short story long:
before my shift began today, i went into another dealer to have a look-see, and was served by an elderly man (i found out later he's the owner and happened to be in to drop off some watch tools).
after chatting with the older-timer for 10 minutes and then explaining why i was looking around for a rolex, he steered me towards a private room, sat me down and slipped his watch off.
he explained he knows "my sort" and judging from the pieces i have in my collection, i would not enjoy wearing what i had called "a pompous prick's watch," and would most likely be rid of it within a year.
thus i should not be buying a rolex from him as i would not be enjoying the ownership experience, and that i would also take a massive hit on the depreciation when i sold it (i didn't tell him i was looking into a 2nd hand rolex).
if i was going just after the water/dustproof case, extensive service network and durability of a rolex, then i would find the same thing in a tudor dive watch, and with a much smaller price tag.
he proceeded to show me his own tudor hydronaut ii. his was over 2 years old (it was first released in early 2007) and has never been opened. sticking them on a timing machine, he proved to me it's accuracy was on par with his employees' rolexes.
although the movement wasn't a proprietary one from rolex, it has been around for a long time, and will continue to be, so spares are widely available for cheap.
it also comes in an oyster case sporting the triplock crown invented by rolex, and has a 3 year international rolex service center warranty. most agreeably, i would not have to pull my ball cap down low when i wore it out...
in the end, he did me a good deal (23% discount!) and then gave me a further "tax refund" discount when he found out i'll be flying out of the country next week.
what's more, i paid with currency that i had exchanged earlier in the year when the rates were overwhelmingly awesome; another added bonus for me!
the bad news is: i can't actually have the watch until i get to the airport next week.
so this concludes my hunt for a rolex submariner, but i'll still be visiting the "corner store" at funan to offload a few watches from my current collection later this year...
not my pic.
