Anal about serial number?

[hsfrank]

while shopping around for a Daytona, I encountered a comment from an Internet store. he said " you must be one of those guys who are anal about the serial number." At that point , I had nothing to say to him and hung up. It did cause me to think. Yes one of my concerns is the age of the watch. To me, the older the watch the more potential for repair in the future. While I am sure it's been inspected and oiled there still would be wear on parts which eventually need to be replaced. His comment offered with a slight edge of contempt to it should have been replied to. if there is no value difference in serial number letters that sell me the D,Z, or M for the same price as the P,Y or K!
Yes I am anal about serial number series. After I evaluate and check out the seller, I look at the price, condition and age of the watch.

[texex91]

Yep, I certainly am. I have heard recently when I purchased several Rollies that oh G is just like random. Well, then I will wait for a Random. Rest assured if you go back to re-sell to the same person two years later (or even two months), they will say hey that is a G, not a newer Random. If there are new series out, then I would get the latest possible. But hey that is just me and my

[Oldwilsonian]

Originally Posted by hsfrank

while shopping around for a Daytona, I encountered a comment from an Internet store. he said " you must be one of those guys who are anal about the serial number." At that point , I had nothing to say to him and hung up. It did cause me to think. Yes one of my concerns is the age of the watch. To me, the older the watch the more potential for repair in the future. While I am sure it's been inspected and oiled there still would be wear on parts which eventually need to be replaced. His comment offered with a slight edge of contempt to it should have been replied to. if there is no value difference in serial number letters that sell me the D,Z, or M for the same price as the P,Y or K!
Yes I am anal about serial number series. After I evaluate and check out the seller, I look at the price, condition and age of the watch.

Agree 100% - I am currently looking at 16600's show me a late model V for the same price as a D - not a chance.......

[DiamondJack]

Absolutely agree........ But unfortunately, it's all part of the sales speil to put you off your guard and to encourage you to give less consideration to the age of the watch. But as you say, when it comes to them buying it back from you, it's suddenly the most important factor and the main reason they can only offer you less $/£'s.

As they say..... BUYER BEWARE

[SaddleSC]

Originally Posted by texex91

Yep, I certainly am. I have heard recently when I purchased several Rollies that oh G is just like random. Well, then I will wait for a Random. Rest assured if you go back to re-sell to the same person two years later (or even two months), they will say hey that is a G, not a newer Random. If there are new series out, then I would get the latest possible. But hey that is just me and my

Dang...that stinks! I guess my brand new, beautiful G Serial Sub C LV is worthless now. I guess I should "trade up" to the much "better" random series.

When you are talking about two identical watches that are one series apart, the value is determined by the condition, especially based on the fact that the case stamp only gives an approximation of when the case was stamped, not when the completed watch leaves the factory.

[texex91]

Originally Posted by SaddleSC

Dang...that stinks! I guess my brand new, beautiful G Serial Sub C LV is worthless now. I guess I should "trade up" to the much "better" random series.

I believe the question was around series. Of course your G is 'just fine' --come on that was not the point. I have have 'trusted TFR sellers' make a big deal about the serial numbers ALONE, assuming condition is the SAME. Again just my experience. And yes, I'd rather have a Random than a G if I were buying new or used and the seller had two of the same watch different series.

[SaddleSC]

Originally Posted by texex91

I believe the question was around series. Of course your G is 'just fine'--come on that was not the point. I have have 'trusted TFR sellers' make a big deal about the serial numbers ALONE, assuming condition is the SAME. Again just my experience.

I was just giving you a hard time!

In my experience, I agree that if we are comparing a V to a P, assuming the same condition, then there will be difference in the secondary market value. However, When the serials are one series apart, the fact is, that the watches could have been finished and left factory for different parts of the world at the same time.

[stephentross]

Not to Hijack, Because I post a question. What exactly is the difference between a random serial number and a not random serial number?

I purchased my Yacht Master in Dubai in 2009, Was I just extremely lucky to get one that started with a "V"

[Danand]

Last years release of subc saw both v and random being sold, and that is with a brand new model AT RELEASE. So Padi's point about not putting too much stock in serial numbers should make sense. The op was correct about it being anal.
I personally could care less about what my watch might be worth if I sell it since I have no intention of doing so. But over the past year there have been some people saying it is better to have a v sub c so you can tell roughly when it was made, and others prefer a random. So ultimately it shouldn't make much of a difference to the value other than to an individual purchaser possibly.

[Danand]

Originally Posted by stephentross

Not to Hijack, Because I post a question. What exactly is the difference between a random serial number and a not random serial number?

I purchased my Yacht Master in Dubai in 2009, Was I just extremely lucky to get one that started with a "V"

Random are just that-random. The v would be Vxxxxxx. Shouldn't make a difference either way IMHO. Just enjoy your watch.

[stephentross]

Originally Posted by Danand

Random are just that-random. The v would be Vxxxxxx. Shouldn't make a difference either way IMHO. Just enjoy your watch.

Thanks, But I am really not understanding. Is the V random or the digits after the V ?

I agree with op. If I am paying new price, I want the newest available.

[texex91]

Originally Posted by stephentross

Thanks, But I am really not understanding. Is the V random or the digits after the V ?

I agree with op. If I am paying new price, I want the newest available.

A123456 - Would be A Series
V456789 - Would be V series

2U9SW8 - Would be random (letters are mixed with numbers).

[stephentross]

Originally Posted by texex91

A123456 - Would be A Series
V456789 - Would be V series

32U9SW8 - Would be random (letters are mixed with numbers).

Thank You.

Makes perfect sense.

[Danand]

The whole point is with random and non random being produced at te same time there is no way of knowing which is "newer". And as previously pointed out by others above the case stamping has no relation to when the mechanism was produced. So don't worry and just enjoy it. The only thing you can tell for certain is if it is brand new and never owned before then it is as new as you can tell.

[padi56]

Originally Posted by hsfrank

while shopping around for a Daytona, I encountered a comment from an Internet store. he said " you must be one of those guys who are anal about the serial number." At that point , I had nothing to say to him and hung up. It did cause me to think. Yes one of my concerns is the age of the watch. To me, the older the watch the more potential for repair in the future. While I am sure it's been inspected and oiled there still would be wear on parts which eventually need to be replaced. His comment offered with a slight edge of contempt to it should have been replied to. if there is no value difference in serial number letters that sell me the D,Z, or M for the same price as the P,Y or K!
Yes I am anal about serial number series. After I evaluate and check out the seller, I look at the price, condition and age of the watch.

Look all these silly Internet codes could ever tell you was a approximation when a case or clasp was stamped.It was stamped sometime between X&Y years nothing more,and not when a actual watch was fully assembled and shipped world wide to the ADs for sale.It only works really with the high volume S.steel models again only a approximation when a case was stamped.There is no such thing a proper letter year series of Rolex watches as many different letters overlap.Now we have V,M,G plus a few other single letters and the random all at the same time.Now the movements in any particular case could be older or newer or visa versa.With movements like say the base cal 3135 they could be weeks, months, or even years old before being cased in any case letter completed watch.Watches are not perishable and have a sell by date,and when bought new at AD all have the same two year warranty.There is not a problem today to store a watch un-used for 5 years or more but thats very doubtful with any sports SS models today.As most are not at the ADs long enough to gather any dust.And all Rolex watches whether TOM,DICK or HARRY serial letter will last 50 plus years or more,with just normal routine service from there owners whatever the letter stamp is. These new letter codes are just perceived by some as newer watch but thats not always true with any Rolex today .

Originally Posted by stephentross

Thanks, But I am really not understanding. Is the V random or the digits after the V ?

I agree with op. If I am paying new price, I want the newest available.

What is the newest perhaps the newest case stamp out of thousands of others only Rolex knows when the movement was made in the case.The movements are not made to the exact day, week, month, or year for any particular case.The latest case may be perceived newer but that don't always mean its a newer completed watch than say another letter case stamp running at the same time frame.

[Megalobyte]

My understanding is that for some time, at least for the Sub C, the G series and random were running parallel. So, for the last year or so, a G was roughly the same age as a random. G will be the last non random series, but for the Sub, there is an overlap as they transition.

I agree that little difference exists between a G and a random, but, I also agree that all else being equal, for the same price, I'd rather have a G or random Sub C, than a V, for a V, I'd expect to pay, and get, slightly less if I sold it.

[Numismatist]

They're not silly internet codes, they are Rolex codes - it's the silly internet that is attempting to interpret the Rolex codes for its own purposes.

While they are a rough and not completely accurate approximation of just the case stamp portion of the watch, it is reasonable to correlate them to a rough approximation of the whole watch. It's not perfect, and in some cases can be way off, but for the most part they provide a useful function. Myself would prefer a totally accurate dating of my entire watch; however, this is the best we can do with what Rolex provides (and the silly internet interprets).

Either way, the real debate is: should the end consumer have the knowledge of when his watch was made; and does it matter?

Myself says YES, the end consumer should know this and it does matter. However, all I have to really go by is the silly internet's interpretation of the Rolex codes. So I do.

Why do I care?

(1) I believe I should have a right to know; especially considering the large amount of money I'm spending. Any attempt to conceal this is only to withhold information from the consumer to advantage Rolex.

(2) How close am I to a service interval?

(3) IF others are using this information and it's altering market values; then I want that advantage on my side. Some of us do not buy a Rolex to wear for 30 years and forget about it; some buy for a year or so and then want to move on to a newer design or feature; so market value is important to us. Just like the age of a car, the age of anything comes into play when it's time to sell.

(4) There may be subtle advances in minor components to the watch as it progresses through production time - why would I not want the latest, albeit subtle, advances in my watch?

(5) Anyone have any thoughts for a 5, 6, or 7?

[stephentross]

Originally Posted by numismatist

they're not silly internet codes, they are rolex codes - it's the silly internet that is attempting to interpret the rolex codes for its own purposes.

While they are a rough and not completely accurate approximation of just the case stamp portion of the watch, it is reasonable to correlate them to a rough approximation of the whole watch. It's not perfect, and in some cases can be way off, but for the most part they provide a useful function. Myself would prefer a totally accurate dating of my entire watch; however, this is the best we can do with what rolex provides (and the silly internet interprets).

Either way, the real debate is: Should the end consumer have the knowledge of when his watch was made; and does it matter?

Myself says yes, the end consumer should know this and it does matter. However, all i have to really go by is the silly internet's interpretation of the rolex codes. So i do.

Why do i care?

(1) i believe i should have a right to know; especially considering the large amount of money i'm spending. Any attempt to conceal this is only to withhold information from the consumer to advantage rolex.

(2) how close am i to a service interval?

(3) if others are using this information and it's altering market values; then i want that advantage on my side. Some of us do not buy a rolex to wear for 30 years and forget about it; some buy for a year or so and then want to move on to a newer design or feature; so market value is important to us. Just like the age of a car, the age of anything comes into play when it's time to sell.

(4) there may be subtle advances in minor components to the watch as it progresses through production time - why would i not want the latest, albeit subtle, advances in my watch?

(5) anyone have any thoughts for a 5, 6, or 7?

+100

[Speed]

Padi will be along in a minute to remind us that a series only indicated when a case was stamped not a precise indication of mfg date.

However, I agree dealers will either tout the series to their advantage or downplay depending on what they are trying to sell.

[Oldwilsonian]

Originally Posted by Numismatist

They're not silly internet codes, they are Rolex codes - it's the silly internet that is attempting to interpret the Rolex codes for its own purposes.

While they are a rough and not completely accurate approximation of just the case stamp portion of the watch, it is reasonable to correlate them to a rough approximation of the whole watch. It's not perfect, and in some cases can be way off, but for the most part they provide a useful function. Myself would prefer a totally accurate dating of my entire watch; however, this is the best we can do with what Rolex provides (and the silly internet interprets).

Either way, the real debate is: should the end consumer have the knowledge of when his watch was made; and does it matter?

Myself says YES, the end consumer should know this and it does matter. However, all I have to really go by is the silly internet's interpretation of the Rolex codes. So I do.

Why do I care?

(1) I believe I should have a right to know; especially considering the large amount of money I'm spending. Any attempt to conceal this is only to withhold information from the consumer to advantage Rolex.

(2) How close am I to a service interval?

(3) IF others are using this information and it's altering market values; then I want that advantage on my side. Some of us do not buy a Rolex to wear for 30 years and forget about it; some buy for a year or so and then want to move on to a newer design or feature; so market value is important to us. Just like the age of a car, the age of anything comes into play when it's time to sell.

(4) There may be subtle advances in minor components to the watch as it progresses through production time - why would I not want the latest, albeit subtle, advances in my watch?

(5) Anyone have any thoughts for a 5, 6, or 7?

Yes - (5) - All of the above - absolutely spot on.

[Grissom]

If one is buying strictly for themselves, to wear, then, priced accordingly due to age and condition, any serial number prefix should be theoretically "the same"....again, price having been adjusted for age and condition. If one is buying with resale in mind, like it or not, there are incremental increases and/or decreases associated with different serial number prefixes......not because one is "better" or "worse" than the other, but because market forces so dictate. For currently produced models, all one has to do is compare listings here in the for sale section, for the same watch, same seller, say, one serial number (or 2) prefix apart, to see the incremental difference in asking price. In 10, 20, 30 years from now, all things being the same, I do believe that difference will be relatively negligible.

Again, unless your personal preference is to have the more recent serial prefix, everything else being the same, and priced accordingly, I think the pattern would probably be more or less linear.....thus allowing one to "get into" a watch, that is basically the same as a "newer one", for less by buying a less recent serial number prefix watch.

Just my opinion.....

[bulldog]

I ordered a (DJII 116334 )and my cousin ordered the (GMTIIc 116718LN) from our local AD. Both watches were ordered from Rolex and took a few weeks to come in due to Rolex doing inventory. Both watches came in last week. They were both 'G' serial numbers. Aren't they a new serial model. The DJII has only been out since 2010, correct?

[padi56]

Originally Posted by Numismatist

They're not silly internet codes, they are Rolex codes - it's the silly internet that is attempting to interpret the Rolex codes for its own purposes.

While they are a rough and not completely accurate approximation of just the case stamp portion of the watch, it is reasonable to correlate them to a rough approximation of the whole watch. It's not perfect, and in some cases can be way off, but for the most part they provide a useful function. Myself would prefer a totally accurate dating of my entire watch; however, this is the best we can do with what Rolex provides (and the silly internet interprets).

Either way, the real debate is: should the end consumer have the knowledge of when his watch was made; and does it matter?

Myself says YES, the end consumer should know this and it does matter. However, all I have to really go by is the silly internet's interpretation of the Rolex codes. So I do.


Why do I care?

(1) I believe I should have a right to know; especially considering the large amount of money I'm spending. Any attempt to conceal this is only to withhold information from the consumer to advantage Rolex.

(2) How close am I to a service interval?

(3) IF others are using this information and it's altering market values; then I want that advantage on my side. Some of us do not buy a Rolex to wear for 30 years and forget about it; some buy for a year or so and then want to move on to a newer design or feature; so market value is important to us. Just like the age of a car, the age of anything comes into play when it's time to sell.

(4) There may be subtle advances in minor components to the watch as it progresses through production time - why would I not want the latest, albeit subtle, advances in my watch?

(5) Anyone have any thoughts for a 5, 6, or 7?

First all the codes you see on the Internet they are not Rolex codes, but codes that were deciphered by various forums over the years.And as far as I know this serial stuff is mainly Rolex plus a few other brands.Most of the top high end brands like say Patek and VC etc the serials are very seldom mentioned.As we all know many Rolex are still alive and ticking 80 plus years old I have a few.And expect they will be still ticking when my ticker stops,but agree if there are dramatic changes to a model.Then yes I would want the latest model,but movement wise most are exactly the same as those first brought out in 1988.Sure now we have some cal 3135 with the in-house escapement parts and the slightly modded 3185 into a 3186 and now a 3187
which is a 3186 with the in-house shock system.And if serviced correctly no matter what the case letter is,if you know Rolex like I do,you would know it will last a life time and beyond.So if no change to any particular model just cannot see what difference any serial letter will make when bought new from AD. Service time starts say five years after you start to wear it on your wrist.And will X,Y,M.V or Z case letter perform any different to any other Rolex with exactly the same movement in the case.

[Danand]

Originally Posted by Megalobyte

My understanding is that for some time, at least for the Sub C, the G series and random were running parallel. So, for the last year or so, a G was roughly the same age as a random. G will be the last non random series, but for the Sub, there is an overlap as they transition.

I agree that little difference exists between a G and a random, but, I also agree that all else being equal, for the same price, I'd rather have a G or random Sub C, than a V, for a V, I'd expect to pay, and get, slightly less if I sold it.

It's really a crap shoot. Some people have speculated on this forum that a V serial subc will be more valuable due to being the initial release. Personally I could care less. But if my V was purchased in 2010 brand new and someone else has a G from 2010 or early 2011 will it really make a difference if they are both in the same condition? They are both from the first year, at same msrp.

[Numismatist]

Originally Posted by padi56

First all the codes you see on the Internet they are not Rolex codes, but codes that were deciphered by various forums over the years.And as far as I know this serial stuff is mainly Rolex plus a few other brands.Most of the top high end brands like say Patek and VC etc the serials are very seldom mentioned.As we all know many Rolex are still alive and ticking 80 plus years old I have a few.And expect they will be still ticking when my ticker stops,but agree if there are dramatic changes to a model.Then yes I would want the latest model,but movement wise most are exactly the same as those first brought out in 1988.Sure now we have some cal 3135 with the in-house escapement parts and the slightly modded 3185 into a 3186 and now a 3187
which is a 3186 with the in-house shock system.And if serviced correctly no matter what the case letter is,if you know Rolex like I do,you would know it will last a life time and beyond.So if no change to any particular model just cannot see what difference any serial letter will make when bought new from AD. Service time starts say five years after you start to wear it on your wrist.And will X,Y,M.V or Z case letter perform any different to any other Rolex with exactly the same movement in the case.

By internet codes, I meant the first letter of the serial number, which is a Rolex code. I'll assume you mean some other type of code out there?

Myself would like a definitive answer to this question from an authoratative source: if a Rolex is sitting in an AD case essentially idle for 4 years, then is sold as new to a consumer...will that watch (1) have any ill effects from sitting idle so long, and (2) will/should it need servicing in 1 year or 5 years from the purchase date?

[Roley]

Rolex introduced random serial numbers in order to sell NEW OLD STOCK. Now the (used age) of your watch is determined by the purchase date on your sales receipt, and warranty card. it's that simple.

[Numismatist]

Originally Posted by Roley

It's that simple.

...and annoying, which is the point of this thread. Some care, some don't.

[Casey VP-26]

Yea: I keep waiting for an AD to try and slide an old serial number 6263 or 6239 Paul Newman by me @ MSRP. Don't worry I will give him an earfull.

[Numismatist]

Originally Posted by Casey VP-26

Yea: I keep waiting for an AD to try and slide an old serial number 6263 or 6239 Paul Newman by me @ MSRP. I will give him an earfull.

Now wait, if it's in THAT direction, I'll take it!

[Roley]

Originally Posted by Casey VP-26

Yea: I keep waiting for an AD to try and slide an old serial number 6263 or 6239 Paul Newman by me @ MSRP. I will give him an earfull.

NOW you got it!!