Just to warn everyone up front, this week’s Fratello Friday article concerns my personal opinions on buying and collecting Rolex replica watches. Whether one likes it or not, one cannot deny that Rolex still gets more attention from watch consumers than any other watch brand. I respect Rolex for what it is able to accomplish (producing high-quality watches in large numbers for reasonable prices) and I own and have owned my share of Rolex watches, both vintage and new. This week, the focus is on vintage Rolexes.
My opinion on this subject changes once in a while, I must admit. Once, I even wrote an article on why I don’t collect vintage Rolex watches, yet now I seem to be “stuck” with only vintage Rolex watches in my modest collection. However, I remain strongly opinionated about vintage replcia Rolex.
Let me start by telling you why I love vintage Rolex watches. Like most other vintage watches (from other brands), a Rolex sports watch from the 1960s or ’70s has an aura of adventure; the wear on the case and bracelet show that the watches had something of a rough life; the things that the watch witnessed might have been awesome. The fun with vintage Rolex watches is that because there are so many of them around, you can usually find the exact “configuration” that suits your personal taste. For example, I don’t like the ones with the old tritium markers that have turned a mustard yellow color; I prefer them slightly off-white. I also don’t like spider-web dials (cracked paint) and prefer them to be all-matte with big, round hour markers.
I’ve learned that a lot about buying and collecting vintage Fake Rolex has to do with aesthetics. There is little interest in the mechanical movement; people generally trust it to be good. (It is a Rolex, for crying out loud.) Many collectors tend to be more interested in a nice-looking dial, or matching pair of hands, than to making sure the movement is all nice and fresh. Nothing wrong with that, of course, and these movements are fairly easy to service, but I always make sure that the watch is in perfect technical working order as well.
Now, the other side of the story is that there is a lot of fraud going on in the vintage Rolex scene. As with all transactions in which serious money is involved — whether it be classic cars, paintings, real estate, even adopting babies — there are always those who want to cheat and scam other people who wish to own a certain commodity (in this case, a watch). There are dealers who claim to have million-dollar businesses selling vintage Rolexes, who claim to be able to supply whatever model you need or whichever is in demand at that moment.
So, in the end, if you want to buy a vintage Rolex timepiece, make sure you know your budget and know exactly what you want. If you – like me – don’t care too much about the position of the wording on the dial, how yellow the patina will be, or how faded the bezel should be, you are fairly safe. In any case, make sure you “buy the seller,” which means that you should be able to trust the seller in order to make the purchase. It is impossible to know everything about vintage Rolex watches, but you should feel comfortable with the watch that the seller is offering you. If he says it is fine and you did a plausibility check, you should be able to take his word for it. Some sellers offer your cash back if anything appears to be incorrect after the purchase. Make sure to do a check on the good guys out there by using the online vintage Rolex communities. However, always try to think logically when you are looking at a vintage Rolex Copy for sale. Do not lose your head over it. If it doesn’t feel good, then don’t pull the trigger.
