a crown for every achievement: what's your rolex story?

[jonchar]

Mine is simply, "You want to buy you better buy before the house come" then i went "orh" and i bought

[Oceanklassik]

Good story you have shared.. tx

[angsu]

Behind every successful man....there is a ROLEX ! Great Story Throttle...

[zidaneong]

chanced upon this so i'll share mine.
and a regretful story the earlier part of it.

my first rolex was when i was 16 and a student.
it wasnt exactly a gift but it belonged to my father.
base on his memory, he bought it when he was about 28-30.
i chanced upon it in his drawer and asked if i could have it.

without blinking much of an eyelid, he passed the watch to me
it was an oysterdate 6694
i wore it for some days and realised that it was running super slow.
as a kid, i could not afford to have it repaired at anywhere except by an old man at beach road.
he replaced a tiny gear (original part sealed and numbered in rolex packaging) and charged me $60 for it.

unfortunately, the watch did not last more than a few weeks before it started to run slow again.
i had no more money to spend on repairs and
being a stupid young punk, i sold it for $300++ at a shop at golden landmark, i couldnt even remember the name of the shop.
with the money i bought a spanking new Tag quartz which i wore more proudly to school than the Rolex.
that was more than 20yrs ago.
the Tag accompanied me for a good 5yrs.

some time before the mid 90s my grandmother passed away and gifted each grandchild with $2000.
in memory of her, i bought an omega speedmaster automatic for $1800 from Sincere and wore it dearly until graduation.
shortl after i also bought a lady constellation for my gf, now my wife, as kind of a match to my speedy.
a year into my first real job, i decided that a Submariner was going to be my watch for good.
so i got one and handed the Omega to my Father. sort of a compensation for taking his Rolex, i thought.

i wore my Sub through thick and thin and it was the only watch (not counting a swatch) i had.

i acquired a lady datejust from watchpalace for my girlfriend then, now wife, for valentines in 2003 as i thought she deserved a Rolex too.

8 yrs after the Sub, in 2006 i bought an Explorer2 polar usd3600 from overseas as i thought it could be a good idea to hv a white face Rolex since i have a black faced one and also to give face to a friend who just opened a new watch shop. and in the same year i bought a very prized Daytona from watchpalace for $17,800 to mark my second successful promotion.

the sub and exp2 sat in my drawer for months untouched ad the Daytona quickly became my daily beater.
feeling sorry for the explorer for basically sitting in the drawer for 3yrs i made another stupid decision in 2009 to sell it.
a decision which i came to regret a year later only to buy back another exp2 albeit an older series.

then came a slew of datejust, and DD head, which soon parted with me.
then got poisoned by the folks here into goldies and bought a solid gold gmt2c + a DD 18238.

i have learned my lesson through all this.
andthe lesson is dont sell a Rolex unless your life truly depended on its sale.
nowadays i still drool when i see Rolexes, despite the fact that PPs, APs, VCs and the likes are well within my reach.

i dont think i will ever buy another brand as Rolex has somehow been there over the years.
but as Bond would say it, never say never....

I also make similar mistakes as well.

[Rein]

very nice thread indeed

i bought my first rolex this year at 31+

when i have my first kid i will buy another!

[sunny_blue]

I'm not rich, my daddy didn't give me any nice watch or monies... I got my 1st rolex 2 years after my divorce... basically I lost everything family, no cash, no flat (HDB needs to be sold with major lost as then 2005 was down period), had to sold my normal car etc... started-off my new life with only that month salary... told myself that 1 will pull thru and 1st will be to get a rolex to mark my new life... well i made it... once I recovered my normal life and saved all the while then I got a white face roman letter DJ full SUS, it's used but in very good condition it the most basic model but I love it at 1st sight. This watch also brought me great luck and wisdom as from then on I learn to save and do more wisely in terms of buying and decision in life. Now I have many other watches omega(used), tudor(new), just ordered a new panerai based model but nothing beats my rolex DJ. Everytime I look at my DJ I have the kind of warmth and motivation to push ahead to clear all obstacles. Now I have moved on in life, got a new family so my next rolex will be for my wife, well she doesn't likes the normal rolex and am only interested in the vintage leather strap ones so it posses a challenge which I believe I would be able to clear soon... I guess for every rolex there are some form of story behind. I will never sell my DJ and it will be pass on to my next generation...

[angsu]

Rein, you are on the right path. For me I try to find special occasions to buy a ROLEX....and you've got many
many years ahead of you. Don't forget to get one for your wife too...when she gives you your first kid...lol!

very nice thread indeed

i bought my first rolex this year at 31+

when i have my first kid i will buy another!

[mi_tanza]

All the stories here are touching indeed. Same reason for me to leave behind a memento. Recently bought a ladies datejust for my wife, and an Explorer 2 for my eldest son who graduated recently. I never appreciated the rolex until recently. While in europe, a friend of mine bought a yellow gold/steel GMT 2. Since, with the benefit of price difference, I ended up buying the watches. However, my eldest son did not fancy the Exp 2 and wanted a Milgauss with the green glass which I bought recently. Will reserve it for my 2 son who will be home next month on holiday from Mel. 3rd son preferred a TAG which I bought recently. Wife too prefer a different model which I ordered and hope to get it by end of next month. She would like to reserve the current datejust for our future daughter-in-law.

[Rein]

I have fastracked my path... i just got a HULK in advance of my first kid... =P

Rein, you are on the right path. For me I try to find special occasions to buy a ROLEX....and you've got many
many years ahead of you. Don't forget to get one for your wife too...when she gives you your first kid...lol!