Looking for a Rolex Sports Model with a good preserving of worth

[ArkoN]

hello everyone,

my girlfriend (yes the same one who started the comex hype here ;-) ) is looking for a rolex sports model Submariner/Seadweller at the price range of 5500$ to 6500$. She is looking for a capital invest and a nice watch to wear.(not a daily rocker, but sometimes) I know what these forums are about, but the experts here are awesome and know more about (gen) rolex than everyone else.

We were looking at the models 14060(M), 16800, 16600, 16610, 5513. Now we want to know, what do you guys think is the best option for the capital investment? I thought the vintage models 16800, 5513 could be very interesting for the capital investment. But on the other side, the 16600 has a nice value today.

greetings

arkon

[Justasgood]

I have a 1680 in original condition. Search my posts.

Case and dial are in excellent condition. Bracelet is Crap, but it would be perfect for investment and wearing.

[sishac]

I would go with either a 5513 or a 1680 (depending on whether she wants a date or not)...just remember to buy the seller and to buy quality. While a relumed dial or aftermarket crown is fine on a rep, when it comes to vintage rolex, you want all original...no aftermarket and as little service parts (at least ones that you can see...dial, hands, insert, crown, etc.) as possible.

I will also throw in a 1675 into the ring for consideration because with the ability to have a Pepsi and all black bezel, you have almost two watches to choose from (plus, the 1675 are a thinner watch than the subs).....

Good luck, just remember to buy the seller.. There is nothing wrong with buying/wearing a rep, but you don't want to get a rep when you think you are buying gen!!

Tom

[rwgforumfan]

What's a good, reliable place to buy these vintage gens?

[ArkoN]

@sishac thanks very much for youre advice

I did know that about all original and vintage. But thanks for the information. What do you think why would the 5513 or 1680 be the best investment over some 16600/16610/14060(M) models ?

[ArkoN]

what do you think about the 16800 with the saphire crystal? Do you think this one would sometimes come the the vintage world?

[Justasgood]

Because vintage(plastic/acrylic) will always be more desirable and command higher prices.

[glennmichael]

16610LV mk1 flat 4 , full set unpolised. Stock up a Gen crystal ( non- service)

[sishac]

Personally with vintage Rolex I would stick to matte dial and plastic crystal. I happen to be a big fan of lume so I don't have a problem with a service dial & hands.....that throws a 5513 out of the mix as a service dial is glossy, not matte. You could do a 5512. Now with service dials that hurts the value, so if it is for investment remember original, or at least period correct.

[Guest al12]

I have a 1680 in original condition. Search my posts.

Case and dial are in excellent condition. Bracelet is Crap, but it would be perfect for investment and wearing.

K,

Do you have a pic of it? I could not find any posts wit it

[panerai153]

What I would recommend is that you go over to the Vintage Rolex Forum, click on the Vintage Rolex Market and look at what they have for sale, varies from hour to hour, day to day. What you will know for sure is the watch you buy will be genuine and it will be well represented but not "over sold".

 

Personally I would stay away from all the sapphire crystal later Rolex watches, as they are made in the millions, and they aren't going to appreciate much if any. When the market gets soft, as it does from time to time, those are the first to lose value.

 

My favorites would be (in your price range of 5500-6500)  1680 Submariner, 1675 GMT, 16750 GMT. All of the Rolex chronographs are out as they are way out of the stated price. The 1665 SD is a pretty heavy chunky watch, and an "investment grade) piece is going to be around 10-14K. there are lots of other Rolex watches to chose from, but if she is looking for a sport model, these plus the vintage non-date subs are pretty much what's available.

 

Befoere I bought, I would do a lot of reading and looking. If you aren't an expert, get and expert to help you.Someone who knows Rolex vintage watches can save you a lot of money in the long run, as they can spot problems from a long way away. just things like the wrong series dial that someone swapped out 30 years ago, or the wrong insert, or a modern crown that's not age appropriate, replacement hands that don't match the dial, all of these things decrease the value of the watch. If you have all the paperwork, such as Rolex service papers that show the dial, hands, crown and tube were swapped out in 1963, are a great help, but even with that some real collectors would rather have one that's all original. 

 

Another thing, I would never buy a watch as and investment unless it was an extremely desirable, rare or one off piece. When you look at prices of vintage rolex, you have to remember their appreciation has not been completely linear. There have been ups and downs. Another thing, look at the 1680 Submariner for example. They were sold for around 100-150 USD in the late 60's, prices went up and in the 1970's they had skyrocketed to around 400-500 USD!! and that's new price compared to new price, probably a good used 1968 1680 could be bought in 1978 for 300 -400 USD. So prices were doubled in 10 years, fast forward to today. that same 1680 in pristine condition with the original box, punched paper, accessories, etc is now probably around 6500-8000 USD and that's in really, really great shape witha good tight bracelet and all original parts. Subtract for service dial, service hands, refinished dial (Big no no) dings and dents and especially and overpolished case. Add in a few of those and now you're looking at 4500-5500 USD./ So that watch witha birth date in 1968 went from say 150 USD to 6000 USD, helluva jump you say, but wait, it took 55 years to get there, and the ones that didn't fare so well are at 4500, for the same age span. Now suppose you put your 150 USd in the bank in 1968 @ 4% interest, interest went up in the late 70's and 80's to 1lmost 15% now down to nothing, but say you averaged 4% over 55 years, Youwould be better off with the watch, but if you put your money in a stock fund back then and earned just 8% which is well within reach, you would have more than double the value of the watch, in cash! So as most all the experts warn folks , buy tangible objects, art work, cars, watches, whatever, because you love them and you like having them around, but not as and investment. 

 

If you do buy one with the idea of making a few bucks off it later on or possibly using it as trade material to trade up to something different, remember the old RealEstate mantra "location, location, location", well with watch collecting it's " Condition,Condition,Condition". Buying cheap is not a bargan in the long haul.

[sneed12]

A mass-produced watch is not a capital investment. Selecting one that will appreciate in value is like picking the winner of the lottery.

[panerai153]

A mass-produced watch is not a capital investment. Selecting one that will appreciate in value is like picking the winner of the lottery.

 

you are absolutely correct. the problem here is the buyer wants to buy a watch for wear and investment, which in themselves are not compatible, but the amount is not even close to the ball park for "investment"grade watches. I would consider those to be vintage or perhaps some contemporary Pateks, Breguet and others in the hand made very small production number catagory. unfortunately, you aren't going to get into those for 5-6k.

Despite what a lot of folks think, Rolex is a mass produced mid range watch. With production of around one million watches per year. Great watches, value for your buck, maybe, investment, never. My advice would be if you like the brand and some models in particular, buy the watch wear the heck out of it and enjoy it, that's what they were meant for.