I’ve long been an almost exclusively vintage Rolex collector, but I’ve been slowly selling off my collection in favor of other watches. I’m still a fan of vintage Rolex, but I still fundamentally think of Rolex as no frills tool watches. It’s a nice ‘problem’ to have, but the vintage market has gotten to the point that many of my formerly ‘daily rotation’ watches reached a value that I no longer thought of them as such. E.g when I bought my 5513 it was a great $5k daily wearer...fast forward 10 years, and it’s now a nearly $15k watch that I no longer feel comfortable just jumping in the pool, wearing skiing, taking on vacation etc. I collect watches because I love watches, I’m not trying to make money, so having a collection of high valued sports watches that I don’t want to wear for their intended purpose, has no appeal to me.
I’m not a big fan of the direction that Rolex are going, and all the ‘hot’ blingy ceramic GMTs and Daytona’s leave me cold, but there are still some traces left of what I love(d) about Rolex, and the OP range captures that for me. It’s so simple, pure, with no pretense. Nobody is going to stop me to ask how I was able to buy one.
So....I wanted a no frills every day watch. Not too pricey. Versatile. Modern Rolex heft and feeling of quality. Not trendy or ‘hot’. Classic size.
I think this checks all those boxes!