[gonzo]

I watch little to no TV.
So it's fake watch news?

Meh.
Omega Man.

[corn18]

Regardless, that watch is worth 6 figures. I would like to own it.

[TheWatchGuy]

Originally Posted by gonzo

I watch little to know TV.
So it's fake watch news?

Meh.
Omega Man.

the watch is worth a lot, thats not fake

the guy getting told then how much its worth is set up.

[overcoil]

Originally Posted by corn18

Regardless, that watch is worth 6 figures. I would like to own it.

very true, there was another I believe Rolex appraisal on Antique Roadshow, after seeing the TV show and reading the discussion about it on TIMEZONE - if I recall correctly.

many thought the guest new well aware beforehand the value of the watch and understandably wanting the TV appraisal and exposure.

Just in association, there were a few appraisers on the Road Show that had legal issues. I think one was a Civil War era item appraiser who low balled a value then tried to purchase the item from the guest. The second was when the Keno twins tried getting into the rare automobile auction business and ran into money issues that transcended into their furniture ventures.

Not that these things are awful and the show is bad, it's just interesting knowing the details and learning what to be watchful about.

[TheWatchGuy]

Originally Posted by ScottSinger

very true, there was another I believe Rolex appraisal on Antique Roadshow, after seeing the TV show and reading the discussion about it on TIMEZONE - if I recall correctly.

many thought the guest new well aware beforehand the value of the watch and understandably wanting the TV appraisal and exposure.

Just in association, there were a few appraisers on the Road Show that had legal issues. I think one was a Civil War era item appraiser who low balled a value then tried to purchase the item from the guest. The second was when the Keno twins tried getting into the rare automobile auction business and ran into money issues that transcended into their furniture ventures.

Not that these things are awful and the show is bad, it's just interesting knowing the details and learning what to be watchful about.

if anything, that guy just got free advertising and now i would guess has several offers to buy that watch.

The way he had the display board set up, makes me believe he knew what it was worth and wanted to just get it out there that he has it.

[flybigjet]

As far as getting a Rolex Sport model from an AD without having a pre-established relationship and/or buying up undesirables to get to the one you want-- it can be done.

Semi-long story:

My wife wanted to get me a Rolex for a combination 50th birthday/10 year anniversary/Captain's Upgrade present.

Good plan, as I'd always been sort of lustful for one for the last 20 years or so.

She liked the Air King.

Me? Meh.

I *thought* I liked the Explorer-- and on a layover in North Carolina, I found one at an AD. I tried it on, the AD held it for me for a few hours, I went to lunch, thought it over, and passed on it as it was a) a lot smaller than I thought and b) didn't really make my heart go pitter patter.

I really liked the GMT-II, but couldn't justify the price or wearing one in the cockpit-- the cases aren't all that hard and the cockpit is surprisingly a rather unforgiving place for a nice watch; your'e *always* banging it on something. AND, I have a Sinn 856 UTC that I use at work.

Did a lot more research and kept coming back to a Sub No-Date. But, wait list, wait list, wait list, everywhere I turned.

I put my name on a few lists with the expectation that it would be a year or so at a minimum.

Two weeks later, I got a call from the AD nearest my house-- they had just gotten one in, and the person at the top of "The List" passed for another model-- the sales rep that I'd dealt with (getting some jewelry of my wife cleaned/repaired/appraised) talked with the owner, told him my story, and he said to give me a call. She said they're careful on who they sell the "in demand" Rolex's to as a lot of people flip them immediately-- they want the watch to go to someone who's going to keep it and is not out to make a profit on it. (I could have made $1000 on it in a day).

My wife and I picked it up about an hour later.

Six weeks later, I got a call from another AD asking if I was still interested in the Sub No-Date. Obviously, I passed.

My only issue with the Sub is that I'm not a fan of bracelets-- so I put a nylon Everest strap on it and couldn't be more pleased. It *completely* changes the look of the watch-- it's much more subtle and not "blingy" or "in your face" like a lot of Rolex's.

So, I wear a Sinn GMT (terrifyingly durable) for work, and the Sub for at home/date nights.

R.

[1MOREMOD]

I agree about the braclet I've bought several nice watches omega, tudor, Rolex and so on and cant deal with any watch on bracelet. Change em out for vintage leather usually and agrees with me way more. Tend to buy them with the bracelt though for resale.

[N54Yankee]

It’s true here in the 50th of our 57 states.
Vacationing in Maui at this time. Stopped in the Tourneau in Kaanaapali by Lahaina and not one new sport model SS. They did have some used models, Daytona SS, Sea Dweller, GMT’s, Batman, and some Subs. Maybe some others but got distracted by phone call and had to take it. Would have liked to walk out wearing the Daytona but.....

[N54Yankee]

I wear my Sub with its bracelet for the winter months and it goes on a NATO for the summer. Snorkeling, SCUBA and beach time is for black nylon.

[SaMaster14]

Originally Posted by N54Yankee

It’s true here in the 50th of our 57 states.
Vacationing in Maui at this time. Stopped in the Tourneau in Kaanaapali by Lahaina and not one new sport model SS. They did have some used models, Daytona SS, Sea Dweller, GMT’s, Batman, and some Subs. Maybe some others but got distracted by phone call and had to take it. Would have liked to walk out wearing the Daytona but.....

Gotta go to the Rolex AD at the Shops at Wailea on the other side of the island! They have some great finds every once in a while. Also a Patek AD, so nice to window shop!

[N54Yankee]

I stopped in the Wailea store two years ago and their cases were void of new stainless even back then when in years past they were chock full of them. I’m not looking to buy at this just wanted to see for myself how sparse all the stores are and pass on info for future buyers. Maybe we’ll take are ride there just to scope it out.

[SaMaster14]

Originally Posted by N54Yankee

I stopped in the Wailea store two years ago and their cases were void of new stainless even back then when in years past they were chock full of them. I’m not looking to buy at this just wanted to see for myself how sparse all the stores are and pass on info for future buyers. Maybe we’ll take are ride there just to scope it out.

Still probably going to be sparse, sadly. Although they do get them, but they go to their known customers (as it goes in the Rolex world). Someone was speaking to me a few weeks ago about getting a call from them about a Root Beer (GMT) I believe.

Originally Posted by flybigjet

As far as getting a Rolex Sport model from an AD without having a pre-established relationship and/or buying up undesirables to get to the one you want-- it can be done.

Neat story and congrats on the Sub!

Curious...did you actually get a chance to handle the Air King in person? Would be interested in seeing how it stacks up against the Sub and Explorer side-by-side.

At the end of the day though, you're right...a no-date Sub seems to check way more boxes compared to most other models.

[DanG]

Went to my Rolex dealer the other day. I was surprised that they had almost no stock. He said demand has been so great that he has less than 30% of his normal inventory. Also had no SS sport watches. He did have one Yacht Master with the titanium face.

He didn’t know when Rolex was going to restock him.

[flybigjet]

Originally Posted by FCobra94

Neat story and congrats on the Sub!

Curious...did you actually get a chance to handle the Air King in person? Would be interested in seeing how it stacks up against the Sub and Explorer side-by-side.

At the end of the day though, you're right...a no-date Sub seems to check way more boxes compared to most other models.

I did, actually at an AD (trolling through AD's on layover's? Takes up more time than you'd think, but it *does* give you something to do.)

Don't get me wrong-- the Air King is a fine piece-- and it's certainly an "unusual" Rolex that you don't see that often; its just that I couldn't quite "fall in love" with it. My wife really wanted that one for me (due to the whole "professional pilot" thing), but it just didn't quite do it for me. It's technically a 40, but I thought it "felt" a lot like the Explorer (a 39) on my wrist. And, I'm not a fan of the polished bezel on either the Air King or the Explorer-- but that's a definite personal opinion.

Additionally, I just thought the face was very busy, like Rolex wasn't quite sure what they were trying to achieve. I like the addition of lume to the 3-6-9 (compared to the previous Air King), but the lack of a 12 would have driven the OCD part of me nuts from a symmetry perspective. And the 5-10-20-25 etc just was "meh" to me.

The other issue (for me) was that I'm not a big fan of bracelets, and wanted to run a nylon strap (I **REALLY** like the nylon strap on my Sub from Everest Horology-- it's got a lot of definition, so it's nothing like a NATO), and I couldn't find one for the Air King that I liked-- only rubber was available.

But it *is* a striking watch!

In comparing the three, I think the Air King is a lot closer to the Explorer in feel in comparison to the Sub-- the sub is just a "more solid" (?) watch to me-- it feels heavier and more "there" on your wrist-- which is something that appealed to me. And even though the Sub and the Air King are both 40's, I felt that the Sub fit my wrist a lot better. That's entirely personal preference, though.

As an aside, what turned me off of the Explorer (not the II, which does nothing for me) was that a) it "felt" small on my wrist, and b) it photographs like the face is a dark black, but when you see it in person, it's much more grey-- I thought it washed out the face and made the watch sort of bland-- and then there's that bezel.

I really liked (LOVE) the GMT-II, but I couldn't justify the price-- the Sub pricepoint was already giving me convulsions.

In the end, my wife and I kept coming back to the no-date Sub. She says that "it's just me"-- I LOVE the look on the nylon strap (I've never even taken the protective plastic off of the bracelet)-- it makes it a completely different watch, and doesn't scream "Hey! Look at my Rolex!" when you're wearing it-- which is something I like. It's very understated, but unless you're a "real" watch guy, people don't notice what it is.

Either way, I don't think you can go wrong though-- the Sub, Air King and Explorer (and of course, the GMT-II) are all simply outstanding watches with great wrist presence. But, I've got my stable and I can't justify more watches than I have currently.

R.

[flybigjet]

As a continuation of the above post, here's my "stable".

Each watch has meaning for me, so I'm pretty content with where I am horology-wise nowadays.

From R to L (in order of personal importance):

1. Vintage Glycine Airman (Automatic). This was my father's watch that he wore in Viet Nam flying C-7A Caribou's-- he gifted it to me when I completed Pilot Training for the AF. I've flown with it from the first Gulf War through Iraqi Freedom & Afghanistan (27 years driving C-5's). It's small by today's standards but is obviously enormously sentimental to me. I don't wear it often anymore, but it holds pride of place in my collection. An interesting thing about this watch is that the hands only go around once a day-- a true 24 hour complication. The bezel is movable, so you set GMT on the face, and spin (and lock) the bezel for local time-- handy when you're jumping time zones as you never have to set the hands.

2. Rolex (no-date) Submariner (Automatic). A "Captain's Upgrade/50th birthday/10th wedding anniversary" present from my wife. It's my "I'm home/date night" watch. I don't wear it flying as cockpits are hard on watches and I try not to get it too scratched up.

3. Sinn 856 UTC (Automatic). My go-to work watch. The tegimented steel casing is just about the hardest thing in existence, so it's great to wear in the cockpit-- it's utterly bombproof (4-5x harder than the Rolex). Although I don't refer to the UTC function all that much domestically, it's nice to have. And it's German and WAY overengineeered, which is nice.

4. Seiko SRPC07 (Automatic) on a NATO. I'm a diver and I need something solid, dependable and bombproof when I'm wreck diving. The Seiko fits the bill. It's a Samurai and orange is my favorite color. It's a great watch to wear on the far side of the planet and you don't have to worry about it getting banged up, lost or stolen.

5. Skagen Titanium (Quartz). It's a million years old and is worth pretty much nothing, but it's light, thin, and an eye-catching color. It's my only battery-driven timepiece-- sometimes you just need a "grab and go" watch.

R.

[1MOREMOD]

You mean skagen is only quartz?

[flybigjet]

Originally Posted by 1MOREMOD

You mean skagen is only quartz?

Skagen is only quartz. Whoops.

Good catch. My brain's fried from studying. Fixed it.

R.

Originally Posted by flybigjet

I did, actually at an AD (trolling through AD's on layover's? Takes up more time than you'd think, but it *does* give you something to do.)

Dude...great detail here! I feel like we likely fall in the same camp...thanks for the honest review!

[ASPEC135i]

Originally Posted by flybigjet

As far as getting a Rolex Sport model from an AD without having a pre-established relationship and/or buying up undesirables to get to the one you want-- it can be done.

Semi-long story:

My wife wanted to get me a Rolex for a combination 50th birthday/10 year anniversary/Captain's Upgrade present.

Good plan, as I'd always been sort of lustful for one for the last 20 years or so.

She liked the Air King.

Me? Meh.

I *thought* I liked the Explorer-- and on a layover in North Carolina, I found one at an AD. I tried it on, the AD held it for me for a few hours, I went to lunch, thought it over, and passed on it as it was a) a lot smaller than I thought and b) didn't really make my heart go pitter patter.

I really liked the GMT-II, but couldn't justify the price or wearing one in the cockpit-- the cases aren't all that hard and the cockpit is surprisingly a rather unforgiving place for a nice watch; your'e *always* banging it on something. AND, I have a Sinn 856 UTC that I use at work.

Did a lot more research and kept coming back to a Sub No-Date. But, wait list, wait list, wait list, everywhere I turned.

I put my name on a few lists with the expectation that it would be a year or so at a minimum.

Two weeks later, I got a call from the AD nearest my house-- they had just gotten one in, and the person at the top of "The List" passed for another model-- the sales rep that I'd dealt with (getting some jewelry of my wife cleaned/repaired/appraised) talked with the owner, told him my story, and he said to give me a call. She said they're careful on who they sell the "in demand" Rolex's to as a lot of people flip them immediately-- they want the watch to go to someone who's going to keep it and is not out to make a profit on it. (I could have made $1000 on it in a day).

My wife and I picked it up about an hour later.

Six weeks later, I got a call from another AD asking if I was still interested in the Sub No-Date. Obviously, I passed.

My only issue with the Sub is that I'm not a fan of bracelets-- so I put a nylon Everest strap on it and couldn't be more pleased. It *completely* changes the look of the watch-- it's much more subtle and not "blingy" or "in your face" like a lot of Rolex's.

So, I wear a Sinn GMT (terrifyingly durable) for work, and the Sub for at home/date nights.

R.

That'a a beautiful strap.

More info pls?

[flybigjet]

Originally Posted by ASPEC135i

That'a a beautiful strap.

More info pls?

They're not completely inexpensive, but very worth it, imho.

There are various ones on the link below (for ceramic sub no-date). I have the "Curved End Nylon Strap--- I LOVE it. There are several different colors/styles as well.

I don't really like rubber straps, and I think leather is just..... strange on a dive watch (even if I don't dive with it). So, the nylon seems to be the best of both worlds.

https://www.everestbands.com/collect...eramic-no-date

PS: You can usually find an Everest coupon online if you search a bit.

PPS: Here's the main website where you can search by manufacturer (Rolex, Tudor and Panerai) and model.

https://www.everestbands.com/collections

R.

[flybigjet]

Well, BaselWorld 2020 cancelled due to Coronavirus.

Rolex reveal will now be in NYC. Rumors are a *possible* ceramic GMT-II Coke and retirement of the Air King.

https://www.everestbands.com/blogs/b...ogImRZZW5oQSJ9