Rolex Market in Hong Kong

[Jay2101]

Originally Posted by Quamby

Solid gold day-dates were all the rage back then, and gold DuPont cigarette lighters. You couldn’t have one without the other.



Last time I was in Nakano Broadway in 2019, I saw at least ten hot Pateks with fresh or less then two year old certificates from Hongkong.

Never checked checked out Pateks and origins at Nakano.

I do know the Omegas are mostly domestic as are the Rolex. Never really seen a Rolex with a warranty from Hong Kong oddly.

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[Old Expat Beast]

Here are two detail shots of a 1975 tourist map of Hong Kong for Japanese tourists and businessmen printed in 1975. You can see more ADs listed here.

[Incroyable12]

Originally Posted by Jay2101

Apparently money was growing on trees. Women drinking thousand dollar cups of coffee and what have you. Definitely see a lot older guys in their 60s+ with their two tone DJs here.

I stayed in a bubble era beach resort a year or 2 ago. Felt kind of out of place now days, but would have liked to seen it in it's heyday for sure.

Tapatalk を使用して私の CPH1943 から送信

Now that I think about it I've seen a lot of flashy '70s and '80s era accessories for sale from Japanese resale shops and local auctions: crocodile skin jackets, coral and solid gold bolo ties, diamond set solid platinum belt buckles, Baccarat crystal.

Originally Posted by Quamby

Solid gold day-dates were all the rage back then, and gold DuPont cigarette lighters. You couldn’t have one without the other.

Last time I was in Nakano Broadway in 2019, I saw at least ten hot Pateks with fresh or less then two year old certificates from Hongkong.

ST Dupont was owned by Dickson Poon I believe.

[Incroyable12]

Originally Posted by Old Expat Beast

Here are two detail shots of a 1975 tourist map of Hong Kong for Japanese tourists and businessmen printed in 1975. You can see more ADs listed here.

Great images.

You can still find find sealed bottles of cognac, whiskey, etc. from that era for sale in Japan at resale shops.

[Old Expat Beast]

Here's both siders of the 1975 tourist map for anyone interested. This is about as big as I can make them here.

[Incroyable12]

Originally Posted by Old Expat Beast

Here's both siders of the 1975 tourist map for anyone interested. This is about as big as I can make them here.

"Alliance Escort"

[Old Expat Beast]

Originally Posted by Incroyable12

"Alliance Escort"

Yeah, I thought that might be the first comment

[Jay2101]

Originally Posted by Old Expat Beast

Here's both siders of the 1975 tourist map for anyone interested. This is about as big as I can make them here.

Great memorabilia!

I understand HK's connection with Rolex and it's appetite for it. 60 ADs and last year was still the 3rd largest market for luxury watches despite having only 7 million people and no mainland Chinese ramping up sales.

Wondering, how badly do people desire Rolexes just to fit in with others? Do they go into debt buying them?

Is it common for many in their 20s to buy a Rolex as a sign of achievement?

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[Incroyable12]

It seems to be almost a form of currency.

This HK guy has an English blog about the HK watch market:

https://watch-fever.blogspot.com/

[Old Expat Beast]

Originally Posted by Jay2101

Great memorabilia!

I understand HK's connection with Rolex and it's appetite for it. 60 ADs and last year was still the 3rd largest market for luxury watches despite having only 7 million people and no mainland Chinese ramping up sales.

Wondering, how badly do people desire Rolexes just to fit in with others? Do they go into debt buying them?

Is it common for many in their 20s to buy a Rolex as a sign of achievement?

Tapatalk を使用して私の CPH1943 から送信

I wrote this in another post a while back, so I'll just paste it here rather than pretend I just wrote it. Anyway . . .


Face plays a large part, but you have to dig a little deeper for the larger picture.

Rolex watches have been a status symbol in Hong Kong since before the Second World War. After the Communist Revolution in the late 1940s, millions of people came to seek refuge in Hong Kong (up to the 1980s and even a few in the early 1990s). The first wave of refugees were relatively wealthy but often had to leave much of their cash and belongings behind. An easy way to show their (former) status was to display a gold watch. Many of those first arrivals, just like Hong Kong’s ‘native’ Chinese, went for the Datejust, as it was relatively new and had a novel date function which was quite the thing back then. It’s still perhaps the most popular model today, judging from the number seen around town.

From the late 1950s, refugees were poorer, more desperate folk, fleeing mass starvation during the Great Leap Forward (1958-61) or the horrors of the Cultural Revolution (1966 to 76 approx). Many were single men, and for them the first item on the shopping list was a transistor radio, but the grail was a Rolex watch, or at least a Tudor, a brand for which many settled (as in those days they looked exactly like Rolex, thereby giving some ‘face’ at least from a distance), and which is still very popular today.

This as I see it (and I am happy to be corrected by our Hong Kong Chinese members) is more or less how Rolex came to be an integral part of Hong Kong life. Go into the Rolex Service Centre any day of the week and you will see the place packed with people of all shapes, sizes, ages, and wealth brackets. Office girls, rich housewives, old men with their retirement Datejusts, and young entrepreneurs with their vintage PN Daytonas and red subs, etc, etc.

Hans Wilsdorf’s death in 1960 made Front Page news in the local papers here. I doubt that was the case in many other cities around the world.

[Jay2101]

Originally Posted by Old Expat Beast

I wrote this in another post a while back, so I'll just paste it here rather than pretend I just wrote it. Anyway . . .





Face plays a large part, but you have to dig a little deeper for the larger picture.



Rolex watches have been a status symbol in Hong Kong since before the Second World War. After the Communist Revolution in the late 1940s, millions of people came to seek refuge in Hong Kong (up to the 1980s and even a few in the early 1990s). The first wave of refugees were relatively wealthy but often had to leave much of their cash and belongings behind. An easy way to show their (former) status was to display a gold watch. Many of those first arrivals, just like Hong Kong’s ‘native’ Chinese, went for the Datejust, as it was relatively new and had a novel date function which was quite the thing back then. It’s still perhaps the most popular model today, judging from the number seen around town.



From the late 1950s, refugees were poorer, more desperate folk, fleeing mass starvation during the Great Leap Forward (1958-61) or the horrors of the Cultural Revolution (1966 to 76 approx). Many were single men, and for them the first item on the shopping list was a transistor radio, but the grail was a Rolex watch, or at least a Tudor, a brand for which many settled (as in those days they looked exactly like Rolex, thereby giving some ‘face’ at least from a distance), and which is still very popular today.



This as I see it (and I am happy to be corrected by our Hong Kong Chinese members) is more or less how Rolex came to be an integral part of Hong Kong life. Go into the Rolex Service Centre any day of the week and you will see the place packed with people of all shapes, sizes, ages, and wealth brackets. Office girls, rich housewives, old men with their retirement Datejusts, and young entrepreneurs with their vintage PN Daytonas and red subs, etc, etc.



Hans Wilsdorf’s death in 1960 made Front Page news in the local papers here. I doubt that was the case in many other cities around the world.

Wow thanks for the in-depth analysis.

Really miss Hong Kong. I haven't been since 2015. Great city. First time I went back in 2009 and spoke mandarin the first 2 days. Wasn't treated very well haha. Wizened up and switched to English, the rest of the trip and subsequent trips turned out great .

The day and night experience of speaking northern accented mandarin and American English is incredible.

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[Old Expat Beast]

Originally Posted by Jay2101

Wow thanks for the in-depth analysis.

Really miss Hong Kong. I haven't been since 2015. Great city. First time I went back in 2009 and spoke mandarin the first 2 days. Wasn't treated very well haha. Wizened up and switched to English, the rest of the trip and subsequent trips turned out great .

The day and night experience of speaking northern accented mandarin and American English is incredible.

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A few words of Cantonese will go a long way

[Jay2101]

Originally Posted by Old Expat Beast

A few words of Cantonese will go a long way

I can understand some Cantonese, but don't speak a lick outside of how are you.

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[Quamby]

Originally Posted by Old Expat Beast

Here are two detail shots of a 1975 tourist map of Hong Kong for Japanese tourists and businessmen printed in 1975. You can see more ADs listed here.

Thank you OEB! These maps are older than me.

[watchfreak207]

If u understand cantonese, this always cracks me up

https://fb.watch/eecFJYggGO/?fs=e&s=cl

[Jay2101]

Originally Posted by watchfreak207

If u understand cantonese, this always cracks me up



https://fb.watch/eecFJYggGO/?fs=e&s=cl

. What's with the English subtitles, don't match at all.

Last part was the funniest.

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[kaelao]

Originally Posted by Old Expat Beast

I wrote this in another post a while back, so I'll just paste it here rather than pretend I just wrote it. Anyway . . .


Face plays a large part, but you have to dig a little deeper for the larger picture.

Rolex watches have been a status symbol in Hong Kong since before the Second World War. After the Communist Revolution in the late 1940s, millions of people came to seek refuge in Hong Kong (up to the 1980s and even a few in the early 1990s). The first wave of refugees were relatively wealthy but often had to leave much of their cash and belongings behind. An easy way to show their (former) status was to display a gold watch. Many of those first arrivals, just like Hong Kong’s ‘native’ Chinese, went for the Datejust, as it was relatively new and had a novel date function which was quite the thing back then. It’s still perhaps the most popular model today, judging from the number seen around town.

From the late 1950s, refugees were poorer, more desperate folk, fleeing mass starvation during the Great Leap Forward (1958-61) or the horrors of the Cultural Revolution (1966 to 76 approx). Many were single men, and for them the first item on the shopping list was a transistor radio, but the grail was a Rolex watch, or at least a Tudor, a brand for which many settled (as in those days they looked exactly like Rolex, thereby giving some ‘face’ at least from a distance), and which is still very popular today.

This as I see it (and I am happy to be corrected by our Hong Kong Chinese members) is more or less how Rolex came to be an integral part of Hong Kong life. Go into the Rolex Service Centre any day of the week and you will see the place packed with people of all shapes, sizes, ages, and wealth brackets. Office girls, rich housewives, old men with their retirement Datejusts, and young entrepreneurs with their vintage PN Daytonas and red subs, etc, etc.

Hans Wilsdorf’s death in 1960 made Front Page news in the local papers here. I doubt that was the case in many other cities around the world.

Great piece of history right here, thank you sir!

[kroniclove]

Originally Posted by Old Expat Beast

If you're looking for new models you might get lucky with a two-tone Explorer or something like that, with enough wandering around. If you're looking for vintage, the market seems a little softer than it was at the start of the year, and it's interesting to wander around the dealers anyway, assuming you're a Rolex enthusiast. Welcome to 2020 by the way

I pick up a two tone explorer over the weekend from AD. but i had to wait about 6 months for it. Went to few diff ad and one kind of enough to sit down and take my information and help me get the watch.

[Old Expat Beast]

Originally Posted by kaelao

Great piece of history right here, thank you sir!

You're welcome. I hope your quarantine passes quickly

[huangsta]

Originally Posted by kroniclove

I pick up a two tone explorer over the weekend from AD. but i had to wait about 6 months for it. Went to few diff ad and one kind of enough to sit down and take my information and help me get the watch.

was this in HK? do you mind to share which ADs are generally worth a visit, or which ones to avoid?

[kroniclove]

Originally Posted by huangsta

was this in HK? do you mind to share which ADs are generally worth a visit, or which ones to avoid?

Yes its in hk. I don't have any recommendation on which ads to visit. I would just pop in to ones that were most convenient to where i work or live. Most of the experience were not enjoyable. But eventually you will meet someone who will actually take the time to help.

[Nairn1980]

Originally Posted by Jkcwl

Nothing at all, perhaps a steel DJ 41 is all.

Not likely

[Jkcwl]

Originally Posted by Nairn1980

Not likely

Still quite a few places to sells steel gold DJ 41s. Had to really spend some time talking to the staff and give them a name card.