Why A Cheap Rolex Is Often The Most Expensive One

Talk to someone who is into Porsche, and they will tell you that a cheap Porsche is often far more expensive than one with a (slightly) higher price. The reason for this is almost apparent; the cheap ones either already have some mechanical issues, or are well on their way as the maintenance on these cars is often not carried out correctly, or not carried out at all. The car might also not be 100% original anymore, and to work your way through all these problems, you often end up spending more than a good Porsche would have cost you in the first place, while never attaining that higher level of quality.

It pays to find a reliable seller because even genuine Rolex watches occasionally come with phony packaging and paperwork

With a vintage or pre-loved Rolex, this is exactly the same. We see many Rolex’s out there at competitive prices that are almost too good to be true. Everybody likes to get a good deal of course, but the question is, at what price? When buying a Rolex (or any other vintage watch for that matter), you are actually buying the seller. One of the first questions to ask anybody from whom you want to purchase a vintage Rolex is if they are registered as a company and if you buy the Rolex from that company. Why? Because these days, many private persons pretend they are a legitimate business and present themselves as such through social media. For you as a client, this can make a big difference, as in many countries, including The Netherlands, buying anything from a private person means you have no guarantee when the watch is not what it pretends to be. When purchasing from a company, you have way more options, options like a legal consumer warranty for instance, a place to directly return your watch for a service and/or a repair, getting advise on numerous things watch related etc. As a company also has expenses and has to pay VAT and income taxes, the prices of their watches are obviously higher, but believe us when we say that it’s absolutely worth it. We’ve already seen multiple watches from several clients bought from private sellers, online auctions and/or marketplaces for instance, with fake dials, fake bracelets, non-original parts inside the movements and even fake white golden, Fluted bezels.

Buy the seller, before you buy the watch

Correct maintenance on a Rolex, Omega or Cartier for instance is costly, and many sellers just put their watches on a timing machine. When the rate is acceptable, they stay away from a service, meaning that this will have to happen in the near future at the expense of the new owner. At WatchWorks Haarlem, we want our clients to have a carefree start with their new (vintage) Rolex, so all our watches are serviced according the brands factory specifications by experienced and licensed watchmakers whom all have been trained at Rolex Geneva, Omega, Cartier, Patek Philippe etc, at some point in time. During our repairs and full service on Rolex movements for instance, we only use original Rolex parts. This is also why we give a two-year guarantee with all watches that we sell and repair, and in 95% of the cases, we can also ensure a 100% waterproofing on the vintage watches we sell; which is quite a statement when dealing with vintage pieces, as they are sometimes over half a century old..

Care-free enjoyment of your ‘new’ watch is a priceless experience

Another thing that all the above guarantees is that the Rolex you buy (from WatchWorks) is 100% original. This is something we are very focused on when purchasing watches for our collection. As mentioned; bezels, dials, movements and even entire bracelets are sometimes replaced for after-market parts that look the same, but are not of the Rolex quality. Needless to say, they negatively impact the overall value of your Rolex watch, and will most likely have you spending way more trying to correct it all. So when investing in such a watch, it is better to be insured that you get precisely what you are paying for – That is why spending a little bit more can sometimes mean you’re getting a great deal.