The Steel Shortage - Has it Changed Your Opinion on Reps?

[TonySoprano1]

Just wondering, now that SS Rolex has become so hard to get... Has it changed your approach to wearing your reps?

Everybody seems to know the latest watches now, the waiting lists, who the AD is, if you follow your salesrep on Insta. The whole game now is entirely different to 5 years ago.

I'm lucky that I do have a relationship with my dealer (not Daytona level mind you) but I would now think twice about pulling the trigger on the latest rep purely because of the waitlist that surrounds the gen....

 

[Ralphy]

Just wondering, now that SS Rolex has become so hard to get... Has it changed your approach to wearing your reps?

Everybody seems to know the latest watches now, the waiting lists, who the AD is, if you follow your salesrep on Insta. The whole game now is entirely different to 5 years ago.

I'm lucky that I do have a relationship with my dealer (not Daytona level mind you) but I would now think twice about pulling the trigger on the latest rep purely because of the waitlist that surrounds the gen....

Supply and Demand, what better way to drive up prices? IMO it's all BS. Look at the prices of Rollies the last 5 years. Sub-C's have gone from $7K to $10K or more. It's crazy. Who cares anyway? Wear your reps or gens because you love them, not because you are trying to fake someone out and lie about a rep vs. a gen.

 

[johnlogan]

I think the GEN Rolex game is quasi unbecoming & seriously overpriced. Sure Rolex has done a great job of leveraging their products but I dont see the value in reaching for a GEN. REPs grant me the same satisfaction. However I never post my shit on insta or FB, I post my REPs here. Displaying your wealth online makes the poster look pitiful no matter how sexy the montage is.

 

[cometome]

Are you saying the shortage makes you less interested in buying a rep? I would think the opposite, given they are such simple pieces its hard to justify waiting that long imo. (I am on the list though )

 

[Natas78]

The guys at Rolex sure know their marketing.
Waiting list for a base model, I bet their bellies must be aching from laughing out loud all day.

 

[SOLEX]

Don't get me started on this BS shortage thing, but overall I am getting a bit more looks when wearing my ARF Daytona. Am I bothered, no not really. I can pull off SS pieces, so no big deal.

I am afraid we may have an influx of noobs that want to get a SS Rolex pieces that they can't find at an AD and spread the word of our little hobby.

 

[centrum]

This supply shortage marketing that Rolex has been implementing for the past years is pure bull shit.

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[xartan]

I love my reps. But they are basically expensive toys to me. They don’t replicate the feeling of wearing a gen for me.

 

[dc2_bb6_cu2]

I love my reps. But they are basically expensive toys to me. They don’t replicate the feeling of wearing a gen for me.

This.

Reps will never replace gens FOR ME, but they do present a unique opportunity to cycle through and experience tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of watches without much fuss. Plus, the whole modding game is its own reward sometimes.

 

[OldNavitimer]

This.

Reps will never replace gens FOR ME, but they do present a unique opportunity to cycle through and experience tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of watches without much fuss. Plus, the whole modding game is its own reward sometimes.

And that’s it right there. The modding game. On its face it makes no sense. The time and effort we put into each step towards the ultimate Franken. It’s not that we are trying to fool anyone...it really is easier to just buy gen. It’s that part of us that used to be exercised in shop class or in your neighbors garage. I did it for years with cars and bikes. Now my tinkering is worn on my wrist. It gives me the same pleasure without taking up garage space.

I would love to know the stats on the average age of active members on this forum. I’ll bet it’s 50+.


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[ssouthall6]

And that’s it right there. The modding game. On its face it makes no sense. The time and effort we put into each step towards the ultimate Franken. It’s not that we are trying to fool anyone...it really is easier to just buy gen. It’s that part of us that used to be exercised in shop class or in your neighbors garage. I did it for years with cars and bikes. Now my tinkering is worn on my wrist. It gives me the same pleasure without taking up garage space.

I would love to know the stats on the average age of active members on this forum. I’ll bet it’s 50+.


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39, but I always thought I could build my own pcs for cheaper than buying ready made. I never booked a package holiday. You're right, it's just a game, and it's taken me this long to bloody realise it


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[majwilliams0308]

And that’s it right there. The modding game. On its face it makes no sense. The time and effort we put into each step towards the ultimate Franken. It’s not that we are trying to fool anyone...it really is easier to just buy gen. It’s that part of us that used to be exercised in shop class or in your neighbors garage. I did it for years with cars and bikes. Now my tinkering is worn on my wrist. It gives me the same pleasure without taking up garage space.

I would love to know the stats on the average age of active members on this forum. I’ll bet it’s 50+.


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Heavy franken person here, 35 years old. The chase is real.

 

[johnlogan]

42, used to own plenty of GEN Omegas. All sold at a loss. Purely REPS going forward.

 

[elconquistador]

I hope the hubris Rolex has and the disdain for the customers that made them who they are destroys them.
Used to be you "made it" and went out and bought a Rolex. Sure there were models with long waits, but a sub or datejust were on display at MSRP. Slowly as rich Asians and Russian mobsters added to the mix of Arabs and bankers Rolex realized they could make more with less.

FFS the white gold models are white because you mix $500 in gold with other metals that are not gold colored like nickel and are $25k.

Fuck em. I hope reps make everyone doubt the authenticity of every Rolex they see.

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[XpanzerX]

33 and could afford a gen just never could justify it. Curiosity got me, bought a few reps, And satisfied the itch, I find the tiny imperfections to be my fav part, is it perfect ? No but it’s 97% for 5% the cost


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[muiramas]

33 and could afford a gen just never could justify it. Curiosity got me, bought a few reps, And satisfied the itch, I find the tiny imperfections to be my fav part, is it perfect ? No but it’s 97% for 5% the cost


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Nope. It’s 0% for $500. Period.

Reps may fool others, don’t them fool you.

 

[XpanzerX]

As always, YMMV. But in my mind I stand by my statement,

 

[Natas78]

I hope the hubris Rolex has and the disdain for the customers that made them who they are destroys them.
Used to be you "made it" and went out and bought a Rolex. Sure there were models with long waits, but a sub or datejust were on display at MSRP. Slowly as rich Asians and Russian mobsters added to the mix of Arabs and bankers Rolex realized they could make more with less.

FFS the white gold models are white because you mix $500 in gold with other metals that are not gold colored like nickel and are $25k.

Fuck em. I hope reps make everyone doubt the authenticity of every Rolex they see.

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My watchmaking teacher always ranted on about jewellers and their practices, That industry is just legal gangster shit. Not normal. The percentage of real precious metals in jewelry is nothing compared to what you pay. And diamonds, don't get me started on that lol

 

[thorne]

Used to be, in most social/corporate circles not too many years ago, a Rolex on the wrist (to non-WIS, which is easily the majority of the population in that room) meant you were one of the important people in the room.

With watch snobbishness taking off over the last couple decades, watch blogs/insta/aggressive marketing etc, watches are now in the public eye almost everywhere. Rolexes are more ubiquitous now and have moved into a much wider buyers pool(though it's still tough to get one due to Rolex marketing practices mentioned earlier in this thread). I'd safely bet many of our members own at least one, as do I.

Back to the room. Having a Rolex now means you belong in the room. Unless you're wearing a collectible/vintage Rolex which would stand out.

Now you need an ALS/PP/VC (or maybe even an RM) to mean you are an important person in the room. More non-WIS are now conscious of what watch they wear - even if they don't know much about the details of the model they are wearing. So there's a lot of Rolex in the room now. Case in point - most WIS don't pay scalper levels of cash to buy a BLRO.

There's still lots of people in that room that will still wear a Casio or an Apple watch as a daily, and also belong in the room. They couldn't care less if they were wearing a quartz Timex. And that's fine too.

 

[gnoelkered]

Honestly, I believe only 1-2% of people out there will really bother at looking at what watch you're wearing. A portion of these people are trying to sell you something and if they spot a luxury item on your wrist, they will probably treat you better.

Other than that, IMHO, gen or rep, it's just something for ourselves.