone is dishonest to the customer who thinks they are getting the equivalent of "The One Ring". A Grand Seiko is more lovingly assembled.
Posted by: Ulysses | January 03, 2013 at 02:37 PM
Some Rolex watches contain solid gold and diamonds, which means higher material cost. I don't think there's anything deceptive in Rolex advertising either, though some jewelers might embellish to close a sale. Also, vintage Rolex watches routinely sell for prices higher than the original cost----there is a collector's aspect to owning a Rolex that is very real. I have a ladies Rolex that belonged to my late wife. I remember paying around $600.00-700.00 a few years ago to have it serviced as a gift to her when she was sick. There is a quality feel to the watch----a genuine precision----though Ulysses is certainly right (and so is Jonny) that there's nothing so special about the object itself that it should cost in the thousands of dollars. I don't think the one I have is an unusual or highly sought after model----just the basic Rolex! I might take it to a jeweler to see if they're interested in buying, or maybe list it online for sale.
Posted by: Angelo | January 03, 2013 at 04:41 PM
The vintage watches are indeed different. I think that may have been before the desperate push towards huge margins after the quartz crisis. Seems they had a Scarlett O'Hara moment and vowed never to be in such a disastrous position ever again, and so here we are in the present - the Swiss watch industry goes from strength to strength, raking in huge profits for very little additional offered value, coasting along on mind-share alone. Rolex make high quality watches but then so do hundreds of other watch companies, many of whom people have never heard of.
Someone mentioned on a similarly-themed thread on ABTW that in a country like India, the value of jewellery (i'm including watches in this definition) is mainly evaluated by the weight of gold and silver and gemstones it contains. In the case of your restored Rolex I can fully appreciate the value of the gold and gems inside it. Besides, being a vintage model it probably received more care and attention in its production. The deceptive aspect comes in when in TV commercials Rolex would claim that it takes a year to produce a watch. Things like that are designed to mislead the consumer. I would admire the brand a lot more if they spent more time crafting their watches than crafting their image.
Posted by: Ulysses | January 04, 2013 at 03:09 AM