Let's talk about Rolex, collectors, and collecting

As a kid growing up, I always wanted a Rolex. I think it's one of those things that is drilled into you from birth: Rolex is the best, most accurate, and (insert any/every superlative word here) watch the planet has ever known and always will know. I bought fake Rolexs as a kid with clear casebacks and sea-gull movements, of course my friends didn't know better and I felt pretty cool. Now, 8 years later, I'm still a kid but my tastes have matured slowly, a small credit is owed to fakes but much more is owed to the collectors on forums and online that share the passion for the industry.

My first "real" luxury watch

The first fine watch I owned was a Breitling Colt GMT from high school graduation, I consider myself a traveller and had a friend who gave me a Breitling catalog he had obtained from an air show. I was also enamored with Breitling and Hublot at the time because I had two classmates from extraordinarily wealthy families back in Geneva that owned them. I reviewed the endless propaganda that the brand websites generated and decided that for my budget (under 2000 dollars new) the Breitling was the right fit. After all, I did owe it to the brand after having owned a fake chronomat that had a subdial fall off.

Never having had occasion to handle a rolex, I eventually got the chance to examine a used modern explorer and submariner at my favorite jeweler Erik Spitzer of Radcliffe's in Baltimore, Maryland. I was honestly not impressed at the flimsy feel of the tuna-can bracelet and the sharp edges of the case. I had been seriously affected after seeing Patek Philippe's standards and demanded that all sharp edges be polished. But somehow, the trip ignited a desire for a "real watch" which I eventually found out meant held an original manufacturer movement in a specifically designed case. Rolex technically did fit the bill but seemed to be regarded as a little higher or equal to Omega but also as pompous and unfitting for a young man.

My impression of Rolex took a turn at the Rolex dealer in Chicago, where I had tried on a yellow gold Submariner date and a white gold Daytona. The watches felt much more solid than the pre-owned pieces I had held earlier, and in the glittering lights of the boutique, did not seem to be over-done. I eventually learned that the Submariner was the first dive watch and that stamped end-links with lug-holes were a signature, as was the now much copied helium release valve.

I eventually did buy a rolex of my own, a 14060M no date submariner which I felt was the best balance of tradition, ruggedness, and wearability. I no longer fool myself that the "rugged" watches made by Breitling, Rolex, Omega and the like are anywhere near what G-Shock can handle, but at the same time I've developed more realistic expectations about watches, embracing all their merits and shortfalls. In these 8 years since my fakes, I've learned to appreciate the history of watches, the design, the people who work on them, and most of all, the other collectors that collectively form the wonderful ecosystem in which we all learn.