The day I refused a Rolex...
Every month I fly from Spain to Holland for work. And every time I am in Schiphol Airport I pay a visit to the Rolex AD to see if they have the model I want, the Explorer 1. They don't do waitlists there and have a keen eye on flippers who buy a €20,- plane ticket, just to scoop up the models at retail price. They know me by now and it became a sort of ritual where I come in, they say: 'sorry better luck next time' and I leave.
Last Saturday was a different story. Instead of the usual 'sorry', the nice saleswoman said: 'sorry, but we do have another model. Do you want to try it?' And out came this beautiful new Datejust model with a stunning green dial. What also stood out immediately was the jubilee bracelet, one of my favourites. I put it on and it fitted perfectly. I looked at the price, €8050,-... The amount I had saved up for my Explorer... And I said: 'I really love the dial, case and bracelet, but the deal breaker for me is the crystal. The cyclops is just not for me.' And gave the watch back... When I walked out I felt pretty strong and powerful; I just kept a promise to myself that I would go for the watch I wanted and not settle for a substitute, no matter how pretty. In the days after, the doubt crept in of course...
But now I know I made the right decision!
I could have bought a Rolex. But I didn't...
Dutch guy living in Gran Canaria, Spain. Started way back to collect Bulova Accutron, but sold them all (but one...) when moving to Spain. Started over again, because, well... You know! Impressed and...
Nice!
You did well there.
You survived all that tension and stress… whew 😅
Temptation is strong. Well done. Hold out for what you really want.
Buy what you like and what you love. If it wasn't meant to be then it wasn't.
Schiphol is the worst, notwithstanding all the cool ADs and watch shops there. The Explorer is worth the wait -- well played.
That takes willpower. I would have held out for a fluted bezel myself, LOL.
I may need to visit this airport.
Kudos to you! I hope you're blessed with an Explorer soon! Cheers
Congrats! I’m sure it will be worth it when you actually get your Explorer. I’m the same, the Explorer is the only Rolex I want. And i would never manage to convince myself to get a watch with a cyclop 😅
That is the reason why I have nowadays so many watches. Im fact I only wanted a few certain models. But when offers came I couldn´t resist. Therefore congrats for your strong mind and good decision!
Good for you. I will admit though the new for 2022 mint green dial on the DJ is fab. I would've been very tempted to get that model myself.
If you didn’t really want the watch you made a good decision. I have popped into the Rolex boutique in Maspalomas a couple of times this week. I guess you are on the waiting list for the E1 there.
I have my name down for this exact watch hahahah I love the dial. However congratulations on sticking to your principle. I bet that has never happed to them in the last 3 years. I can just imagine them chatting on their coffee break….’and he said no? And gave it back??’ Class.
Not even. They're not responding to my mails or other messages. Have to visit them soon!
Quite a lot of nice boutiques there I must say. On a small geographical area. I guess you are familiar with them.
Wow, good for you. I would have walked (ran) out with that Datejust!
Quite a lot of nice boutiques there I must say. On a small geographical area. I guess you are familiar with them.
I am! I bought my Omega Railmaster 57 there!
Good for you, That would have been a challenging moment for me. Like yourself, I don't appreciate the Cyclops on this watch. It takes away from the beauty
I've always dismissed those bulgy cyclops watches without a thought. Style does not and will not appeal to me.
And it's not a deal if you don't really love the whole watch, no matter the price. Well done sir!
Also Kudos on being first person in several years to get offered a Rolex at MRSP and say 'nope'😉
Cool. I mean, shouldn't buy anything you don't want.
Before I ever got my first Rolex, I turned down a Sub that was offered to me after the person who it was offered to decided against it. Having never expressed interest in it, I declined too.
A couple months later (now late June of '21) I walked into an AD where a blue DJ41 with fluted bezel on jubilee and grey DJ41 smooth bezel on oyster bracelet were there for the buying. I passed on both, then passed on both again four days later. Good thing too cause I got the call for the z-blue Milgauss three days later. If I had bought any of those, might not have been able to buy the watch I'd been waiting for.
Good to only buy what you want.
Good for you. I will admit though the new for 2022 mint green dial on the DJ is fab. I would've been very tempted to get that model myself.
Might have had a hard time saying no to this one
Personally, I love the datejust, but when spending on anything "luxury" (certainly at this pricepoint", I absolutely think you should NOT compromise. No one "needs" a Rolex, so if you're going to get one, get exactly the one you want. Don't drop the money on something you're lukewarm on because it's "close enough" or you just don't want to wait anymore, because at the end of the day you'll still want what you originally wanted, but you'll nearly 10k out of pocket. Good on you for sticking to your guns 👍
Might have had a hard time saying no to this one
Agree! But still Cyclops though...
Agree! But still Cyclops though...
Cyclops doesn't bother me at all. In fact, as I get older, I start appreciating it more and more. Having said that, yeah, it'd be better as a no date watch.
Well done. He who fights and runs away, lives to fight another day.
Saying that, the Datejust is the one watch I most prefer in the Rolex catalogue. But you do you. Hold out for what you really want.
But... but... why didn't you buy it, and then simply flip it, and then use that money to buy the Explorer on the grey market?
Exactly, totally should have done that
Same thing happened to me 6 months ago. I wanted The silver and gold dial marker 41OP. They finally called and said they have something but it’s the DJ41. I was appreciative but declined. I am not a fan of the cyclops And I want my exit watch to be a three hand complication.
Same here. I live on Guam where one of the largest ADs in Asia resides. I've bought 7 Rolexes at retail in less than 2 years. Last month, my AD called on 2 occasions to offer OP41s, a green and a dark blue. No thanks. I'm holding out for what I want versus just throwing out cash. They also are Tudor dealers so thinking that it keeps me in good favor, I've bought 3 of those things. Lol. In the meantime, professional models have dried up and Rolex has absolutely screwed themselves. I've been buying Seikos almost nonstop for about 3 months. Grand Seiko is next. Rolex lost me. What a bunch of S~heads.