In the world of luxury product acquisition, there are few things more distressing to the mind of a passionate collector than the thought of harm coming to their valued possessions. Yes, nothing in this realm can hold a candle to health or the well-being of one’s loved ones, but these small treasures, often rare or unique (and certainly expensive) hold a special place in the heart of one who has dedicated their time and effort to make them theirs.I am often asked if it is important to insure a collection of used luxury watches. In fact, I am asked it more often then makes conscionable sense to me, because the answer is simple: Yes, yes you should. And more to the point, if you own a luxury watch like a Rolex Submariner (let alone if you own numerous luxury watches) and you’re asking that question, you should save your breath for the insurance provider on the other end of the phone.And that’s really the best place to start. In this digital age, it seems we’ve all become a bit interaction-shy, but with a complex and potentially serious situation like making an insurance claim, it is always best to have set-up your policy having talked directly to another human being – an expert in their field. You really should leave nothing to chance. Don’t be afraid to ask stupid questions – insurance is complicated and rules and regulations vary from country to country (massively) and occasionally, even from region to region. If you move to a new area, don’t just assume that your previous policy will port seamlessly. Check it out. Trust me: It’s worth it.Having lived most of my life in the UK and Germany, I have intimate personal experience with moving a watch collection across borders. And the differences are stark. Some things are easier in some territories, and some things are harder, but the three things you should focus on first when looking into insuring your collection (or single watch) is the total value of your collection, how many “declarable” models you will need to put on your policy, and how all of this can affect your remaining contents insurance.So let’s start with the first point. This is relatively simple. Add up the retail value of the watches in your collection. When doing this, make sure you collate invoices and receipts (if possible) into a physical and digital folder. Scan everything, stick it in a PDF and email a copy to yourself rather than keeping it on your hard-drive alone (it stands to reason that if your property gets turned over your laptop may go the same way as your watches).
All good things must come to an end, and it is as true at Rolex as anywhere else. Over the years, certain pieces have disappeared from the portfolio, either replaced with an updated version or else retired completely. Rolex actually seems to make a habit of discontinuing many of their references with little or no warning, and for reasons only they understand. In some instances, the withdrawn watches are real fan favorites, and it leaves potential customers with just one option to get hold of them.Below, we take a look at five of Rolex’s most-loved discontinued models that are now only available on the pre-owned market.Rolex has a history of marking the key birthdays of a number of its icons with some kind of out-of-the-ordinary celebration, and in 2003, the Rolex Submariner celebrated its 50th anniversary. The world’s most famous luxury dive watch marked its half-century in style with the release of the ref. 16610LV, not only the first Submariner to be fitted with a black Maxi dial, but also the first to have a green bezel.Major departure that it was for the model, it became something of an opinion splitter. There had been variations on the traditional black bezeled pieces before – blue versions (although only on gold and two-tone pieces) being the most common; however, the emerald surround on this anniversary edition led to it picking up a nickname from both the ‘for’ and ‘against’ camps. Those who loved the new colorway called it the Kermit; those less keen christened it the Vomit Sub.
On brown dial, each detail is very close to genuine, cream yellow Arabic hour markers are three-dimensional and plump. Blue steel hour and minute hands are wide, they are applied with luminous material, so are hour markers. The dial has a perfect lume effect at night. The Lume light is green and lasts for a long time. At 3 o’clock, date is displayed through a small square window, date font is white and has the correct thickness. More important, the date font is centered in the window, not too right or too left.Genuine IW327006 titanium watch is equipped with IW35111 in-house movement, which is actually developed from Swiss ETA 2892. The replica uses a Sea-Gull 2892, which has the same construction as ETA 2892, maybe the decoration on rotor and movement plate is different, but the watch has a solid case back, so I do not care the decoration, as long as it is stable. Absolutely if you do care about the subtle details, you can install one genuine ETA 2892 inside the replica by yourself, it is easy. The improved Sea-Gull 2892 movement of the replica has the same winding feel, its date adjusting direction is also correct.
GS, a common factory makes moderate quality fake watches, now they published a collection of IWC FA Jones, which includes three models, golden, blue and black. Besides having retro style, these FA Jones models look elegant and generous, they are perfect choices for mature men. The reference number is IW544203, case diameter is 43mm and 12mm thick. Wristwatch is derived from pocket watch, while IWC FA Jones is the watch that keeps the most complete DNA of IWC pocket watch posted in old decades. Have you seen the hour and minute hand as well as the pumpkin-shaped crown? They are all iconic features of old pocket watches.Case is brushed and bezel is polished. Case back is see-through crystal, there are six screws on case back rim. Round case looks elegant, and it is ultra thin. Lugs are slightly curved, case design fully meets the standard of ergonomics, it is very suitable to wear even your wrist is thin. Each piece of case is picked carefully by GS factory, to ensure it is a perfect replica of original and brings comfortable wearing.
The dial has a lot things worthy of talking. First it is about the high readability. White dial has thick black Arabic numeral hour markers, the minute markers are also in black color, it is very convenient for the wearer to catch time from the dial. The big triangle marker at 12 and hour markers at 3, 6 and 9 are applied with Swiss Superlume material, so in dark condition, you will find these four markers will emit a strong green light, this improves the dial readability. There are three working subdials, they are sunken from the main dial. Each small dial works well and features a blue hand. Among them, small seconds subdial is at 9 o’clock, 30-minute chronograph counter and 12-hour chronograph counter are positioned at 12 and 6 o’clock repectively. At 3 o’clock, next to the hour marker, there are two square windows, the left window is displaying current day, while the right window is showing date, both have black font. All hands on the white dial use blue color, not only eye-catching, but also give your eyes fresh outlook.
