Hello from New England

[Robison347]

Greetings from Western Massachusetts. I’m a long time lurker and a new member. I bought my first Rolex watch – a two tone Datejust – in 1978. At the time, I was on tour as the engineer for a big rock and roll band, and the two items that signaled you had made it were a Rolex and a gold Zero Haliburton briefcase. The watch cost about five times as much as the briefcase, but I bought both. Fifteen hundred dollars seemed like all the money in the world.

I was so proud of that watch! I memorized the phone number of the National Bureau of Standards in Colorado – 303-499-7111. You can still call it today and hear the WWV time signals. I checked its accuracy and loved that it was accurate to 3 seconds a day. I had a timing certificate with the watch that said they tested it up, down, sideways and it met the 6 second a day standard, and I made sure it did!

After wearing it every day for 10 years the links in the bracelet had stretched to the point that you could almost turn the watch inside out on the band. The plastic bezel was damaged, and it was losing time. A watchmaker took it in trade, and I got a much newer Datejust with the sapphire crystal and different and tighter links in the bracelet.

I got a little more money, sold that watch, and bought a two-tone Sub with a lovely blue dial for about $5,000. Then I got some more money and bought a two-tone Daytona for $7500. That was in the early 90s. Now I had bigger dreams – a President. I bought a nice used one, but I felt self-conscious wearing it. I traded that watch for a new stainless Explorer II and some cash, and felt ok.

Then I got divorced. Money was tight. A buddy coveted the blue Sub and I sold it for the $5k I’d paid for it. I didn’t like the Daytona so much, so I wore the Explorer till I felt broker and sold it too. I got remarried, prosperity returned, and I got into Breitling and other brands, slowly amassing a little collection. I kept the Daytona and gradually got more fond of it.

I started out with Rolex when I was young. Now I’m 65. I just took delivery of a 326235 Sky Dweller, and I sort of think that watch may be like the President – too much for many places. Yet i’'s a beautiful piece, and keeps better time than any previous Rolex I’ve owned. Now my local dealer has a brand new two-tone blue Sub due in next week for me. It’s not the same watch, of course, but I’ll be glad to have it “back” just the same.

There was a long period when I didn’t buy Rolex watches because I could not abide paying twice the Rolex list price for used watches. That seems to be changing now. Still, every Rolex I have owned has risen in value, though I never bought and sold them for gain. I know people today talk about green “kermits” and whatever they call black dial Subs, but I was happy they still had that blue face I loved so, all those years ago.