Holy crap! Your wife's choice was my first ever watch! Not sure it's the exact same model, but it was a cream dial Timex with the red/blue ring exactly like that. It came on a red plastic strap. It was a present from my grandparents for either Christmas or my birthday when I was about 4, and with help from my dad it taught me to tell the time. It's long long gone, but I've pictured it vividly in my head for 35+years. This post has made my year!
On principle I don't think they should remove the stickers (it is your watch and Rolex should have ZERO say in what you do with it once you've paid imo), but it's a top down policy so the AD's hands are tied. I guess if you bought one and flipped it at a premium due to the stickers still being on (and there are definitely nutters who would pay that premium), then the AD could get in trouble.
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