Ultimate Rolex Buying Guide
[0:00:00] So, you're out there looking at luxury watches
and you've made the decision I'm going to grab a Rolex. Well, gentlemen, if that's you right now or
if that you maybe in a few years, you're going to love today's video. I'm going to be walking you through step by
step how to buy your first Rolex. [Music]
So, let's start off with the question why. Why buy a Rolex? These were the five reasons I identified that
most men buy a Rolex. Reason number one, it's a status symbol. Make no mistake about this. A lot of people grab a Rolex because they
know what it signifies. It signifies for many people you have made
it. In fact, I think it was RBC Markets they did
this research and they found that 12.3% of people that make over $100,000 had a Rolex
on their list of things they wanted to purchase and that blew away any other type of watch. So, a lot of people for them, if you have
a Rolex, you are successful. Now, hold on, I know that you're different
and you're not a status seeker, so what's reason number two? Reason number two that a lot of people want
a Rolex is it actually is a very functional watch. In fact, Rolex started off as a tool watch,
these were watches that were made to function. They were the first ones to get a watch to
go under 100 meters and be waterproof, the Submariner. And their watches when you look at them the
way they're built, they are built to last. And, let's talk about precision. A watch has to be able to tell time, but not
all watches are going to tell time as well as others. When it comes to automatic watches, Rolex
does an amazing job of keeping accurate time throughout the day. In fact, Rolex was the first watch to receive
a chronometric precision certificate. Third reason the grab a Rolex, you appreciate
the art of watchmaking. Rolex is one of the few companies where every
single piece every component is made in-house. Reason number four, resale. Because Rolex has built such a strong brand
reputation and so many people know about them, the market is huge for buying used, selling
used. So, it's something if you get tired of your
watch, you can actually sell it sometimes at a profit. And reason number five to grab a Rolex, reputation. Rolex has been around for over a hundred years. If you're just getting into luxury watches,
one of the big things is fear. You don't want to end up buying something
that’s going to make it look stupid. Rolex is a company, you're not going to win
awards for creativity for buying a Rolex. It's a safe bet that you're going to get a
good watch at a, yeah, a little bit more expensive of a price, but there's many watches out there
a lot more expensive and it's a great place to start. Now, before you buy a Rolex, you probably
want to know a little bit about its history. The company was founded in 1905. It was founded as Wilsdorf and Davis, but
it was renamed to Rolex because this name was thought actually just to sound better
in multiple languages. But, as cool as the name sounds, people aren't
just going to buy a watch because it says Rolex especially when it hasn't established
itself as a brand. So, in 1926, they made a really smart decision. There was a woman that swam across the English
Channel, but a lot of people doubted, so she went to do it again. And when she did it the second time, Rolex
was there. They actually got her to wear a necklace with
a Rolex watch right there. Now, she ended up getting like within a few
hundred feet of actually finishing it, so in 1926, you had basically the waterproof
watch. They put that on the map. And not resting on their laurels, in 1931,
they created the first self-winding caliber called The Perpetual. And, in 1945, Rolex created the first watch
with a date on it called the Datejust and this was caliber 740. And, in 1953, Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary
are the first men to climb Mount Everest, the highest peak in the world and guess what
they’re wearing? You got it, a Rolex. And, continuing to push boundaries in 1960,
Rolex actually had a watch taken down to the lowest point on earth. It was called The Challenger Deep and it went
down to 10,911 meters. In 1963, Rolex creates the first racing chronograph,
the Daytona. And in perhaps the most important decade in
Rolex’s entire history the 1970’s, we saw this company rebrand itself. Not since they took on the name Rolex have
they done something so smart which is to say we're not just about telling time, we are
a status piece we are a symbol of luxury goods. Why did they have to do this? The quartz crisis. So, we had all this cheap quartz watches flooding
the market and guess what? People all of a sudden have an inexpensive
watch that tells them very accurate time better time than this, so Rolex took a step back
said, what are these watches really about? And if you're looking to buy a luxury watch
right now, I bet it is something it's not about the time, it's about simply what does
when you look at this watch what does it tell you about your time about the time that you've
got left and your association with time, that's why men get into luxury watches. Now, if you're going to buy a luxury watch,
you need to know a little bit about terminology, so let's talk about all the various pieces. First up, we've got the case. The case is the body of the watch. It houses all the internal moving parts. Now, almost all Rolex watches have a solid
screw down case back and this sets them apart from a lot of less expensive watches where
you see actually and use a snap-on case back or external screws. [0:05:01]
Next up, let's talk about the crown. The crown is an external knob that's on the
side. It's used to wind and stop the watch and/or
adjust the time and date. It’s marked often with a crown logo with
Rolex and for Rolexes, they’re screwed automatically onto the case making them waterproof. Next up, you've got the watch glass. And the watch glass is the transparent convex
crystal that covers the face of the watch. Since the 1970’s, Rolex has been using a
synthetic sapphire crystal to make their watch glasses. Next up, we've got the bezel. And the bezel is the outer ring that seals
the case. Now, when you hear the word bracelet, this
is going to be the band that attaches the case and holds it to your wrist. Next up, we've got lugs. These are the protruding edges of the watch
itself that attach to the bracelet. Now, when people say model, what they're referring
to is the outer design of the watch. The reference number will tell you the year
and version as well as the caliber. And so, what's the caliber? The movement the caliber, that's the type
of mechanics inside the watch. Next up, we've got the concealed clasp, the
crown clasp. That's a clasp that’s concealed under the
bracelets link. Basically, it makes the bracelet look like
a continuous loop. And, let's talk about the Cyclops lens. If you're going to buy a Rolex with a date,
you're probably going to see that Cyclops lens. It's a very distinctive feature of Rolex because
they patented in 1950 and it was something that just stood out from all the other watches
out there. Now, let's talk about the nine basic Rolex
materials. First up, we've got Oyster steel. This is Rolex’s own super alloy and basically
it's a 904L steel that is resistant to corrosion. The next material we have is Rolesor. This is the combination of Oyster steel and
gold in a two-tone Rolex. Next up, we've got Everose 18 karat gold. This is a rose gold that gets a unique color
from added silver and copper and doesn't lose its color. Next up, we've got yellow 18 karat gold. This is Rolex’s own gold alloy with an iconic
color. Next up, we've got white 18 karat gold. This is Rolex’s white gold that many people
think seems to radiate light. Next up we've got platinum. Rolex uses a 950 Platinum which basically
mean we've got 950 thousands of platinum and it's generally combined with a little bit
of ruthenium. Next up, we've got Cerachrom. This is Rolex’s proprietary ceramic that
they use in their bezels. It's scratch-proof and UV-proof, so the color
won't fade. Next up, we've got precious stones. You're going to find these on higher-end Rolexes
and they use a wide variety of the different precious stones out there, diamonds being
the most common. And finally, we've got Chromalight. This is Rolex’s lume. Basically, it looks white in daytime, but
it glows blue in the dark. So now, let's talk specifically about the
bezels. There are six types of bezels you're going
to see on a Rolex. First up, you've got the plain bezel. You're going to see that in steel and precious
metals. Number two on our list, we've got the fluted
bezel. You're only going to see that in precious
metals. Next up, you've got the engraved fixed bezels. You're only going to see this on the Explorer
II and the Daytona Cosmograph. Next, you've got the rotating bezel with inserts. This is used on the professional watches. And then, you've got rotating precious metal
bezels. You're going to see this on the sporty, but
elegant watches such as the Yacht-Master. And finally, we've got the bejeweled bezels. As that sound, these bezels are going to come
encrusted with precious stones. Now, let's talk about the six types of Rolex
bracelets. First up, we've got the Oyster bracelet. This is going to have larger three-piece links
for a sporty look. Now, the Oyster bracelet only comes with the
Oyster lock clasp. Next up, we've got the Jubilee bracelet. This has a five-piece link. It's used in dress and sport watches and it
comes with either an Oyster lock or a Crown lock clasp. Next, we've got the President bracelet. It's less common. It uses the elegantly rounded three-piece
links and only comes with a Crown lock clasp. Then, we've got the Pearlmaster bracelet. This is Rolex’s most elegant bracelet with
five-piece links and a Crown lock clasp. Now, we've also got the Rolex leather bracelet. It comes in a variety of colors. And you've got the Oysterflex rubber bracelet. The luxury rubber with an Oyster lock clasp. Now, we've talked about clasps quite a bit,
but what are they? They're the locking mechanism that's basically
going to open up the watch bracelet, so that you can slip it on and then attach it to your
wrist. Rolex has two types that they've made popular. The first is the Oyster clasp/Oyster lock
and basically this has a two-part mechanism. You open it up right there and then you open
it up like that and then you secure it and is the most popular because it comes off as
the most secure. Next up, we've got the Crown clasp the Crown
lock. And this one right here simply opens up like
that. As you can see, there's no second mechanism
right here. So, we've talked about the outside of the
watch. Now, let's talk about the inside of the watch,
the movements in particular. You need to know these modern movements if
you're going to be out there looking to buy a Rolex. First up, we've got the 3135. Now, this movement forms the basis of most
Rolexes made today. It was introduced in 1988 and basically it’s
got instantaneous dates switch at midnight and it has many variants. So, we've got the 3155. It includes the Day-Date. We've got the 3130 which has no extra features. Then, we've got 3131. This has anti-magnetic shield, but it doesn't
have the date mechanism. Then, we've got 3132. This includes the Paraflex anti-shock system,
but has no date. [0:10:04]
Then, we've got the 2235. This is a smaller version of the original. Then, we've got the 2230. This is a smaller dateless version. Then, we've got the 3186. This has a 24-hour GMT movement. And then, we've got two 3187. It's the 3186 plus the Paraflex anti-shock. Now, the next modern movement you need to
know is the 3255. This is a highly accurate movement introduced
in 2015. Rolex says it's accurate to plus three minus
two seconds a day which is double the standards set by official Swiss testing institution. So, if you're going for time telling accuracy,
the 3255 is the movement you want in your watch. Next up, we've got the 4130. And we're going to find this one in the Chronograph
Daytona. And, finally, we've got the 9001. So, the 9001 includes two time zones and an
annual calendar. This is the most complicated Rolex movement
and it's available only in the Sky-Dweller. So, what are the three categories of Rolex
watches? Well, first, what we have is the Oyster Perpetual
Classic. These are versatile waterproof watches in
classic styles. There are six models available here. Next up, we've got the Oyster Perpetual Professional. These are going to be specialized performance
watches and there are seven models. And then, we've got the Cellini. This is the traditionally styled most dress
watch that Rolex makes. They're going to be less waterproof than the
other categories, but they're still water-resistant. There are four models here. So first up, let's talk about the classic
models. The first one I'm going to pull up is the
Oyster Perpetual. This right here is the classic Rolex watch. We've got the three-hand time-only watch Rolex’s
most basic watch. It's a direct descendant of their original
Oyster watches and it works as a sport or a dress watch. In my opinion, the Oyster Perpetual is one
of the best Rolex watches out there. It is simple, it is elegant, and it's at a
great entry-level price. Next up, we've got the Datejust. I own this watch, I absolutely love it. And to me, this is the iconic Rolex dress
watch. So where does the Datejust get its name from? So, it used to be wristwatches took hours
to actually change the date, with the Datejust, the date changes just before midnight. Next up, we've got the Day-Date. This is going to be a Datejust plus the date
of the week. It's generally offered in fancier configurations
than the Datejust. It only comes in gold or platinum and it's
sometimes called The President because so many world leaders have owned this watch. Next up, we've got the Pearlmaster. And this is going to be a Datejust covered
in ethically- sourced precious stones. The blinged-out Rolex is basically what it
is. Next up, we've got the Sky-Dweller. I like this watch, but I love this quote,
“If you want a watch that looks like a Russian oligarch just curled up around your wrist
and died, you might be interested in the latest model of Rolex’s Sky-Dweller.” I personally like the watch because it's one
of Rolex’s most complicated. It's going to be able to tell time in two
time zones and it's got an annual calendar. Now, let's talk about the Cellini collection. This is going to be Rolex’s line of dress
watches. They're only available in precious metals
and according to the catalog, it uses silver in refined lines. Having seen these in person, I think that
they're fine-looking watches. It really wasn't my cup of tea, but I know
many guys that love these watches and if this is what you fall in love with, all the better
to you. Now, let's talk about Rolex’s professional
watches. We're going to start this off with the Cosmograph
Daytona. So, the Cosmograph Daytona is a very popular
racing watch made in limited numbers. Basically, if you want this watch, you're
going to have to get on a waiting list unless you're going after one of the higher end ones
made from precious materials. Me personally, having seen this watch in many
variations, it is one of my favorites. It's not one of the watches I have, I've got
three Rolexes. Someday, I will pick up a Cosmograph Daytona. But, this is just such a great-looking watch. Next up, we've got the Sea-Dweller. This is going to be Rolex’s largest watch. It's a heavy-duty dive watch. It's only available in Oyster steel. The Deep-Sea version went to the bottom of
the Mariana Trench with James Cameron. I mean this thing is made to go underwater. Now, this next watch is the iconic Rolex. When people say I saw somebody wearing a Rolex
when they buy a Rolex, oftentimes, the Rolex they're talking about is the Submariner. Now, why is this Rolex so iconic? Because when you look to James Bond, you look
at someone like Steve McQueen, you see them wearing a Rolex Submariner. And, guys, despite being the most common Rolex,
this is still an amazingly functional great watch. Next, we've got the GMT-Master II. This is a pilot watch with a range of colorful
two-tone bezels with soda related nicknames like Pepsi and the Coke and the root beer. Now, the bezel type, it uses a bi-directional
rotating 24-hour bezel for tracking multiple time zones. Next up, we've got the Rolex Explorer. This is my personal favorite Rolex. I love it, it's simple, it looks great, it's
got a very interesting history, and it's something that pretty much is my everyday wear. Now, as mentioned earlier the name of this
watch in the association with it is with Mount Everest, Hillary and Tenzing when they went
to the top. This was the watch that commemorated them
climbing to the top. [0:15:04]
Next up, we've got the Explorer II and when you see this watch, very different than the
classic Explorer. So, what is this watch for? This watch is all about caving, spelunking
in dark environments, but the big feature here are the highly visible bright orange
24-hour hands. Now, speaking of a functional watch, have
you ever seen the Milgauss? Now, look at the dial on this watch. Do you notice that second hand? Do you notice how it's got that little lightning
bolt there? This is all about how this watch is actually
functional. It's got the whole anti-magnetic shield thing
going. So, if you work in and around speakers, if
you work in an environment in which your watch could be magnetized, you want to go for the
Milgauss. And, even if you don't need the features,
a lot of guys just simply like the look of this watch. For them, it's fun it's playful with the green
tint with the orange lightning bolt, it's a good-looking watch. Next up, we've got the Air-King. And this one was marketed after World War
II as an aviation watch because so many World War II pilots, they used Rolex Oysters for
the legibility and the accuracy, it was something that they wanted to have a watch that basically
was all about the air. Next up, we've got the Yacht-Master, another
watch that I own and I absolutely love. And for me, it was just simply when I saw
this watch, I thought it was beautiful and I wanted to have it. Now, the Yacht-Master as the name implies
is a yachting watch. And it's got a bezel that goes both ways the
reason being, so you could time races. Now, I don't own a yacht yet, but it is something,
again, I just absolutely love the look of it. Now, let's talk about the Yacht-Master II. This is a yachting watch with a countdown
chronograph programmed by rotating the bezel and crown. Now, guys, in today's video, I'm going over
a lot of information. If you missed something or if you want things
in more detail, guess what? I've got a free PDF and article I'm going
to link to down in the description. Gents, I gave you all this because I want
to give you the ultimate guide to understanding and then buying your first Rolex. So, again, all that information down in the
description of today's video. Now, I said buying, let's get into that particular
detail. But, before you spend any money, you need
to have these three things lined up. So, the first thing you have to have in order
before you buy a Rolex is your own mindset. You got to be honest with yourself on why
you are buying this watch and for the vast majority of us, it is going to be because
of our ego because we want something that's a status symbol. I'll admit, for me, it was a symbol. I'd had my first million dollar year as a
company and I wanted something to symbolize this. Now, you can argue I could have spent that
money elsewhere, I should – you know at the end of the day, you do it for yourself. Because everyone is going to say that, you
know, everyone is going to have their opinion, but what matters is your own opinion. You want to buy something nice for you, you
want to buy something to celebrate, you want to buy something that when you wear it it's
a constant reminder of whatever you wanted to remind you of. For me, again, it was one year of great business
success that no one could ever take from me. I went through a bankruptcy, I've gone through
just a lot of things and for me, it was something I'm going to do for myself. You've got to be honest with yourself and
when you have all of a sudden clarity on why you want to do this, then we go to the second
part. The second thing you need to have lined up
when you buy a Rolex is your finances. You need to be able to buy that Rolex in full. Do not use a credit card, don't put it on
some payment plan, don't be paying 20% interest. Guys, that is stupid. And you don't want to be in a position that
that's going to cause you financial ruin. I know there are people that buy up watches
and then they resell them. And they're doing this as an investment they're
trying to make money off this. If that's your business and you're good at
it and you have built your way up, congratulations, for the vast majority of us, that is not the
case. My advice, be in a strong financial position
and when you buy this watch look at it at what it is, it’s a watch it's a piece of
jewelry, it's something that you're going to enjoy, not something that you may have
to melt down or you'd be able to resell in a tough position. And, the third point I want to cover is the
more you know about Rolexes, the better deal you are going to get. I'm not saying that you got to spend a hundred
hours studying Rolexes before you buy one. Some of you guys out there have got more money
and you have less time and you simply want one, you're going to walk into a store you're
going to pay full retail price and you're going to be happy and all the more power to
you. But, if it's something that you want to get
the best deal, if you want to make sure you get the right watch and you don't end up buying
a watch that you don't wear very often, you need to do your research. Now, you can hire someone to actually maybe
talk with you about it, there are companies out there, yes, that do this. You can actually join forums, you can watch
videos like this, but you need to, again, decide for yourself, oh, I need to learn all
the different options out there because when you walk into a store, you're only going to
see a small sample of what is actually out there. And you may decide, hey, that I want to wait,
I actually like something that they came out with a decade ago and I want to see if they're
going to come out with it or maybe you're going to go out there and look for used. And let's talk about used. You can find some amazing deals out there
when it comes to used Rolexes. It's a huge market, but you can also get ripped
off. You can also possibly buy a fake. You could also possibly end up buying something
that just stops working on you and it's going to take a lot of money to get repaired, so
be aware. When it comes to a used watch you got to make
sure that you're working with someone that you trust that you've got access to the care
facilities and everything that's going to require to be able to upkeep that Rolex if
it's like twenty, thirty years old. [0:20:16]
So, you want to make sure, again, that you're buying something, it's like a used car, treat
it like that. You could possibly buy a lemon make sure you've
got some protection. Me personally, I am at this point am only
buying new Rolexes because I'm not that deep into it. I don't actually know exactly what to look
for if someone were to show me a used Rolex how to be able to tell if this thing is going
to fail. That's beyond my expertise. So, admit to yourself if that is your predicament
and then maybe you're going to spend a bit more, but save up for something new. And, when it comes to fake Rolexes, guys,
don't do it. I'm going to link to my video talking about
my fake Rolex experience and why it was a bad experience down in the description of
today's video. But, guys, I can tell you that you want to
own the real thing even if you've got a fake Rolex that nobody could even tell if it's
a fake, you're going to know it. And, if you know it, it actually affects your
attitude with the watch and it's just something, I mean, if you want one just simply because
you want one and you've already got real Rolexes, I get it, but I really can't think of a reason
that anyone would want a fake Rolex. So, congratulations. Now, you have everything lined up. You have the right mindset, you got the money
set aside, and you've done tons of research. Now, time to go buy that Rolex. But, where do you buy it from? So, the first place that you want to check
is going to be actually a Rolex store. So, if you live in a larger city - Los Angeles,
Chicago, New York, maybe you're over in Munich, you will be able to find a Rolex store. Congratulations. If you travel quite a bit, you're going to
be at the airport over in Singapore or maybe over in Munich, you will actually be able
to see Rolex stores right there in the airport. I highly recommend those places because these
guys have travelers coming in and out and they are very friendly. Why are they friendly? Because they want to sell a Rolex. I have found certain stores that will give
me 25% off on those higher-end watches and it really depends on, okay, am I ready to
do this now? Oftentimes, I find that deal is on a watch
that I wasn't ready to buy, so I have resisted taking that deal. But it is something, you know, I was able
to get 20% off of a Yacht-Master and that's a pretty good amount. Then, you also got to think what are the additional
costs. For a lot of you, it's going to be taxes,
so can you buy in one state and have it shipped to another place to get basically those no
-- no taxes on it, something like that. Those are all ways that you can save money
and as you're looking, but that is the in-store, you know, and, again, why we love the in-store
guys at Rolex shops? You know 100% sure this is a Rolex. You also know that it's going to be backed
with a warranty, that you're going to get the -- you're going to get the right box,
you're going to get all the packaging. Everything is going to be set up correctly,
so that you are protected you're getting a 100% Rolex with everything that should come
with it. Why is that important? Because when you buy online especially sites
like eBay or ones that are a little bit questionable, you're not always going to get everything
that you would get if you bought directly from a Rolex authorized dealer. And, this is really -- I mean, there are some
great deals, you're going to find, I mean, go out there look I'm not going to name any
particular shops. But, if you look at these online shops, one
of the things you have to ask if you're paying significantly less, what are you not getting
and if you're cool with that, then go with it. I will name a shop Jomashop. I've spoken with them, they have their own
warranty. And if you are cool with no longer getting
the Rolex warranty and this applies to tons of other watches that they sell, you have
to go through them for the warranty. And if you've had a good experience if they're
going to work, then, cool, go for it. But, understand you know when you're going
through eBay, who's giving you the warranty? You're getting this watch for $1,000 less
than anywhere else you could find it. If it sounds too good to be true, you need
to be careful here. Now, if it's a trusted buyer that you've gone
through, you know go for it. But, be careful if you see that Rolex on Amazon
and it looks like a great price, are you really buying it from Amazon? No, oftentimes there is another person selling
it behind that and you got to be careful about things like that because, yes, it will slip
through it has Amazon's name, but once they get your money and you get a watch that's
clearly a fake or not what you expected or is used and you thought you were getting a
new watch, I just don't want to see you guys burned. So, make sure that you're balancing that out. Again, I have no issue with you buying watches
online, but try to go with a Rolex authorized dealer. And if you don't, then understand where they're
cutting the corners to be able to offer you a better price. And, if, again, if you're cool with that,
then, boom, good to go. So, how to get a deal, how to get a discount,
how to buy a Rolex below retail? So, Rolex officially does not offer discounts. But, sales guys, they got to make ends meet,
they got to sell and there are times of the year when they're going to want to make Rolexes
move. The new ones are coming in and oftentimes
it's going to be the higher-end Rolexes which are still sitting in there on the shelves. [0:24:59]
And so, if you've got the budget for it and you're you've been looking at some of those
watches that are made from precious metals have precious stones, you can oftentimes find
a deal. I've seen many at 25% off after you start
speaking with the guy. It's not going to be there, you've got to
talk with them and you've got to see what they can do. You know be willing to negotiate, have fun
with it. And, that's another thing in negotiations
if you have flexibility, you have power. So, if you're open to maybe picking up another
watch. That was my story. I knew I was going to go -- I went into the
store to grab this one. I knew they had it, this is the one I wanted. But, they also have that Explorer. I did not expect this I did not expect to
put this on and absolutely love it. It was actually number three on my list. This was number two. I already had my Yacht-Master, but all of
a sudden when I saw this, this could have been easily my number one and I was like I'm
going to grab this, let's see if we can work a deal. I had a buddy with me and let's just say that
we went back and forth and it was something I was able to walk out with a discount 5%
on a steal not -- not the best deal out there, but I did walk away with a 10% discount on
this one which is white gold, so they were able to, you know, together negotiate a bit. Not the -- maybe -- I know some of you guys
-- someone out there is saying, Antonio, I got one for 90% off. Congratulations. But, for me, I was happy and it was a bit
of a game and that's what you want to treat it as. So, if you give yourself some options, you
got the money out there and all of a sudden you start talking to various people, you're
going to be able to find a great deal. Now, gents, if you enjoyed this watch video,
I've got more for you. Check out this video right here, I talk about
what it really means for a watch to be waterproof. I can tell you the information you're reading
out there is not exactly accurate because if it says 100 meters it really doesn't mean
100 meters. So, what does it mean? Go check out this video right here. And, if you're not buying a Rolex, you're
going to buy another type of watch and you want a watch-buying guide for that, check
out this video right here. I've got a very succinct checklist; one, two,
three, four, five, everything laid out that you need to know when you're out there buying
a watch other than Rolex. So, check out this video right here. [Music]
[0:27:12] End of Audio
