Where do they go?

[ratae1950]

I often read in ads' for Rolex watches that the box and papers are not available. Although somewhat new to the Rolex obsession I soon appreciated the importance of retaining these items. The question is then--where do they go? Are people that careless with their watch 'investments?' Have Forum readers any insight or personal stories of what happened to their lost papers and boxes?

[Baptistman]

Originally Posted by ratae1950

I often read in ads' for Rolex watches that the box and papers are not available. Although somewhat new to the Rolex obsession I soon appreciated the importance of retaining these items. The question is then--where do they go? Are people that careless with their watch 'investments?' Have Forum readers any insight or personal stories of what happened to their lost papers and boxes?

Many years ago i was going to purchase a DJ, the owner had had the watch in his safe, but after various house moves, paperwork etc just simply got mislaid or lost. Not being a WIS, treated paperwork like any other product paperwork/ instructions etc

[oldrolex]

We have a couple of thing's going on. If a Rolex AD loses the franchise the watches are sent to other AD's to be sold as preowned with no box or papers. Rolex does not want the watches sold as new on the gray market. Some watches are sold without papers because it was received as a gift and the person receiving the watch doesn’t want IBM or others to know they sold it(no name no record) If I sell my watch out of desperation I don't always go back to get my box etc…as an example. I'm not sure why if you have a watch with no box that you wouldn't just go and buy one on an online auction for under $100

[scottschoe]

Box and papers to most are just like packaging on any regular christmas gift: useless. If the boxes were much nicer (cough cough wishful thinking), I could see more of them being kept, but they're just fluff in the end.

[bRadley]

they could also be stolen.. when someone breaks into your house, they're gonna go for the watch, not the papers... sad

[Bobareno]

Well... My fathers Rolex was passed down to me, it was bought new in 1967, a GMT Master. I got the watch but nobody has seen the box or papers. Lost somewhere in the moves or never saved. Would be nice to have them but they are lost forever.

[Tools]

Hanging onto a box and out of date warranty papers is a fairly recent phenomenon.

I have several watches that I have had for 20, 30 and even more than 40 years... I havn't any idea where the original stuff is for these pieces..

I have another dozen or so that I have retained the boxes and original papers for. These are neatly stacked up, empty, and doing absolutely no good for anybody at this point.. I am sure that if something were to happen to me, my heirs would not take the time to take the watches out of the safe and try to match them up with the empty boxes.... nor would they likely even save those empties when found..

If there were then an estate sale at my house, would any of you not buy one of my watches because it was without it's "box and papers" ?

[SPACE-DWELLER]

For some, papers and box are...........just papers and box. And in a way, none of them are important if you are not going to resell the watch. And even if you want to resell the watch, lacking P & B are not a big problem since RSC service will give you service papers that are as good as the certificate and the box can be bought later on.

[mike]

In many cases (especially with vintage pieces) boxes and papers were something many users simply discarded. This was during a time when watches were purchased to...tell time. Many of the references that today collectors lust for were not viewed as collectable items simply a tool to be used. Such has been the case with storied references such as COMEX, REDS, 1655s PNs etc...

Notice the pricing gap between those pieces with B&P and those without. As collecting (and simply possessing) has become in vogue (and profitable) in recent years, the search for "complete" sets has taken on a much different tone.

[StanGMT]

Originally Posted by Bobareno

Well... My fathers Rolex was passed down to me, it was bought new in 1967, a GMT Master. I got the watch but nobody has seen the box or papers. Lost somewhere in the moves or never saved. Would be nice to have them but they are lost forever.

I bought my 1675 GMT new in 1967 from an AD in Liverpool, UK. I never got a box because those days a box was an 'extra', adding about 10% to the cost of the watch. As a young guy who had saved hard for the GMT and, like Mike says, had bought it to wear and tell the time by, I could see no need for an expensive box that would sit empty for years. I did, of course, get all the papers and COSC certificate, etc - but just in an envelope.

My decision not to buy a box was the right one, I reckon. I really have used my GMT as my daily watch for this past 40 years and it would never have seen the inside of its box. As and when it is passed on to someone else, all the papers are still there, with forty years-worth of servicing receipts, which is the really important confirmation that people need to see.

Stan.