Welcome back to the Gentleman's Gazette
in our series on Rolex watches. Today, I'll discuss seven reasons why I would
never buy a Rolex watch and maybe one exception. A Rolex
wristwatch taps a wish list of many men but you might be surprised that
personally, even though I admire the history of the company and what they've
done with it, I'm not one of those men. We already published a video about Is it worth it? Rolex watches and in it, we argued the pros and cons and overall, it seems
like Rolex can be worth the money. So if I think it's worth it, why do I then
decide not to buy one? Well, there are many reasons, specifically, seven.

So
number one is Rolex charges a lot for the brand, not necessarily for the
quality. In my opinion, the Rolex brand is too much of what I would be paying for
that watch. The value used Rolex watches yield in the marketplace is mostly rated
to supply and demand, not because the watches are inherently superior to their
competitors. Now, don't get me wrong! Rolex makes good watches that are robust
that don't need much maintenance and that holder value if you get the right
model. But a Rolex is no more reliable, no more technologically interesting, or no
more comfortable than other watch brands on the market that cost a lot less. If you
take a closer look of the retail price development of Rolex watches, you can
clearly see that it far outpaces the rate of inflation. Let's say a Submariner
no date that you bought 10 years ago for about 3,800 today retails for 7,500,
that's almost twice the price.

Now, if you look at the product, it remains virtually
the same, there are very slight changes mechanically, everything is the same so
you're paying twice as much not because the product has improved but simply
because the brand is more valuable now. The second reason I'm not attracted to
Rolex is that at the end of day, it is a mass-market product and
I prefer unique artisanal products.

One of the reasons I am so infatuated with
classic men's style is that even though you can take similar or even same items,
you can put your own spin on things and create your own unique style.
When I have to make a choice between a good mass-market product and a good artisanal
product, I choose the artisanal product 99% of the time. Also, a luxury product by
definition becomes luxurious because it is somewhat unique and limited. If
everyone has a Rolex, it's not a luxury product anymore.
I'd say my style is very different from most other men so why shouldn't I also
have a wristwatch that is different from other men's style? As you know, the style
of Rolex watches has changed very little throughout the decades so they produce
eight hundred thousand watches a year every year, all of which look mostly the
same.

On top of that, look at all the fakes that are out there in the
marketplace that again, look the same, you realize that it is a mass-market product
with millions of watches that all look very, very similar to one another.
Personally, I don't want to spend thousands of dollars just to have
something that is basically what everyone else out there has as well. So
even though Rolexes are the archetype of a nice watch, I, personally, don't want to
spend thousands of dollars just to keep up with the Joneses and have the same
watch. The third reason I'm having a hard time falling in love with Rolex is that I
love vintage goods but vintage Rolexes can be very tricky because there's so
many fakes out there. I'm a big fan of vintage items for many reasons; one of
them is that just by nature, they're often unique items because they're no
longer produced, the original items maybe have been worn out or were destroyed so
what's left is naturally a limited edition.

Also, back in the day, things were
often made to last whereas today, things are designed to
break three days after the warranty expires. Because of those reasons, I still
buy a lot of things vintage even though I can afford to buy the new version of
it. Surprise! I feel the same way about watches. I have a few of them, most of
them are vintage and I enjoy them. I mean just look at the Reverso, it's much
smaller than most watches are today yet I find it attractive on my wrist.

I can
wear it casually because the heritage is a polo watch meaning it was used on a polo
field that's why you could flip it around so you wouldn't destroy your
glass. At the same time, it has a black dial so I can wear it in the evening with a
tuxedo or with a suit and I like the dial of it, I've never seen anyone like
it in an old vintage Reverso. Because most of them are now gone, it's probably
even rarer than most limited editions out there. I bought it for a little over
a thousand dollars, I could probably sell it for more because I got a good deal
but overall, I enjoy wearing it and I like the look. Rolex watches are
aggressively counterfeited around the world.

The fakes are produced in such big
numbers that the quality of them is actually rather good even at a much
lower price point. There's also a lot of OEM parts, meaning parts that are exactly
like the original part but they're not original Rolex, and when you repair your watch and service it, they can be put in there.
When you buy from a vintage dealer, they have a reputation on the line which is
good because they don't want to sell you fakes,
otherwise, they lose their business and they're not interested in that. At the
same time, they buy watches from wholesalers, they come without box and
papers sometimes and maybe that watch was serviced at one point in time by an
unauthorized Rolex dealers who put in parts that are exactly the same in a
shape but they're not authentic Rolex parts so maybe if you want to resell it
one day, it'll be marked as being partially fake or there are all these
risks involved with buying vintage Rolexes that you have to keep in mind.

Even if
it's a reputable seller, maybe there's a part in there that is not original and
authentic. If you truly want to buy original Rolex, you have to buy new which comes
with a high retail price ticket. The fifth reason I'm not really into Rolex
is because of their popular styles and how they are not in line
with my style. I saw it a lot in our is it worth it videos. The popular Rolex' holder value are the sports or professional models. My style is more
formal and more dressed up than most men out there and because of that, I prefer
dress watches.

Now, Rolex has a dress watch line which is not so well known
but it's called Cellini. It, today, starts at over 15,000 from a retail
price point which is much higher than many of their sports models which
usually sell for six, seven, eight, or ten thousand dollars but they're made out of
gold and because gold is so much more expensive, the retail price is higher.
However, if you buy those watches vintage, they are not faked as often because
they're less desirable and at the same time, you can pick them up at three-four
thousand dollars.

Personally, I find sometimes their looks can be very dated
depending on the decade they were produced in but they also have very
classic watches in their lineup and if I would ever buy a Rolex, it would most
likely be a Cellini watch that is very classic that is gold that I can
wear with a tuxedo or with other things. It is just much more my style because
they're smaller, they're slimmer, and they're more elegant, in my opinion, than
a stainless steel sports watch. The sixth reason I'm not interested in buying a
Rolex is that I don't need to impress anybody.

As you know, I run my own
business, the Gentleman's Gazette website and the
Fort Belvedere retail e-commerce accessories. I'm not doing million-dollar
sales deals in boardrooms across corporate America but if I was doing
that, I think I would strongly consider buying a Rolex watch because it can
indicate success and it can signal to the other person this guy is serious. As
such, it's more part of a uniform than an expression of personal style. On the other
hand, I have an online and offline track record that is very public. People can
see that I'm really into men's clothing, they could see that we have happy
customers so I don't need to prove anything to anybody with the watch I am
wearing. Last but not least, I wouldn't buy a Rolex because at the end of the
day, I am not head over heels into watches.

If you know me, you know that I'm truly
passionate about a lot of things, however, watches is not one of them. For
example, if I drive a fast car, I feel very emotionally attached to it, I
feel alive. When I see a nice watch, I like the look of it but emotionally, it
leaves me cold. I mean, I honestly like the look of certain watches, right?
I like the Reverso, I like the Tank Americaine, I like the Royal Oak, I like the
Patek Phillippe Calatrava, or some watches from A.

Lange & Sohne,
however, when push comes to shove and I have to decide to put money down to buy
that watch, I decide to spend my money on other things even though I could afford
to buy that watch. For example, personally, I prefer cufflinks and rings over watches
and I know many men don't but I do; they're collectible, they're a lot less
expensive, they're more unique. If you want to check out my collections of rings and
cufflinks have a look here.

Now, rings and cufflinks are an accessory, an object
just like a watch, so emotionally, they are not as exciting as driving a fast car
and feeling the acceleration and the breaking. At the same time, I would say I
still like cufflinks and rings more than a watch. Frankly, I struggle to
remember to put on my watch because it's just not natural to me. I like to have my
wrist free of any weight even though I know that if I would wear a wristwatch
every day, I would probably become used to the weight and it would be second
nature, however, I'm not at that point yet because I simply don't wear often
enough. So in conclusion, I would not buy a Rolex because A: it is not my style, B: I
don't really care for the design that much and C: it is simply too expensive
and I would rather spend my money on other things.

So why am I telling you all
of this? Well, basically, I want you to know that just because the world around
you loves Rolex doesn't mean you need to have one if it's not your style or you
just don't like the look of it. Conversely, just because a lot of other
men like Rolexes doesn't mean you can't like it too. We, at the Gentlemen's Gazette,
truly believe that big purchases of this nature should
be more about staying true to yourself especially considering all that
marketing hype around watches that's out there right now.
You know Brock McGoff from the Modest Man, he did a video about buying his first Rolex
recently and at the end of the video, he mentioned that no one ever called him
out on his Rolex and he thinks that he didn't notice it at the same time, he
seems very happy with his investment because he likes the look of it and it
makes him feel good.

If that's you, then by all means, go out and buy that Rolex.
For me, it's just not that big of a deal and I like other watches more and in
particular, I like other things more than watches. In today's video I am wearing a
Rolex GMT master with a blue and red dial and a black face in stainless steel
I also chose cufflinks in lapiz lazuli with sterling silver and a carnelian in
sterling silver because they are red and blue so it works well is consistent with my
watch my jacket is a double-breasted petrol blue fresco jacket that is a part
of a suit here I'm wearing it with a pair of dark brown and white seersuckers and a woven leather pair of penny loafers it's a very summery
combination because of that I added a white shirt with a knit tie in a mottled
gray which is from Fort Belvedere and you can find it in our shop here just
like the white Italian linen pocket squares with hand-stitched or
embroidered polka dots which works well with my outfit it picks up the white of
the shirt as well as the blue of the GMT Master and my cuff links