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thomaswentworth · 17 March 2018, 05:22 AM

Hypothesis 1: If the market for mechanical watches became thin enough, Rolex could possibly choose to only produce watches in precious metals. If Rolex were to find itself in a situation in which sales had significantly dwindled on a majority of stainless steel watches due to disinterest by millennials, Rolex could choose to focus on a core group of very wealthy individuals and only provide very expensive precious metal models. $38,000 for a gold Sub? Nope. More like $100,000 or more. Extreme exclusivity could be cultivated if necessary. Not sure how well that would work out, but it is an option if market conditions get incredibly harsh in the next couple of decades.

Hypothesis 2: Due to current worldwide market conditions for mechanical watches and millennials, Rolex may have already implemented a strategy to make very limited runs of various models with mild changes. These models will only last a few years at most before being changed again. This could have the effect of bringing true lovers of Rolex watches back into the ADs more frequently with their checkbooks open.

I think in the next 10-20 years, we will all observe major changes in the mechanical watch industry. The technological advances and gimmicky watches are all but played out. The super complicated watches have gone just about as far as they can possibly go. The technological advancement age is pretty much finished. Sure there will be some more interesting gimmicky watches with short life spans, but Rolex will stand the test of time.

Rolex is not a fad. It is a staple. It is embedded into our hearts and souls. I will be interested in seeing how they adjust over the coming years/decades. It will be fun to watch and discuss.

zjd168 · 17 March 2018, 05:29 AM

Unless smart watch some day in the future replaces the smartphone and becomes the daily necessity that most people have to wear, I think mechanical luxury watches will be fine.

Onikage · 17 March 2018, 05:32 AM

Agreed. The fear of millenials' technology making Rolexes obsolete is unjustified imo. Our Rolexs will continue to be a bloody nice thing no matter what 'life enhancing' gimmicky crap comes out. Apple watches look more uncool to me every time I see one. Won't be long before only aged throwback types use them. Like bluetooth earpieces that only the odd uncool grey-haired individual still uses? Not that there's anything wrong with becoming more distinguished.

thomaswentworth · 17 March 2018, 05:35 AM

I wonder if there is any chance that a massive, unheard of solar flare could destroy all smart watches and electronic devices... That would pump up the market for mechanical watches amongst the youth. They would never know when something like that could happen again, so they'd better have a quality mechanical watch that has anti-magnetic properties. Rolex comes to mind.

thomaswentworth · 17 March 2018, 05:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Onikage

Agreed. The fear of millenials' technology making Rolexes obsolete is unjustified imo. Our Rolexs will continue to be a bloody nice thing no matter what 'life enhancing' gimmicky crap comes out. Apple watches look more uncool to me every time I see one. Won't be long before only aged throwback types use them. Like bluetooth earpieces that only the odd uncool grey-haired individual still uses? Not that there's anything wrong with becoming more distinguished.

lol - there are still a few hanging onto the cool look of the Bluetooth in the ear... I see them every so often at airports.

I, though, think that the health monitoring in smart watches is in its infancy, and people are born to want to live forever. I think the health monitoring will become absolutely state of the art and incredibly accurate and will become a "necessity" to ensure any sort of health problem is caught immediately.

I was thinking last night about how there didn't used to be telephones. There didn't used to be cars. Then there were landlines. Then there were cars. Then people drove in their cars without phones. They went on vacations without phones. They'd talk to you in a couple weeks when they got back... maybe send you a post card. Nowadays, if you leave your house without your cell phone, you will likely turn around to go back and get it, because "what if something happens like I break down or something."

Maybe the smartwatches will go the way of the pacman watches, but I don't think so. Go to a hospital or medical facility and you will see many people wearing smart watches. All we can really do is speculate as to what the future will bring, but I feel that smart watches are here to stay and that their technology is only in its infancy.

WS9D · 17 March 2018, 05:42 AM

Even millennials aspire to own a rolex one day. I am an advisor for a youth program, and you would be surprised how many kids 14 to 21 compliment me on my collection and tell me they can't wait until the day they can afford one. I just keep preaching hard work to them.

I was surprised they knew what it was at first honestly because of all the tech. Right now, smart watches are cool for them. Once they really hit the work force and start making money, some will want them because of the brand image, and others will want them because of the engineering marvel.

We forget how many youth may want to buy one in the future because "dad had one" or "grandpa had one." I remember when my dad bought his first, how proud he looked for hitting a milestone in life to afford one, then the look on my mom's face when he bought her one. I remember thinking, I can't wait to buy myself something nice like that.

I'm not going to lie, I bought my first Rolex because it was a symbol to me. I thought it was going to be my one and only. Then I found this place and came to truly appreciate the brand for many more reasons.

Many more will follow in our footsteps and find TRF and grow to appreciate the brand and what they make, rather than what it may represent to others. I think the swiss watch industry will be just fine in the long run.

You have car collectors, watch collectors, gun collectors, fishing rod collectors, etc. There will always be a collectors market. There will always be those who have to have the latest and greatest regardless how subtle the change may be.

thomaswentworth · 17 March 2018, 05:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ks6pd

Even millennials aspire to own a rolex one day. I am an advisor for a youth program, and you would be surprised how many kids 14 to 21 compliment me on my collection and tell me they can't wait until the day they can afford one. I just keep preaching hard work to them.

I was surprised they knew what it was at first honestly because of all the tech. Right now, smart watches are cool for them. Once they really hit the work force and start making money, some will want them because of the brand image, and others will want them because of the engineering marvel.

We forget how many youth may want to buy one in the future because "dad had one" or "grandpa had one." I remember when my dad bought his first, how proud he looked for hitting a milestone in life to afford one, then the look on my mom's face when he bought her one. I remember thinking, I can't wait to buy myself something nice like that.

I'm not going to lie, I bought my first Rolex because it was a symbol to me. I thought it was going to be my one and only. Then I found this place and came to truly appreciate the brand for many more reasons.

Many more will follow in our footsteps and find TRF and grow to appreciate the brand and what they make, rather than what it may represent to others. I think the swiss watch industry will be just fine in the long run.

You have car collectors, watch collectors, gun collectors, fishing rod collectors, etc. There will always be a collectors market. There will always be those who have to have the latest and greatest regardless how subtle the change may be.

Good points... There are even baseball card collectors and comic book collectors to this day. I don't remember the last time I saw an actual comic book, but apparently some people will pay a fortune for some of them.

teo · 17 March 2018, 05:45 AM

News just need to report smart watches and smart phones link to cancer causing.

thomaswentworth · 17 March 2018, 05:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by teo

News just need to report smart watches and smart phones link to cancer causing.

Attn Rolex: Are you reading this??? I think the brainstorm of the century just arrived. Now it is time to implement a worldwide, beyond reproach fake news campaign with credible studies backing it up.

My friend, you may have just come up with the best idea ever to save the mechanical watch industry. You also may have inadvertently brought back pay phones and reinvigorate the landline business.

lucevan le stelle · 17 March 2018, 06:05 AM

To " hypothesize" somewhat realistically I would think you need to know more about Rolex's sales figures and production, especially as to what are their "bread and butter" models. Of course Rolex does not share, so Rolex owners can just assume.

I am sure Rolex and other companies have completed their generational research through to Gen Z, and have devised approaches to make watch owning more an "experience" in order to meet this generation's preferences. They and other companies do not have a death wish.

17 March 2018, 05:22 AM	#1
thomaswentworth Banned Join Date: Feb 2018 Real Name: Tom Wentworth Location: Los Angeles Watch: Rolex 116610 Sub Posts: 541	Rolex future potential changes... Hypothesis 1: If the market for mechanical watches became thin enough, Rolex could possibly choose to only produce watches in precious metals. If Rolex were to find itself in a situation in which sales had significantly dwindled on a majority of stainless steel watches due to disinterest by millennials, Rolex could choose to focus on a core group of very wealthy individuals and only provide very expensive precious metal models. $38,000 for a gold Sub? Nope. More like $100,000 or more. Extreme exclusivity could be cultivated if necessary. Not sure how well that would work out, but it is an option if market conditions get incredibly harsh in the next couple of decades. Hypothesis 2: Due to current worldwide market conditions for mechanical watches and millennials, Rolex may have already implemented a strategy to make very limited runs of various models with mild changes. These models will only last a few years at most before being changed again. This could have the effect of bringing true lovers of Rolex watches back into the ADs more frequently with their checkbooks open. I think in the next 10-20 years, we will all observe major changes in the mechanical watch industry. The technological advances and gimmicky watches are all but played out. The super complicated watches have gone just about as far as they can possibly go. The technological advancement age is pretty much finished. Sure there will be some more interesting gimmicky watches with short life spans, but Rolex will stand the test of time. Rolex is not a fad. It is a staple. It is embedded into our hearts and souls. I will be interested in seeing how they adjust over the coming years/decades. It will be fun to watch and discuss.

17 March 2018, 05:32 AM	#3
Onikage "TRF" Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: England Watch: 16710, 16628 Posts: 7,757	Agreed. The fear of millenials' technology making Rolexes obsolete is unjustified imo. Our Rolexs will continue to be a bloody nice thing no matter what 'life enhancing' gimmicky crap comes out. Apple watches look more uncool to me every time I see one. Won't be long before only aged throwback types use them. Like bluetooth earpieces that only the odd uncool grey-haired individual still uses? Not that there's anything wrong with becoming more distinguished. __________________ GMT II 16710 TRADITIONAL ( D- Serial #) ROLEXFANBOY P-Club Member #4

17 March 2018, 05:29 AM	#2
zjd168 "TRF" Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: US Posts: 2,698	Unless smart watch some day in the future replaces the smartphone and becomes the daily necessity that most people have to wear, I think mechanical luxury watches will be fine.

17 March 2018, 05:35 AM	#4
thomaswentworth Banned Join Date: Feb 2018 Real Name: Tom Wentworth Location: Los Angeles Watch: Rolex 116610 Sub Posts: 541	I wonder if there is any chance that a massive, unheard of solar flare could destroy all smart watches and electronic devices... That would pump up the market for mechanical watches amongst the youth. They would never know when something like that could happen again, so they'd better have a quality mechanical watch that has anti-magnetic properties. Rolex comes to mind.

17 March 2018, 05:42 AM	#6
WS9D "TRF" Member Join Date: Apr 2015 Real Name: Steve Location: Shasta Watch: es..More Watches! Posts: 2,416	Even millennials aspire to own a rolex one day. I am an advisor for a youth program, and you would be surprised how many kids 14 to 21 compliment me on my collection and tell me they can't wait until the day they can afford one. I just keep preaching hard work to them. I was surprised they knew what it was at first honestly because of all the tech. Right now, smart watches are cool for them. Once they really hit the work force and start making money, some will want them because of the brand image, and others will want them because of the engineering marvel. We forget how many youth may want to buy one in the future because "dad had one" or "grandpa had one." I remember when my dad bought his first, how proud he looked for hitting a milestone in life to afford one, then the look on my mom's face when he bought her one. I remember thinking, I can't wait to buy myself something nice like that. I'm not going to lie, I bought my first Rolex because it was a symbol to me. I thought it was going to be my one and only. Then I found this place and came to truly appreciate the brand for many more reasons. Many more will follow in our footsteps and find TRF and grow to appreciate the brand and what they make, rather than what it may represent to others. I think the swiss watch industry will be just fine in the long run. You have car collectors, watch collectors, gun collectors, fishing rod collectors, etc. There will always be a collectors market. There will always be those who have to have the latest and greatest regardless how subtle the change may be.

17 March 2018, 05:45 AM	#8
teo "TRF" Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: amk Posts: 792	News just need to report smart watches and smart phones link to cancer causing.

17 March 2018, 06:05 AM	#10
lucevan le stelle "TRF" Member Join Date: Feb 2018 Location: garden state Posts: 522	To " hypothesize" somewhat realistically I would think you need to know more about Rolex's sales figures and production, especially as to what are their "bread and butter" models. Of course Rolex does not share, so Rolex owners can just assume. I am sure Rolex and other companies have completed their generational research through to Gen Z, and have devised approaches to make watch owning more an "experience" in order to meet this generation's preferences. They and other companies do not have a death wish.

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