As I've stated on here many times, I have a patient that has been working in the watch department at an AD for the past 25 years. The AD has 3 large stores each carrying about 100+ Rolex on display in each store.
I had an interesting conversation with him today, since I'm always giving him information that I've learned on this website. And, I believe he's learned more from me than he has from the Rolex rep that he sees 2-3 times a year or from any other source. I'll sum up some of the information, but remember, this is only from ONE AD, so his experience may be unique, though it is a large AD:
-Although we all are interested in serial numbers, differenet series watches, letters/numbers on the clasps, coronets on the crystal, fat hands/skinny hands on the Daytonas, different fonts on the subs, the type of steel Rolex uses, crown position, etc., he tells me that in over 25 years of selling Rolex he can count on two hands the amount of times he's actually been asked any of these questions.
-He told me that 99.9% of the time customers simply walk in, pick the watch he/she wants, have the watch sized, pay for the watch and leave. Most people have no clue as to the inner workings of the mechanical watch, etc. They simply come in to buy a Rolex and leave with a Rolex. That's all.
-He told me that he sees the Rolex rep about 2-3 times a year and that the Rolex rep wears a stainless/platinum Yachtmaster, and that it's a GREAT job. The rep confirmed that on the East coast SS Subdates are very hot and the rep basically dictates who gets what.
-He also told me that he was on vacation and visited the Rolex store in Vegas and was amazed at the amount of watches, though they didn't have the gold anniversary GMTII, and did not have any SS Daytonas. He said they did have a huge selection of watches with gems and varied dials. He also stated that he was the only one in the store when he was there.
-He informed me that according to the Rolex rep that was in his store last week, the prices are going up as of October 1st, and the price of the stainless steel sub-date will be $5100+, YES $5100+.
-He also stated that price was in effect even if an order was taken prior to the price increase if the watch is delivered after October 1st, and that even if a watch is in the counter already, the price increase is for ALL watches even those already in stock. (The AD's must love that because that's pure profit and allows them to now offer a nice discount).
-Contrary to what I thought, he told me that Rolex really doesn't keep the AD up to date on as much as I thought. He stated that there is no newsletter, etc., and that's why when I give him information it is often the first time he's heard that info.
Anyway, I just thought I'd pass along what I was told. Remember, this certainly is NOT gospel and some of this information may not coincide with information that you receive from your AD. I'm just repeating what I was told, so don't shoot the messenger if you disagree
