Rolex

The last three years have been a period of transition for my watch collection. Three years ago, I took the decision to reduce the size of my collection of vintage Rolex and increase the size of other manufacturers in my collection. Three factors drove tha...  

I\'m not sure if you decide to sell them bcos you look for new or only bcos of the 3 points you\'ve stated. At any point, external situation is not in our control - so if you like your watches, jus hold on to them... they\'re wonderful ! If you\'re worrie... 

...not sure why you think there is an ulterior motive.... .....i was being genuine in giving the reasons for the rationalisation process. Without any doubt, the radium issue led me to sell any watch i had with radium on its dial. I think those that know m... 

not doubting your intent, my thoughts are only if you\'re worried about the bubble. I just see a wonderful collection & the effort/time behind - just felt it is worth holding to Best, mahesh.,

.....if it had, and i was influenced by it...then plausibly yes, the PN would be a candidate for selling. But the PN carries some great memories for me.....so is effectively on a no-sell list.

it looks like you had more radioactivity than Chernobyl Some excellent points as always dear Joe but I was sure you will not part with that exclamation Sub...that one was a killer Yours D

knowing how emotionally hard it must have been. Knowing some of the watches you added recently, I surely think it was overall a very good move and you still have the essential bases covered on Rolex. Pleasurable read. CC

Letting some of them go was truly hard. But basically, it had to happen. And like you say, i had some fun finding treasures in other manufacturers! Actually a lot of fun!!!

I hear your arguments very well. Add the bubble and the price some watches reach, and you don't have the means nor the will to go further. Among those which have left your collection, I had a sweet spot for the 6200. I know why you sold it. I understand, ... 

....it was extremely hard to let some watches go. The 6610 red depth...aggghhh..... but radium. 6200....the same. 5508...the same. Much of the decision to sell a watch was based on that issue. It is also very discomforting when a dealer tells you that fak... 

So why not going for the grails? Because once you get a grail it\'s not a grail anymore? Because the dream is nicer than the ownership? Because it is very hard to say goodbye to the other ones? This is a huge topic (thread) on it\'s own. And discussed bef... 

....on the other issue...why not go for the grails? In a way...i had several. 6200, 1665 Omani, a pair of 1665 Mk1 patenmt pendings (consecutive serial numbers..ahhhhh). 6542.....6262PN, 6610 red deprh...... watches that have come and gone. In the end, it... 

I love learning from the \'old-timers\' so I\'ve read your answer with great interest. It is very intriguing to me to (try to) define the magic number of watches to own. This year my conclusion was 12. But it seems I will be braking my own magical number ... 

"Still" younger than Nicolas.

yep....when my son started to be able to sprint faster than me, i knew the tide had turned......

BUT: When does the accumulation starts?!? 10+ 15+ 25+ ?

.....i need to really enjoy a watch...it needs to call me from its box if it is not on my wrist. Watches that call me....stay. It is always premature to say..."i'm done...my collection is complete". There is a finality to that which is not necessarily rea... 

If you have 50 watches, but you know every one...you wear every one...you appreciate every one...then that is a collection of 50 watches. If you have 5 watches, but you really don't care about two of them...don't really wear them etc etc...then you have a... 

.....one sees a watch...likes it....buys it....puts it in the safebox......and three years later get surprised when you see it at the bottom of the safebox....unworn. Accumulation and collecting are two very different things. I used to be an accumulator. ... 

I'm wearing and using everything just as much. Well apart from the Planetarium, but that's not because I'm saving it but because it is a dress watch. And when I pick a watch it does have to suit my mood that day.

Personally, I have recently decided that I need a very small collection. I have 3 luxury watches and a Seiko diver I use for the gym and occasions when I need a beater watch. I used to use a 214270 for that, but I sold it because it just wasn\'t \'me\'. I... 

...to be honnest I remember a few but not all the ones that you let go but what I remember very well is all the wonderful vintage PP acquisitions you made instead ! Of course such a move is neither good nor bad, it is simply a very personal and brave deci... 

I must say that the once you have left still cover a lot of ground! Stunning collection! My favourites would be the double red and the Milgauss. IF you should shrink even more, I would let go of the 666 and the 1655. Then you really down to the core... Be... 

......i can't see a point in losing any more from the core 6....they each cover such a different area of the vintage arena. If i had to put an order to it, it would be 1665, 6239, 16660, 1019, 1655, 1675.

In that case you only have 4 slots left! Best Blomman

But making new friends is fun too..... I just love your "new" vintage collection and it takes a lot of work, investigation and research to rationalise any collection Collections are personal and yours is no different- keeping and buying is a personal deci... 

....was a thoroughly refreshing experience.

Thanks for sharing your paring experience or should I say sparing ... Just like the rest, I had this comment in my head that went, "wow, what a good representation of what is vintage Rolex". That double red is vintage perfect! If I had to pare this down t... 

What a magnificent collection to represent your Rolex wristwatches. Very sad that vintage Rolex has become the new cash cow for some very unsavory dealers.

but I would say your keepers form a wonderful collection as they are.

seven different Sea-Dwellers.... There needed to be some consolidation!!

watch collecting is a journey and along the way we pick some up and let some go. to rationalize what to keep is most personal as value is derived from subjective notions and we all value things differently. the remaining six are to a third party each an e... 

.....yes, rationalising is a logocal but also emotionally tricky event. I am quite sure i could have ended with a different six and also been very contented with the result. Ultimately, it boils down to a few simple equations. Once those equations are set... 

... your motivations and changes being made to your collection. I see this well resumed in the words of Nicolas: "evidence of maturity". Every collector builds his collection around his desires, tastes, style and personal philosophy. To mantain a line and... 

.....i think the 80:20 rule works quite well. 80% of the pleasure from my collection came from 20% of the watches. Working back from there helps the rationalisation process. Of course, I do have more Rolex than these 6, but these are the core and also the... 

... with my own collection... some day... I just need the courage! Very interesting to read you! Thanks a lot again! Hagwe! Abel.

.. and excellent, if not perfect ones, AFAIK. Admire your consequent condensations ! - Thx for letting us participate in your deliberations ! Cheers & Best, dear friend, hs

Cool post. I just started to thin the vintage Rolex herd earlier this year and although I let a few "hard to get pieces" go, am much happier with the collection at the moment. Mel

You post strikes an echo in me. I feel it takes courage to write what you write. I have been feeling the same urge to reduce my collection since the passing of a very dear watch collector friend. We are timely reminded that this passion of ours is above a... 

....i try to be rational. Decisions that need to be taken, get taken. Yes, you are correct....some decisions are hard....and many of teh decisions on which watches to lose were very very hard. I always have this quote in my mind when faced with hard decis... 

I think diversification within watch collecting is always a good thing. Like you, I\'ve been stifled by the \'ugliness\' of vintage watch collecting and have moved on. Prefer to look at what the neo vintage or modern segments of the watch market has to of... 

One can often deliberate about change. Procrastination is not something I enjoy. And oddly, i rarely find change a bad thing. With many of the vintage Rolex, it was sad to let some go. But with every cloud......

For this post! It was a very enjoyable read, and pretty inspiring too. Have to say that I am considering a similar process down the line myself. Could not agree more with the sentiments about vintage rolex - they make me happy to have what I own, but very... 

I owned a lot more Rolex than any other manufacturer. My aim was to create a more balanced collection between the manufacturers. And also, I have discussed here only the vintage component of my Rolex gang. I still have a few modern Rolex. Yet, after the r... 

Out of your old collection my favorites were the triple 6 COMEX and the gold Omani SD. Why did these not sing to you as much or was it just a financial decision? Also...why is dealing with the dealer community growing more unpleasant? Just wanted a more d... 

.....i guess we all have different tastes. The Mk2 Patent Pending has always been my favourite Rolex. At one point I owned 7 Sea-Dwellers....i saw no need to own so many...in teh end i kept two.....and the Comex was actually right at the bottom of my pref... 

I have by no means a collection like yours, even with the few pieces you have left... mine is mainly spread around other brands with a few Rolex\' that I wear. And actually are not vintage watches. I like the 80/20 rule. 20% of the watches gives you 80% o... 

In the decision on which watch to keep or let go in the collection.. In my opinion, watch collecting supposed to be fun and makes us happy not by any mean uncomfortable. I really think that you have made a tough transition and drastic changes in your coll... 

Hi, I'm just a little interested to know what you were informed about the radiation effect from Radon on the dials. Most people are exposed to 1,000 mSv/yr and nuclear workers approximately 20,000 mSv/yr. If you travel frequently, you may be absorbing 5 m... 

.....i will attach a couple of previous articles that discuss this issue. If you use the search engine, you will find others. www.watchprosite.com www.watchprosite.com My personal experience with radium dials has varied. I have owned radiu...