Rolex has graduated from a watch brand into a seismic force to which the regular rules do not apply. While it is far (far) from guaranteed that any Rolex watch you buy will appreciate from the day you bought it, time is showing us that these models, both old and new, endure the fluctuations of the watch market very well indeed.And, in fact, buying a pre-owned model might well be the very best thing you can do in the case of Rolex. Many of the new professional models are simply unattainable without waiting an inordinate amount of time – or without paying an exorbitant grey market mark-up to skip the queue. Older professional models are available for prices below those of a new model, and present the chance to pick-up a potential classic while also expanding your knowledge of the crown.Part of the joy of the watchmaking game is getting to know the tiny ticker on your wrist. Buying modern watches because they are in vogue is all well and good, but it can sometimes be a bit of a rushed exercise (thanks to all that competition). A far nicer, and (in my opinion) rewarding way to pursue this hobby is to consciously decouple oneself from the pursuit of luxury, or status, or the latest trend, and instead put stock in the long road. Read about old models. Pore over their nuances. Allow yourself to appreciate how certain models and certain designs can somehow, almost inexplicably to a modern mind, encapsulate an era so perfectly. These wordless time capsules are worth seeking, as they can, in a single glance, remind us of a simpler time when things didn’t move so fast.My first Rolex was a Rolesor Datejust from 1985. I bought it pre-loved after finally managing to get over my thirst for Pepsi, and having hit the history books in search of inspiration. It cost me around $4,000 and it looked brand new but so satisfyingly anachronistic. Vintage is not for everyone, but before you dismiss it as an option, remember that whatever you like right now will be old someday soon. And it is only with the passing of time that we’re really able to understand what has managed to stand its test.
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 In some instances, the withdrawn watches are real fan favorites, and it leaves potential customers with just one option to get hold of them.Below, we take a look at five of Rolex’s most-loved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.
The dial is black, it has delicate matte texture. The dial has a very high readability, besides the big hour markers and wide hands, there is also increased luminescence on hour markers and hands to ehance the visibility when you are in dark conditions. This IWC Aquatimer is very like Rolex Submariner, both have robust case, big hour markers, wide hands and strong dial lume. The minute hand is highly recognizable because the orange Swiss lume material is in line with the eye-catching orange 1-15 diving markers on the bezel.The replica watch is equipped with an Asia ETA 2892 automatic movement, which is very reliable and has been used in many replica watches such as Cartier Ballon Bleu, MK IWC Pilot, Hublot Classic Fusion, etc., and these have become the best-selling replica watches in our market. The following are detailed photos of the two watches, please check.Big Pilot is one of the best-selling watches of IWC. It has a very iconic onion-shaped crown that is very large. Among all IWC series, Pilot is the most popular one, while Big Pilot is the best-selling due to its large size under current big watch trend. There are a lot of Big Pilot models IWC has published, some already have accupied an important position in watch market, for example, the Big Pilot Prince. Today, I will introduce two new Big Pilot watches, one is made with Titanium, the other is made with solid bronze.
IW389001 is in whole black, including the dial, it is the model I prefer. While IW389002 has a green dial. There is one little difference between the two watches on the dial, that is IW389002 has a red circle on the center of the dial to display 12 hours. Two subdials are positioned at 12 and 6 o’clock. The subdial with a small red hand is small seconds subdial, while the subdials at 12 o’clock have two small dials in sunken design, the outer one is 60-minute chronograph counter, while the inner one is 12-hour chronograph counter. All hour markers are in white, the markers at 3, 6, 9 and 12 o’clock are applied with luminous material, they will emit a strong green light at night.Compared with the green dial of IW389002, I like the black one of IW389001 more. It has a match of white details in blackground, which greatly increases the dial readability. Black looks cooler too.
