What to Think About When Buying a Pre-Owned Rolex
Rolex is undoubtedly one, if not the most, popular watch brand on the market today. Ever since Rolex introduced their sports models they have played a big role in sports watches.
Vintage advertisements from the 60s, 70s, and 80s show that only the superior and elite would wear a Rolex whether the occasion was to dive, fly, hike, or produce a movie. This has, of course, inspired many people and Rolex customers to strive and try to purchase a Rolex watch for a very long time. In today’s market, perhaps the most common way of purchasing your Rolex would be from a reputable dealer or at an Authorized dealer.
A well-known phenomenon is, of course, the “Rolex shortage” which means that popular sports models, especially in stainless steel, such as the Rolex Submariner, GMT Master II, or the Daytona nearly are impossible to be allocated from your local authorized dealer.
This means that the fastest option, in most cases, is to purchase the watch directly from a reputable dealer on the second-hand market. As Rolex are expensive luxury objects, there are always risks involved, such as purchasing a watch that is counterfeit. This is why it is important to know what to look out for when purchasing a Rolex on the second-hand market. One of the best ways to do that is to buy from a reputable seller. Here are our tips on what to look out for when purchasing a Rolex on the second-hand market.
The Price
An old saying is: “If something seems to be too good to be true, then it probably is.”. This is perhaps something that a lot of people would take for granted but makes sense and should apply to everything.
If you are on the hunt for a Rolex Submariner 116610LN, for example, your local authorized dealer may not allocate you one, hence why you are searching for one on the second-hand market. By then, you probably realize that the model is highly sought after and thereby most likely will sell for a premium. Of course, miracles can happen, but in order to avoid mistakes to happen, a good idea is not to gamble on something that appears to be too good to be true.
Know how your model should look
If you are looking to purchase a certain model, a great idea is to study the model beforehand and try to identify how the prints, materials, hands, and dial placements should look like. By knowing what the font should look like on the print you can tell if something is off about the watch you’re supposed to purchase.
This might be rather difficult and takes a lot of practice. Of course, the easiest way to compare a watch that you are not 100% certain if it’s authentic or not is to have the same model, which you know is authentic, and compare it side by side, this, of course, is not possible all the time.
The Dial and Lettering
You should know what font and how the print should look like. If the watch you are purchasing is a chronograph you should know how the sub-dials should be placed. Look for any type of spelling error, for example if Chronograph would be spelled “Kronograf” you know something is far off. There are exceptions of course and a good example of this is the Omega Seamaster reference CK2907 which had a batch in 1956 with the word Seamaster misspelled on the case back “Seemaster”. These errors might be to your advantage in some cases if you know they are existent of course, but overall, they are rare.
Brushed and Polished material
Knowing how a watch should look when brand new from the factory can help you a lot with spotting a watch that is polished, but perhaps also non-original. You should know how the materials look and are treated, such as grain size and how the brushed finish is structured. Rolex uses perfection in their brushing-and polishing process and everything that differs from perfection can be good to examine closer.
Fullset
If you are purchasing a watch that is sold as a full set it is good to know what “full set” means. In most cases full set is referring to Outer Box, inner box, booklet, manual, certificate, certificate holder, COSC tag (sometimes even price tag), spare links (if not all are mounted on the bracelet), and of course the watch itself.
Mainly when purchasing a watch that is under guarantee it is extremely important to have the certificate to the watch as this is the only value document to strengthen that the watch still is under warranty.
A watch without a valid warranty card cannot be sent to Rolex for warranty issues. If you are scouting an older watch it is worth taking into consideration if box and papers are important to you as these are typical accessories that can easily get lost over time. The certificate is no longer covered by warranty but might be good to have if you are looking to have the watch and its original accessories. As a collector, a full set watch is often something to strive after but comes with a higher price tag.
Bracelet types
If you are looking to get a Rolex watch before 2011 the clasp and bracelet will be marked, which can be used to determine whether the bracelet is correct for the watch or not. You can read or article about Rolex Bracelet and Clasp Codes here.
Original Parts
If you are purchasing a pre-owned watch always look out for parts that might have been exchanged. Common parts that have been switched out on watches, often older than 10 years, are the dial, hands, inserts, crown, and sometimes bracelet. If you are purchasing a Submariner from 1995, the dial should have the text “Swiss – T < 25” written at the 6 o’clock position.
If the dial has been changed from 2000 and onwards from an authorized service center, the text written at the 6 o’clock position will be “Swiss Made”. This indicates that the original dial had index filled with tritium, and has been exchanged for a newer dial with Luminova instead. This is something that will affect the price.
This is why it’s always good to know what you are purchasing to avoid getting tricked. Hence why research and knowledge is so important. It is always possible to swap out exchanged parts that not are contemporary for contemporary parts, but might be difficult as those parts not still are being produced and only will be possible to find on the second-hand market. These parts will most likely not be the original part for that exact watch but will be from the same time era.
Summary
When purchasing a pre-owned watch it might be difficult to purchase the right watch where everything is original and complete. That’s why we strongly advise you as a buyer to always purchase your watch from a trusted source, for example, a reputable watch dealer. This way, the watch dealer will guarantee that what you are buying is correct and complete for the watch. Also, remember as a buyer to ask questions if you are uncertain about anything. A reputable dealer will always help and guide you through your purchase.
