My cringe-worthy journey to owning the 126610LV (Cermit)....

[DaveTheWatchGuy]

With all the recent threads regarding Rolex prices, I thought you all would get a kick out of the following succession of dumb trades that have lead to my recent acquisition of the new cermit. Brace yourself...this is going to be painful!

NOTE: The following prices are in Canadian dollars. (Calculate 30% less for usd / 60% less for euro)


June 2017:
It all began with me trading a blue tag heur Monaco crono for a 2008 Kermit. The Kermit was $12k all in. (I paid $7k on top of my Monaco)....

Current price of this Kermit is roughly $19k cad. (I would be up around $7k...not bad!)



Feb 2019:
The fact that my Kermit was polished, started to really annoy me. (When I bought it, I didn’t really know better.) I had a chance to trade the Kermit for a 2018 Hulk in mint condition. I had to pay $3k cad on top of the trade. At this point, I was more or less even on what the hulk was worth vs the Kermit - including the extra money I put in. I was into the hulk for about $15k cad.

Current price on a mint hulk is $25k cad. (I would now be up $10k cad)




Dec 2019:

After wearing the hulk for several months, the extra thick lugs were starting to bother me. I loved everything about this watch, but just couldn’t get past the blockyness of those lugs. I had an opportunity to trade the hulk for a partially stickered 2019 black Daytona that was unworn. I had to put $12k cad on top of the hulk....which btw, I suspected would in fact be discontinued. But I figured, long term, I’d be in good shape with the Daytona...even though I knew the hulk would spike. So I made the trade. I was into the Daytona for $27k cad

Current CRAZY black Daytona prices are around $35k cad...though from what I’ve been reading, it could be as high as $45k cad in the not too distant future. (I would now be up roughly between 8k-18k)



Feb 2020:

My local grey dealer (who I got the Daytona from) messaged me about a new 116655 rg yachmtmaster/oysteflex he just got. He knew it was on my wishlist. He made me an indecent proposal. A straight trade - my black Daytona for the RG YM...

From a straight up business perspective, i knew I would regret this transaction in the years to come. I mean, how stupid can one person be to give up one of the most coveted/hard to get Rolex watches, right? But I said to myself....it’s not about long term investment value. It’s about what I’m going to enjoy most in the moment. And because the rg YM had an msrp that was more than what the Daytona was worth, I thought this trade wasn’t the worst thing in the world. Not to mention, I already had two other Daytonas (WG 116519 / white 116500).

Current value on the YM: roughly $32k cad (I would be down on my gains to about $5k....a steep drop from my previous gains of $8-18k had I just kept my black Daytona)




Feb 2021:

My 116655 wasn’t getting much wrist time, because I much preferred wearing the 116519 (WG Daytona/oysterflex)...once again, my watch pushing grey dealer messaged me and told me he was getting a brand new 2021 CERMIT. I was really excited about this watch because it seemed to be the best of both worlds - between the old Kermit and hulk. And I did miss having a splash of green. Though, I didn’t want to pay for another watch out of pocket, so I thought about what I could trade. All signs pointed to the 116655. In this trade I’d get back $7kcad. So I’d be into the Cermit for around 20.5k cad.

Current Cermit value is roughly $24/25k cad. (So my gains are roughly $4.5k...though long term, I’m sure it will creep up a bit more.)



So through all of this impulsive trading, I have screwed myself out of thousands in potential gains....at least $10-15 gains flushed down the toilet. But, the heart wants what the heart wants.

What I find most amusing about this whole “journey”....4 years later and I’m more or less where I started....with a green sub. Only now I’m up close to $5k. So I guess I shouldn’t be too hard on myself!

I should mention that I’m currently really loving the Cermit. I don’t think I’ll be getting rid of this piece anytime soon! (Though we all know how that goes!)

Hope you enjoyed this little war story of mine and that it makes you feel smarter about the decisions you’ve made - because clearly, I’ve got you beat on stupid trades!

Dave







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[TimeAZ]

You wound up with a great watch and had the experience of trying out several other models, I think you could say that journey is most certainly NOT cringe-worthy.

By the way, I personally think the 126610LV is better than all those other models with the exception of the black ceramic Daytona. Shoulda kept the Daytona.

[subtona]

You saw you tried you conquered. Congratulations. Nice watch. Enjoy it.

[Seddyspaghetti]

Quite the journey you had to get to the cermit. But I think that’s what makes this hobby fun! At least for me.

[DaveTheWatchGuy]

Originally Posted by TimeAZ

You wound up with a great watch and had the experience of trying out several other models, I think you could say that journey is most certainly NOT cringe-worthy.



By the way, I personally think the 126610LV is better than all those other models with the exception of the black ceramic Daytona. Shoulda kept the Daytona.

You make a good point (re: experiencing all those other watches)...and yeah, even though I love the Cermit, if I could do it over again, I’d keep the Daytona!


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[DaveTheWatchGuy]

Originally Posted by subtona

You saw you tried you conquered. Congratulations. Nice watch. Enjoy it.

Tx!


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[DaveTheWatchGuy]

Originally Posted by Seddyspaghetti

Quite the journey you had to get to the cermit. But I think that’s what makes this hobby fun! At least for me.

I did have fun through it all....not so much now, calculating all that lost ROI! Lol. But I’ll survive


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[Seddyspaghetti]

Originally Posted by DaveTheWatchGuy

I did have fun through it all....not so much now, calculating all that lost ROI! Lol. But I’ll survive


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Yep I know the struggle but you only realize those gains if you actually sell. But then you wouldn’t have the watch :(

[Robf52]

You ended up in a good place. It's always a matter of shoulda woulda coulda; it sounds like you may ultimately trade for the Daytona but, in the meantime, enjoy the LV.

[travisb]

Nothing stupid about it at all.
When all is said and done you’ve ended up where you want to be. Congratulations!!
By the way, I like your new Sub more than any of the others you parted with.


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[upsidedownbelt]

Nothing too too crazy there. All the pieces you tired are nice. Glad you are enjoying the new LVC.

[Bigmozza]

Great little story and you still ended up with a amazing watch until you’re next trade ha ha enjoy

[MiloDiThernan]

Originally Posted by DaveTheWatchGuy

With all the recent threads regarding Rolex prices, I thought you all would get a kick out of the following succession of dumb trades that have lead to my recent acquisition of the new cermit. Brace yourself...this is going to be painful!

NOTE: The following prices are in Canadian dollars. (Calculate 30% less for usd / 60% less for euro)


June 2017:
It all began with me trading a blue tag heur Monaco crono for a 2008 Kermit. The Kermit was $12k all in. (I paid $7k on top of my Monaco)....

Current price of this Kermit is roughly $19k cad. (I would be up around $7k...not bad!)



Feb 2019:
The fact that my Kermit was polished, started to really annoy me. (When I bought it, I didn’t really know better.) I had a chance to trade the Kermit for a 2018 Hulk in mint condition. I had to pay $3k cad on top of the trade. At this point, I was more or less even on what the hulk was worth vs the Kermit - including the extra money I put in. I was into the hulk for about $15k cad.

Current price on a mint hulk is $25k cad. (I would now be up $10k cad)




Dec 2019:

After wearing the hulk for several months, the extra thick lugs were starting to bother me. I loved everything about this watch, but just couldn’t get past the blockyness of those lugs. I had an opportunity to trade the hulk for a partially stickered 2019 black Daytona that was unworn. I had to put $12k cad on top of the hulk....which btw, I suspected would in fact be discontinued. But I figured, long term, I’d be in good shape with the Daytona...even though I knew the hulk would spike. So I made the trade. I was into the Daytona for $27k cad

Current CRAZY black Daytona prices are around $35k cad...though from what I’ve been reading, it could be as high as $45k cad in the not too distant future. (I would now be up roughly between 8k-18k)



Feb 2020:

My local grey dealer (who I got the Daytona from) messaged me about a new 116655 rg yachmtmaster/oysteflex he just got. He knew it was on my wishlist. He made me an indecent proposal. A straight trade - my black Daytona for the RG YM...

From a straight up business perspective, i knew I would regret this transaction in the years to come. I mean, how stupid can one person be to give up one of the most coveted/hard to get Rolex watches, right? But I said to myself....it’s not about long term investment value. It’s about what I’m going to enjoy most in the moment. And because the rg YM had an msrp that was more than what the Daytona was worth, I thought this trade wasn’t the worst thing in the world. Not to mention, I already had two other Daytonas (WG 116519 / white 116500).

Current value on the YM: roughly $32k cad (I would be down on my gains to about $5k....a steep drop from my previous gains of $8-18k had I just kept my black Daytona)




Feb 2021:

My 116655 wasn’t getting much wrist time, because I much preferred wearing the 116519 (WG Daytona/oysterflex)...once again, my watch pushing grey dealer messaged me and told me he was getting a brand new 2021 CERMIT. I was really excited about this watch because it seemed to be the best of both worlds - between the old Kermit and hulk. And I did miss having a splash of green. Though, I didn’t want to pay for another watch out of pocket, so I thought about what I could trade. All signs pointed to the 116655. In this trade I’d get back $7kcad. So I’d be into the Cermit for around 20.5k cad.

Current Cermit value is roughly $24/25k cad. (So my gains are roughly $4.5k...though long term, I’m sure it will creep up a bit more.)



So through all of this impulsive trading, I have screwed myself out of thousands in potential gains....at least $10-15 gains flushed down the toilet. But, the heart wants what the heart wants.

What I find most amusing about this whole “journey”....4 years later and I’m more or less where I started....with a green sub. Only now I’m up close to $5k. So I guess I shouldn’t be too hard on myself!

I should mention that I’m currently really loving the Cermit. I don’t think I’ll be getting rid of this piece anytime soon! (Though we all know how that goes!)

Hope you enjoyed this little war story of mine and that it makes you feel smarter about the decisions you’ve made - because clearly, I’ve got you beat on stupid trades!

Dave







Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Love this aesthetic voyage, risking finance umpteen times. Well done. Brilliant post. The quest for perfection, which is endless. Thank you for sharing it. Can’t wait for the next instalment! Magic. Good luck.

[DaveTheWatchGuy]

Thanks for all the kind replies!


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[Jaypremium]

Most importantly u ended up with the watch u really wanted with no losses so its a W.


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[tk416]

Great read and congrats on the LV. I really wanted the green but settled on the LN as that was what was offered to me first and didn't know when I'd have another chance for a 12 series sub. It looks great on the wrist.

[Chiboy]

Good for you to have a sense of humor regarding watch ROI on TRF!

It mainly boils down to the fact that you traded 3 or 4 times, so each time the gray dealer takes his $1k or $2k cut. But you obviously aren't really into this to maximize watch portfolio value -- you like to try different watches. So you got to do that, and are still up in value. That's pretty hard to do with most things. Try trading cars 3-4x and see how much value you end up with vs. what you put in.

Enjoy the journey! I'm much more of a buy and hold watch enjoyer. But everyone's different.

[drfrankenstein]

You are a dealers wet dream....you indecision is putting their kids through college

[henrylee]

Life is all about the journey

[EEpro]

I'm happy that you had the chance to try the Daytona and moved on. Better than to sacrifice the sub at that altar down the road. All is well that ends well.

[SWS65SM]

Thanks for sharing your story, it certainly sounded like a fun journey, money aside! Quite envious and happy for you that you actually had the opportunity of owning/wearing all these great models along the way, like many have said.

From one LV owner to another, congrats on this pick up. And in the end, what makes you happy counts the most!

[rmurphy]

You know Dave it’s good to know that I’m not the only person who’s done this same thing. Maybe not exactly because the dollar figures were a bit lower but overall pretty close in the way it all went. It’s funny how I did all the trading and mind dealing to end up wearing my Datejust more than anything else I own. It’s honestly the perfect watch for me, and it has nothing to do with money. I’m glad I’ve finally gotten over my “I’ve got to have something else” phase.
The Kermit is an excellent choice .... that particular watch has really really grown on me over the years. My AD offered me a Hulk and I didn’t buy it precisely because of the maxi case, it just looks out of proportion to me.
Congratulations on your Kermit and your sense of humor about it all. It’s just watches and money after all .... definitely first world troubles.


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[42itus]

What a fun journey. You got to own all of these great watches so you’re way ahead of the game.


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[Luap1976]

Interesting thread mate.out of all these watches you went through to get to the cermit I would have stopped at the hulk but the hulk is my favourite rolex .anyway enjoy the cermit mate

[taillight]

You got a lovely watch. Congratulations

[kieselguhr]

Sounds like a journey. Not sure about it being “cringeworthy”. Everyone has their journey through this hobby of ours. If you omit the perceived value “loss” and instead focus on the positive aspect that you got to enjoy a variety of watches along the way to get to your current experience one, I think you will have a better perception of this journey.

[GGGMT]

Great story. One piece of advice will solve all the issues: just buy. Don’t sell. You obviously have a great eye. Just hold hold.


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[S’portEye]

I’ll admit that I could not get through the whole post!!! Glad you finally got what you wanted. It’s all about the journey.

[Starhutch]

The new LV sub is awesome, the journey is the best part. Enjoy!

[JRell]

Hope to end up here. If I get the Kermit, will have going through many to end up with it.