There are no lists

[Sandwich]

My AD is a single brand boutique and only sells Rolex & Tudor.

Given the current market situation, walk ins and newer clients will be able to purchase the following:

Tudor:
Sports models (except latest popular releases like the BB 58 GMT, BB chronograph Pink/Blue

Rolex:
Datejust (non popular configurations such as ladies/TT; no MOP dial or blue/green/fluted motif)

How the list works for popular stainless steel sports:
Only Tudor counts into the spend history. Any purchase of Rolex watches does not count into the purchase history for SS Sports allocations with the exception of TT ladies date just but even those don’t get you the same level of mileage compared to Tudors.

This is the current requirement and back then during the covid peak, it was even harder where only non sports Tudors counted to profit building.

My guess is that the same goes for most larger ADs in metropolitans across the world.

Depending on the SS sports models you are after, there will be a certain minimum requirement in terms of spend history (some may not just use total monetary spend as the only metric but also look into what you have purchased as a consideration. For e.g the customer that has purchased $30k worth of jewellery or Hublot watches will be prioritised over one who has bought only Rolex watches) <- this actually makes sense because in both cases, revenue to the store may be the same but the profits are typically higher for Jewellery and/or house brand watches.

At a larger downtown boutique, to get onto the wait list for a BLRO was $100k and a Daytona was $250k respectively. With the above amounts requiring purchases that are heavy on the house brands they carry.

Even then, once you’re on the list, it’s up to other factors such as:
1. Management approval after your SA submits your request
2. The queue your SA is amongst the rest of the SAs. They all get to allocated a couple in demand watches to their own clientele base every month on a rotational basis.
3. Stock they receive from Rolex.

I know there have been stories where people managed to pick up phenomenal in demand pieces after speaking to the owner or waiting for a short time but these stories are out of the norm.

The secondary market has crashed, but popular sports SS pieces still have a relatively large demand and things may be getting easier (lesser stringent spend history requirement, ADs want to build up their existing client base, etc) but for pieces like the BLRO and Daytona, they’re not ever gonna be a walk in the park kind of affair anytime soon.

Also, to those who have been waiting years to get your dream Rolex, have you considered maybe your SA has forgotten about your request?

If anything, when a popular model comes in, the SA’s will likely look at the list of their MOST RECENT loyal clients who have cleared the minimum requirements and call from that list instead of further down into page 2/3/4/5 of the list who are a good 2-3 years old.

Makes sense right?

[btwistround]

Kinda happened to me.

I popped into my local AD ( I have a small purchase history- a few Tudors and some jewellery, probably sub £10,000 total).

I reached out to my SA but got told they had left the company so they booked me in with a different SA. I then got offered a few two tone Rolex- YM, GMT and Sub.

Nearly got the GMT but changed my mind as it's not what I originally want.

[GMTMaster]

Its all BS, always.

[knighty88]

Luxury purchases are discretionary, don't be bullied into buying what you don't want for the likely empty 'opportunity' to get what you do.

Life's too short - I'd rather go grey than play BS games... I'm not denying simple economics of demand vs supply, but at some point fashion trends will change and what's popular will shift.

[brandrea]

Originally Posted by 996marty

If you spend big then I’m guessing anything is obtainable

Which in a way … is still a list

[Chefinspecteur]

Apparently there is even a list to get on the list ))

[garyk]

My AD led me to believe they keep a file where I expressed an interest for several watches. In April 2022, they got me a submariner green bezel LV and this past June they got me a BLNR on Jubilee. I had wanted the YG green dial Daytona but I believe it was discontinued while I was waiting…

[Trogster]

After abandoning Rolex for years I decided to stop into my local AD to pick up my Daytona. Here's how that went:

Me- "Hello, I'm here to pick-up my Daytona"

AD- "Did someone call you?"

Me- " I was here five years ago and you told me it was a 5-year wait, well.. today is 5-years and I'm here to get my Daytona"

AD- Stunned silence!!!! Once they composed themselves they said; "It doesn't work that way!"

Me - "I see, I guess it's gonna be an Omega then".

The Omega:

[garyk]

Brilliant!!