Bites: Love, Death and Rolex: Why buying a Rolex could save your life!

I know, right!

What on earth is going on in my head??

One minute I'm leading the resistance movement against over-consumption of watches, and in the very next post I'm telling you your life may be forfeit if you don't buy a Rolex??

Yep. That's just the kind of unpredictable inciter of chaos I am.

Enjoy the ride of today's 'Editors thoughts', but first, let's see what the rest of the watch fam has been up to this week.

Happy Tuesday!

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If you just want a super-speedy taste of WC from the last week, check these out….

Keep yourself uptodate with the ongoing microbrand watch tourny here. @AllTheWatches keeps this post updated as the contest continues, so get it book marked.

If you want to have a look at some cool watches (very) up-close and personal then check out @nooski’s posts showing watches under a microscope.

Brave enough to have your watch-crush roasted? Nominate it for some brutal treatment at the hands of @Aurelian and @Porthole!

Read on if you have time for more...

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New members:

New members who I’ve seen posting this week… @viccao123, @thetexastimex, @slvrbck, @Luckycharm, @Pieces0ftime, @caseikio_5, @MNasser, @jr007A, @Bullparade, @Arambula, @automanic, @hasenfeffer, @Lumeseeker85, @farw1d

Welcome to the WC!

Hot Posts:

This weeks topics that got the community talking…

Hot take: Quality and price don’t equate@QuietManClass

Is the quality of Rolex worth the price?

Celebrity watches suck@Asmara82

Should we really care about what celebrities have on their wrists?

Advice for a new collector@teekos1

Advice for how to fight against the impulse buy.

And make sure you check out the lastest watch auction from @HotWatchChick69!!!

Meetups and Events:

25th March – Omega Her Time House Popup - London, UK

31st March - London WatchCrunch Meetup: Part II – London, UK

27th – April 2nd March - Watches and Wonders 2023 - Geneva, Switzerland

1st April - WatchCrunch Meetup @ Watches and Wonders - Geneva, Switzerland

8th April Watch Crunch x Prosper meetup - Bruxelles, Belgium

28th – 30th April - Windup Watch Fair 2023 - San Francisco, CA

5th May - Cruise ship Meetup - New Jersey to UK

14th – 16th July - Windup Watch Fair 2023 - Chicago

20th – 22nd October - Windup Watch Fair 2023 – New York

Let me know if you hear of any other meetups and I’ll add them to our weekly calander.

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Big thanks to @Hakki501 for setting last weeks photography theme of “My simple pleasures - my watch and my drink". His very deserving winner this week was @VegasDancer with this beauty….

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Doesn’t this just make you want to lick your screen!

Come join the WatchCrunch Photography Club! See the runners up and find out the chosen theme for this weeks photos here, which has been kindly set by this weeks guest judge @DeepCmonkey

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Here are the latest watch releases from the past week. If I hear about any new watch drops which I think people would like to know about before the next letter I will update this section.

There didn’t seem to be many releases at the start of the month, but there is an absolute feast of them this week!

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Top row left to right: Czapek, H.Moser, Citizen Eco drive, Horizon, Union Glashutte

Second row: Vulcain, Davosa, Awake, Ressence, Seiko 5

Third row: Swatches, Bulova, Bulgari, Yema, G-shock

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Top row: Depancel, Angelus, Adley, Bamford, Christopher Ward

Second row: Delma, Louis Moinet, Isotope, Ciga, Hautlence

Third row: Girard Perregaux, Ocean Crawler, Vieren, Fortis, Unimatic

Fourth row: Bremont, Maurice lacrois, Gyavius, Artya, Sarpaneva

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Watches in the Wild – Daylight Savings Blues@Edge168n

Your latest instalment of watch spotting goodness.

Porthole pushes the parameters@Porthole

Takes his own advice and moves out of his comfort zone.

Why don’t we talk more about Eloga@Velomax

Velomax creates post number 2 dedicated to the history of the lesser known vintage brands.

Eight Kilometers High@DukeMo

A wonderfully written piece on the history of our mountaineers tackling the highest peaks.

In praise of small watches@Aurelian

Encouraging us to looking again at trying the vintage sizes.

The Untold Story of Seikos Other Digitals: Pulsar, Alba, Lorus@Illuminatingwatches

A great article and video on some very cool retro digitals.

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Love, Death and Rolex: Why buying a Rolex could save your life!

Every so often we see another news story about someone getting burgled, attacked or even killed for their Rolex. This will undoubtedly cause some folks to be more cautious and consider whether it's actually worth the risk of wearing expensive watches, while others will blame the victims for daring to wear their hard earned watches in public. Today I want to share with you some stories of when wearing a Rolex can actually SAVE your life.

The Bartering Chip...

Remember that scene in 'Planes, Trains and Automobiles'?

scene in 'Planes, Trains and Automobiles'

Our heroes find themselves desperate for a room in a hotel for the night but are completely penniless. Fortunately, they’re able to trade '17 dollars and a hell of a nice watch' for a room.

Now, you're thinking: "Yeah... But that's a film, and not exactly lifesaving."

Maybe not for Neal and Del, but having a watch to barter was considered potentially lifesaving to the US Navy in WWII. Back in the second world war pilots in the US navy were issued with a 'barter pack' which they carried with them on each flight. This contained some jewellery, gold items and a Milus watch. Should the pilot find himself in difficult circumstances following a crash the idea was that these items could be exchanged for food, information or potentially even their lives.

“Yes” you may say “but there aren’t many of us parachuting into enemy territory nowadays.”

True, but I do have dreams about backpacking around South America one day with a Rolex Explorer on my wrist… though I hope it doesn’t get to a point where I need to exchange it for my life, despite that sounding like a great story for the next watch-meet.

But let me tell you my second tale...

A Rolex saving a loved one...

Ever since @Edge168n started his ‘Watches in the Wild’ series of posts I’ve been much more aware of what people are wearing. However, this week, for the first time EVER, someone noticed MY watch! I was sat chatting with a client at work when he commented ‘I like your watch. I collect watches’

Me:

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And so the watch chat commenced.

He told me his favourite watch was a Rolex Yacht-Master that was a retirement gift. It meant a huge amount to him and was his daily wearer. For many years he’d struggled on and off with his mental health, and when he retired his mood took a further dip. As part of his plan for tackling this he’d got himself a rescue dog. That dog did so much more for him than any tablets could have. Unbeknown to him when he got her, she was pregnant, so a couple of months later he had litter of puppies on his hands. He could have easily sold these puppies for a few hundred quid each but he told me he didn’t want to risk them going to undeserving homes, so he kept all of them. Sadly, one of the puppies was born with a cleft palette which needed surgery. Looking after the puppies and paying for the surgery was not cheap, and so the Yacht-Master was sold. He wasn’t sad about it however. “It meant I got to keep my girl and her puppies. I’m glad I had it to sell.”

That Rolex meant he could save his dogs life and keep his furry family together. Considering that dog may very well have saved his life, I think that’s a fair deal.

"Yeah... but I don't have a dog and I've got savings for emergencies... So I still think I'm gonna live without a Rolex, thanks."

Are you sure...?

Story three....

Death by concrete...

May I present to you the Rolex that saved a Colonels life...

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Colonel Smiths two-tone submariner is about as far away from a safe queen as you can get. It accompanied him through multiple tours of Iraq and Afghanistan before an RPG (rocket propelled grenade) hit a building adjacent to him during an attack. He says when he saw the grenade hit, he raised his arm to shield himself from the blast and a section of concrete from the explosion, which would have otherwise killed him, impacted the submariner instead, saving his life.

You can check out the full story here.

If there is any chance at all that a Rolex could act like Wonder Woman's bracelets of submission, I think we should all be aiming to get these on our wrist (preferably both wrists).

Over to you…

Do you feel much safer wearing your luxury time piece now?

Does any watch in your collection have lifesaving powers?

Which Rolex do you now plan to buy?

Take care out there my favourite watch people.

Kaysia

(Banner pic today is just me 'mirin' a Rolex)

Reply
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YAAABK... Yet Another Awesome Article By Kaysia! Fitting and good end of my day. 🥂

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Thx for the shoutout 🙏🏼😉

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hakki501

YAAABK... Yet Another Awesome Article By Kaysia! Fitting and good end of my day. 🥂

Thank you Hakki!

Always happy to entertain 🥳

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Pieces0ftime

Thx for the shoutout 🙏🏼😉

Great to have you here! 🍻

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That is it, your life-inspiring words have finally convinced me to double-wrist my Rolexes! I kid, about the double wristing, not the inspiring words. I am on record multiple times, I do not fear wearing any of my watches anywhere I go. Is the world a scary place or is it a place of wonder worth exploring? One's outlook can tell you a lot about the person, not good or bad, just a good insight.

In terms of "Can a Rolex save your life?" Perhaps. Many folks have said, always store cash, gold, or a watch that can pay off several months of living. Now, this is silly logic as one can always outpace stagnant cash, gold, or a watch, but if someone is the type to always spend what they have, I can kinda, sorta, understand the logic. If they are in a place where they need to raise cash quickly, a Rolex on the wrist can solve a lot of problems.

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Rolex back in the day was a good watch, not a sign of being wealthy. These days Rolex is such an internationally recognized symbol of wealth that a Rolex is far more likely to get you into trouble than it is to get you out of it.

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Thanks for the mention and love that you met another wrist starer!

As for the subject of the post, I, like I normally do, have a story to tell...but it's not mine. We have a family friend who fled from Tehran during to the US inn 1979. He was a pretty wealthy businessman and a supporter of the Shah (no value judgement either way there...that's a very long conversation I am ill equipped to have) but given the times, it was increasingly clear that it was not safe to remain in Iran.

So he gets tickets out for his wife and two kids and, at the airport, the Revolutionary Guard stops him, intending to figure out who he is and whether they want to arrest him. But he takes the leader aside and offers his two tone datejust, who after a couple minutes of contemplating the relative risk reward waves them through the gate and looks the other way. The way he tells it, a Rolex for four lives (probably) was the easiest purchase he's ever had to make in his life.

I think I'd agree with him.

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AllTheWatches

That is it, your life-inspiring words have finally convinced me to double-wrist my Rolexes! I kid, about the double wristing, not the inspiring words. I am on record multiple times, I do not fear wearing any of my watches anywhere I go. Is the world a scary place or is it a place of wonder worth exploring? One's outlook can tell you a lot about the person, not good or bad, just a good insight.

In terms of "Can a Rolex save your life?" Perhaps. Many folks have said, always store cash, gold, or a watch that can pay off several months of living. Now, this is silly logic as one can always outpace stagnant cash, gold, or a watch, but if someone is the type to always spend what they have, I can kinda, sorta, understand the logic. If they are in a place where they need to raise cash quickly, a Rolex on the wrist can solve a lot of problems.

In the clip I link to where Paul Thorpe is on TV talking about watch thefts he speaks a lot of truth at the very end of the clip. The presenter comments if people should just not wear such expensive watches. Paul comments that that is the same as telling women they shouldn't dress a certain way so as not to provoke attacks. I agree. People should be able to wear what they want.

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Thanks so much for the tag!! Having a great time on the site, and I look forward to meeting more of you! :)

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thetexastimex

Thanks so much for the tag!! Having a great time on the site, and I look forward to meeting more of you! :)

Great to have you around! 🍻

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Do you feel much safer wearing your luxury time piece now?

I buy my watches to wear and I only have 2 "luxury" pieces. For some they aren't even really luxurious...but in any event, I wear them when I want to. I'm not flashy and I am born and raised in NYC so I'm pretty situationally aware. There are occasions and places where I won't wear one of the nicer pieces, but I don't think its fear. Its just being prudent about things.

Does any watch in your collection have lifesaving powers?

Nothing life saving unfortunately. 1 or 2 could maybe help out in a pinch if I sold them, but nothing really life changing.

Which Rolex do you now plan to buy?

I'm currently on a list for the new Air King. I love that is pretty under the radar (for a Rolex). The pop of color is also very appealing to me and I love the polished bezel and new bracelet.

That isn't set in stone yet, so we'll see.

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KristianG

Rolex back in the day was a good watch, not a sign of being wealthy. These days Rolex is such an internationally recognized symbol of wealth that a Rolex is far more likely to get you into trouble than it is to get you out of it.

Maybe discretion is key.

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Edge168n

Thanks for the mention and love that you met another wrist starer!

As for the subject of the post, I, like I normally do, have a story to tell...but it's not mine. We have a family friend who fled from Tehran during to the US inn 1979. He was a pretty wealthy businessman and a supporter of the Shah (no value judgement either way there...that's a very long conversation I am ill equipped to have) but given the times, it was increasingly clear that it was not safe to remain in Iran.

So he gets tickets out for his wife and two kids and, at the airport, the Revolutionary Guard stops him, intending to figure out who he is and whether they want to arrest him. But he takes the leader aside and offers his two tone datejust, who after a couple minutes of contemplating the relative risk reward waves them through the gate and looks the other way. The way he tells it, a Rolex for four lives (probably) was the easiest purchase he's ever had to make in his life.

I think I'd agree with him.

I can't imagine being in a position where my families lives are on the line. Terrifying.

Its the kind of position you hope you are never in, but thank god for Rolex that day 🙏

Thank you for sharing the story!

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One of my favorite scenes from Planes, Trains and Automobiles 😀

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BtownB9

One of my favorite scenes from Planes, Trains and Automobiles 😀

Absolutely!

I need to rewatch that film.

Utter classic.

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tonmed

I think a Rolex can save your life the same way a match book can save you from hypothermia haha.

I am by no means a military expert, but my very limited perception tells me people don't follow rules of engagement the way they used to in wars or violent conflict. I'm thinking information and political leverage are still worth more. But maybe I'm being too literal, sorry for ruining the fun!

That said, I definitely think watches can be potentially lifesaving in many circumstances. I would go for ultra utilitarian like Sinn or GShock. If I need to make some cash to survive guess I'll have to sing and dance for spare change on the streets.

I think it's less about rules of engagement, and more about the fact those pilots carrying cash and a watch were also armed.

I suspect it came down to "I can pay for your car with my watch, some cash, or a .45 slug through your face, which would you prefer?" Even if the part about the .45 slug wasn't stated out loud, the holstered pistol did the talking. It's likely the same with the special forces stories you hear about trading a watch for something. The trading of watches for a cars makes the articles, the fact they were heavily armed, and looking desperate enough to kill to survive doesn't...

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HoroMichigan

I guess it saves him in an indirect way 😅 It makes more sense to me now that I know Nick is into watches and owns some rare pieces. I wonder if this scene was suggested by him. I find it odd how they don’t say “Rolex” in the scene; I just had to rewatch it since it’s been so long.

Yeah, it must have been a conscious decision NOT to say Rolex, because surely you would?

I wonder if there is some legal stuff where you have to actually ask Rolex if you want to use their name in a film?? 🤷

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Great article as always!

Thanks you

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Was saving this story for a post of my own eventually but here's something quick.

During the hasty pull out of Afghanistan, I saw many a barter happening - many items for any method of transport out of the hotspots. Unfortunately, I never saw any of those offers pan out for the local populace. However, I caught wind of a successful trade between coalition personnel and even got eyes on a well worn Breitling and its new owner that I'm sure will put it through more adventures.

Not a Rolex, but I think the idea is sound.

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KristianG

I think it's less about rules of engagement, and more about the fact those pilots carrying cash and a watch were also armed.

I suspect it came down to "I can pay for your car with my watch, some cash, or a .45 slug through your face, which would you prefer?" Even if the part about the .45 slug wasn't stated out loud, the holstered pistol did the talking. It's likely the same with the special forces stories you hear about trading a watch for something. The trading of watches for a cars makes the articles, the fact they were heavily armed, and looking desperate enough to kill to survive doesn't...

This makes sense. I was moreso thinking of them falling prisoners to hostiles. But even then they could try their luck I suppose.

Wonder if this is still a practice. I'll have to ask my ex-partrooper coworker.

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Adi365

Great article as always!

Thanks you

Thank you my friend! 🍻

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curtaincall

Was saving this story for a post of my own eventually but here's something quick.

During the hasty pull out of Afghanistan, I saw many a barter happening - many items for any method of transport out of the hotspots. Unfortunately, I never saw any of those offers pan out for the local populace. However, I caught wind of a successful trade between coalition personnel and even got eyes on a well worn Breitling and its new owner that I'm sure will put it through more adventures.

Not a Rolex, but I think the idea is sound.

Interesting to hear these kind of things do actually happen!

As I say, I hope life doesn't ever get quite that exciting for me, but I'm glad it works out for some.

Thank you for sharing! 🍻

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AllTheWatches

That is it, your life-inspiring words have finally convinced me to double-wrist my Rolexes! I kid, about the double wristing, not the inspiring words. I am on record multiple times, I do not fear wearing any of my watches anywhere I go. Is the world a scary place or is it a place of wonder worth exploring? One's outlook can tell you a lot about the person, not good or bad, just a good insight.

In terms of "Can a Rolex save your life?" Perhaps. Many folks have said, always store cash, gold, or a watch that can pay off several months of living. Now, this is silly logic as one can always outpace stagnant cash, gold, or a watch, but if someone is the type to always spend what they have, I can kinda, sorta, understand the logic. If they are in a place where they need to raise cash quickly, a Rolex on the wrist can solve a lot of problems.

Fully agree! my Seiko LX, while being in the same retail range as an Explorer, is still just a Seiko and so only tradeable to a horologist hostage taker.

Be it a hostage situation or end of world style Mad Max wasteland negotiation, the Rolex is the the one to bargain with.

...BUT

A sad counter to that argument is that - my suspicion is that a Rolex on your wrist in most cases is more dangerous than my anonymous pricey Seiko, as thuggish types with no interest in my watch and would get all stabby for The Crown. 😕 😬

Sorry, no Rolex in my collection. It's not a currency issue; just not an honest brand for me to ever get into. I'll keep on spending my income on real significant historical Timepieces.

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SimplyVintageWatches

Sorry, no Rolex in my collection. It's not a currency issue; just not an honest brand for me to ever get into. I'll keep on spending my income on real significant historical Timepieces.

You need to speak to @Porthole about his vintage smiths 👌

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Fieldwalker

Fully agree! my Seiko LX, while being in the same retail range as an Explorer, is still just a Seiko and so only tradeable to a horologist hostage taker.

Be it a hostage situation or end of world style Mad Max wasteland negotiation, the Rolex is the the one to bargain with.

...BUT

A sad counter to that argument is that - my suspicion is that a Rolex on your wrist in most cases is more dangerous than my anonymous pricey Seiko, as thuggish types with no interest in my watch and would get all stabby for The Crown. 😕 😬

Yes, using it for trade is dependent on the assumption that they don't want to just kill you for it.

I would hope that if we did a survey most people in the world wouldn't actually kill someone for their watch! 😬🤞 Though I appreciate the answers would change dramatically depending on local levels of deprivation.

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DeeperBlue

You need to speak to @Porthole about his vintage smiths 👌

That’s the signal… to the grumpmobile!

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Great read @Deeperblue,

Hopefully we will get more joining in on the photo challenge.

https://www.watchcrunch.com/Deeperblue/posts/watch-crunch-photography-club-check-out-the-runners-up-and-this-weeks-theme-29803

I have seen quite a few posts recently about stagnating in the hobby and like you touched on perhaps the over consumption of watches and members thinking if you are not adding to a ''collection'' there is little to do in the hobby which leads perhaps to boredom and even worse frustration.

I think focusing on and enjoying what you have is a key aspect and taking photos in the photography club is great way to do this and I would encourage all members to take part.

You don't need a studio set up or dedicated camera equipment , I use my phone and a free editing app.

So if you are a little burnt out , grab your phone and head over to the photo thread , have a look at the theme and give it a shot (pun intended lol)

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DeeperBlue

Thank you Hakki!

Always happy to entertain 🥳

Ala Robbie Williams... Image

https://youtu.be/4cqUvLvVYFE

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Thanks so much for including me on the round up!