Disclaimer
The opinions expressed herein are my own personal opinions and do not represent anyone else's view in any way, including those of my employer.
© Copyright 2006
The opinions expressed herein are my own personal opinions and do not represent anyone else's view in any way, including those of my employer.
© Copyright 2006
A San Francisco expert on used Rolex watches debunks a recent “USA Today” report that claims wristwatches are fast giving way to cell phones, PDAs and computers as the timepieces of choice.“Collectible used Rolex watches and other fine timepieces will never take a back seat to cell phones PDAs and computers,” says the San Francisco gemologist. “Hundreds of thousands of Americans value the artistry of mechanical watches and, in fact, are even willing to stand in line to pay higher and higher prices for them.”
According to New York-based Simmons Market Research Bureau – a company that measures consumer buying habits – sales on wristwatches have dropped as much as 34% since 2000. Last month, “USA Today” published an article about the survey written by Maria Puentes. In it, the newspaper reporter posed the question: “Who needs a watch with a cell phone and a Blackberry at hand?”
Dayan’s answer? “Plenty of people do. This line of thinking is nonsense – when it comes to the Rolex watch industry,” he says. “This is like saying the Rolls Royce and Ferrari dealers are going out of business because a new public transit system has come to town.”
The Israeli Gemological Institute scholar, an international authority on collectible used Rolex watches,says the “the pollsters would have different statistics to report if they had queried the thousands upon thousands of Rolex collectors in the United States and around the world who value the wristwatches so much many wait as long as six or seven years for the opportunity to own limited edition models such as the Rolex Daytona.”
The San Francisco gem expert says the slump in watch sales doesn’t apply to collectors who specialize in high-end timepieces. “These people don’t wear watches just to tell time,” says Dayan.
“If all they wanted to do was accurately track the passage of time, then high-tech devices like cell phones and PDAs – or even a simple Timex purchased at the drug store – would do a splendid job. They want high-end collectible wristwatches that reveal their personalities – and yes, their success and station in life. Knowing the exact time of day, as reported by some sort of computer, cannot accomplish that goal.”
Dayan says people who appreciate used Rolex watches would never permit new technology to come between them and the social and emotional benefits they derive from wearing a fine wristwatch. They understand that watches aren’t just for telling time.”
The luxury timepiece expert makes a prediction about used Rolex watches and the free-wheeling high-tech time-tellers of today: “That 25-year-old guy who tells time today with his cell phone may also be the guy, who 15 years down the road will wear nothing but a collectible used Rolex. Success breeds an appreciation for fine things, and that includes investment timepieces, which are really works of art.”
Tags: rolex+wristwatch, luxury+watch, expert+information, rolex, blackberry
Names on the dial are not official and ROLEX recognizes them as standard dials.
These names have really been given to models by collectors.
The name “PAUL NEWMAN” comes from the film CARRERA MEXICANA in 1970.The actor wore a stainless steel cosmograph with an unusual dial for this film.
The watch became available at the same time and enthusiasm among buyers was not strong. Some dealers in the 1970s replaced the “PAUL NEWMAN” with a normal dial.
However in the 1980’s, collectors began to appreciate this model and the “PAUL NEWMAN” started to climb in value. Eventually becoming worth about twice as much as the standard dials.
The “PAUL NEWMAN” dial was produced all years of the COSMOGRAPH watch, from 1963 to 1978, and was made for the American market.
Judging by the number of “PAUL NEWMAN” watches available today it can be assumed that less numbers were made than the standard dial.
The highest density of ROLEX from this time is probably in Italy. This is because in the last fifteen years, the European market has gathered up all the standard and “PAUL NEWMAN” models on the American market, including in South America, where many gold models turned up, sometimes 18 carat gold versions.
He mostly wears the watch his wife gave him when he started his racing career in 1972. It is a Rolex Cosmograph Daytona but a regular model not one of the “Paul Newman” models which had a different face. It is inscribed “Drive Slowly, Joanne”.)In the The Color of Money (1986) he wore a Stainless Steel Submariner with Jubilee Bracelet (Good quality close-up). And in When Time Ran Out (1980) he wears a Rolex GMT
Tags: rolex+paul+newman, rolex+daytona, Rolex, cosmograph, rolex+watch, rolex+cosmograph
Some Swiss watches have the inscription “Genève” (Geneva), usually below the company’s name on the face:
“Genève” still remains something special. The “Bureau de contrôle des Montres de Genève” controls the correct use of this mark of nobility for a Swiss watch. To be allowed to carry the inscription “Genève,” a watch must be
* a Swiss watch and
* at least one of the major operations in fabrication, either assembly of the movement or insertion of the movement into the case, must have been performed in the canton of Genève so that at least 50% of the total cost of production incur in this canton.
Tags: geneva, watch, swiss+made
On December 15, 2001, the “Berner Zeitung” (BZ) reported that Fossil bought the three watch companies Montres Antima, Méliga Habillement Horloger, and Synergies Horlogères SA (all Biel, Switzerland). On December 20, the BZ added that Fossil has bought the rights in the brand “Zodiac.” Zodiac, a Swiss watch company with a long history – it was founded in Le Locle in the canton of Neuchâtel in 1882 – has been out of business since 1997, the brand name, however, still exists. Fossil paid 11 million Swiss Francs for the three companies and the brand name “Zodiac.” These acquisitions will allow Fossil to produce “Swiss Made” watches.
These were the facts, here are the comments: I welcome the fact that an old and traditional Swiss watch brand will not simply vanish like so many others. Fossil, however, is not exactly a player in the “Haut de Gamme” league – mostly quartz movements (although they do have some automatics) in the lower price range.
Zodiac, on the contrary, had a reputation for good quality mechanical watches: In 1948/49, Zodiac and LeCoultre independently introduced the power reserve indicator for automatic wristwatches, and the Zodiac “Astrographic SST” (1973) even achieved chronometer standards. I am very much afraid that we will soon see this old traditional name on cheap quartz watches. Let’s wait and see – I hope that the future will prove me wrong.
tags fossil, watch, swiss+watch, neuchatel, swiss+made, zodiac, Berner ,Zeitung tags
Arizona Cardinal quarterback and 2004 Heisman Trophy winner Matt Leinart has signed an exclusive, multiyear sponsorship deal with IceLink Watch, a Los Angeles-based luxury lifestyle timepiece and jewelry manufacturer. As part of the agreement, the watch company will use Leinart in its first-ever national advertising campaign slated to start in November.NFL quarterback Matt Leinart signs with IceLink Watch
Two Swiss-made watch brands—Swiss-based Mondaine, creator of the Swiss Railways Watch, and U.S.-based Luminox, known for its unique watch-illumination system—have formed a new partnership. It includes an endeavor to market their watches in the United States. In April, André and Ronnie Bernheim, founders of the Swiss watch company Mondaine, bought 50 percent of the American comp.Mondaine, Luminox Form Partnership, New U.S. Agency
Soon after that, the wrist watch was making its first appearance. Until then, the pocketwatch had been king. A fine pocket watch gave a man an air of respectability. When Wilsdorf and Davis first released the wristwatch, though, the public viewed the new invention derisively.
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Howard Levitt, president of Tourneau, received the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year 2006 Award in the Retail Consumer Products category in the Metropolitan New York Area. The award recognizes outstanding entrepreneurs who are building and leading dynamic and growing businesses.Tourneau’s Levitt honored for entrepreneurial excellence
Luxury Swiss watchmaker CORUM has entered into an agreement with Harrah’s Entertainment, Inc. that will designate it as the official timepiece of the World Series of Poker, the two companies said in a joint statement.CORUM to be official timepiece of the ‘World Series of Poker’
The news amazed and shocked the rest of the world. Wilsdorf decided that from then on all Rolex timepieces should be submitted to related tests carried out by impartial institutes. Without its Official Timing Certificate, no other Rolex chronometer would be ever sold again. And today, it is obligatory that a timepiece to be sold as a chronometer is accompanied by and Official Timing Certificate.
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From January 21 to 27, 2007, US SAILING’s Rolex Miami OCR returns to the waters of Biscayne Bay, bringing together the world’s top Olympic and Paralympic class competitors. The 18th annual US SAILING Rolex Miami OCR is a mainstay on the winter circuit for sailors who are campaigning for the next Olympic and Paralympic Games. The event is ranked by the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) as a Grade 1 event and features competition in 13 Olympic and Paralympic classes.
Once again US SAILING will be partnering with Rolex the premier makers of luxury watches to make this race week the best. Good luck to all!!
Guests checking into hotels in Naples are to receive an unusual gift to protect them from “Rolex-snatchers”. Every guest will find a cheap plastic watch by their beds emblazoned with a motif of either a pizza or Mount Vesuvius. Attached will be a tag saying: “Leave your Rolex in the hotel safe, and keep track of your holiday time with this simple sign of welcome.” The tackiness of the watch, the centerpiece of a $150,000 program will hopefully help to ease this problem. Crime has also forced many restaurants to drive customers to and from their hotels while groups have been provided with escorts. The advertising company Saatchi & Saatchi has also launched a campaign to change the city’s image. Tourism industry officials and newspapers welcomed the new watches. “Since you cannot buy them in the shops, these watches could end up becoming the city’s number one souvenir,” the Italian daily newspaper La Repubblica wrote. The idea was created by Cesare Falchero, the owner of a theme park called Edenland. Mr Falchero began lending watches to tourists last year to avoid thefts inside his park.
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