Ultimate Rolex buying guide

How to buy a replica Rolex watch

So, you’re out there looking at luxury watches and you’ve made the decision, “I’m going to grab a Rolex”? I’m going to be walking you through step by step how to buy your first Rolex. So, let’s start off with the question of why? Why buy a Rolex? These were the five reasons we identified that most men buy a Rolex.

It’s a status symbol.

Make no mistake about this. A lot of people grab a Rolex, because they know, what it signifies. It signifies, for many people – “you have made it!”. In fact, RBC Markets did this research and found, that 12.3% of people, that make over $100,000, had a Rolex on their list of things they wanted to purchase and that blew away any other type of watch. So, a lot of people for them, if you have a Rolex, you are successful.

Rolex is a very functional watch

Rolex is actually is a very functional watch. In fact, Rolex started off as a tool watch, these were watches that were made to function. They were the first ones to go under 100 meters and be waterproof, with the Submariner. When you look at them the way they’re built, they are built to last.

And, let’s talk about precision. A watch has to be able to tell time, but not all watches are going to tell time, as well as others. When it comes to automatic watches, Rolex does an amazing job of keeping accurate time throughout the day. In fact, Rolex was the first watch, to receive a chronometric precision certificate.

You appreciate the art of watchmaking

The third reason to grab a Rolex, you appreciate the art of watchmaking. Rolex is one of the few companies, where every single piece, every component is made in-house.

Rolex movement components

 

Resell it

Reason number four, resell. Because Rolex has built such a strong brand reputation and so many people know about them, the market is huge for buying used, selling used, even rare replicas. So, it’s something if you get tired of your watch, you can actually sell it sometimes at a profit.

It’s a reputable company

And reason number five, to grab a Rolex, reputation. Rolex has been around for over a hundred years. If you’re just getting into luxury watches, one of the big things – is fear. You don’t want to end up buying something, that’s going to make it look stupid. You’re not going to win awards for creativity for buying a Rolex but, It’s a safe bet, that you’re going to get a good watch at a, a little bit more expensive of a price, but there are many watches out there a lot more expensive, and replica Rolex watches are great to start with. Now, before you buy a Rolex, you probably want to know a little bit about its history.

Rolex History

The company was founded in 1905. It was founded as Wilsdorf and Davis, but it was renamed to Rolex because this name was thought actually just to sound better in multiple languages. But, as cool as the name sounds, people aren’t just going to buy a watch because it says Rolex, especially when it hasn’t established itself as a brand. So, in 1926, they made a really smart decision. There was a woman, that swam across the English Channel, but a lot of people doubted, so she went to do it again. And when she did it the second time, Rolex was there. They actually got her to wear a necklace with a Rolex watch right there.

Now, she ended up getting within a few hundred feet of actually finishing it, so in 1926, you had basically the waterproof watch. They put that on the map.

And not resting on their laurels, in 1931, they created the first self-winding caliber – called The Perpetual.

In 1945, Rolex created the first watch with a date on it called The Date just and this was caliber 740.

In 1953, Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary are the first men to climb Mount Everest, the highest peak in the world. And guess, what they’re wearing? You got it, a Rolex.

Continuing to push boundaries in 1960, Rolex actually had a watch taken down to the lowest point on earth. It was called The Challenger Deep and it went down to 10,911 meters.

In 1963, Rolex creates the first racing chronograph, the Daytona.

Perhaps, the most important decade in Rolex’s entire history the 1970’s, when we saw this company rebrand itself. Not since they took on the name Rolex, have they done something so smart which is to say, “we’re not just about telling time, we are a status piece we are a symbol of luxury goods“. Why did they have to do this? The quartz crisis. So, we had all these cheap quartz watches flooding the market and guess what? People all of a sudden have an inexpensive watch that tells them a very accurate time, so Rolex took a step back and said, “what are these watches really about?” And if you’re looking to buy a luxury watch right now, I bet it is something- it’s not about the time, it’s about simply when you look at this watch, what does it tell you about your time, about the time that you’ve got left and your association with time, that’s why men get into luxury watches.

Basic watch terminology

Now, if you’re going to buy a luxury watch, you need to know a little bit about terminology, so let’s talk about all the various pieces.

First up, we’ve got the case. The case is the body of the watch. It houses all the internal moving parts. Almost all Rolex watches have a solid screw down case back and this sets them apart from a lot of less expensive watches where you see actually and use a snap-on case back or external screws.

Next up, let’s talk about the crown.
The crown – is an external knob, that’s on the side. It’s used to wind and stop the watch, and/or adjust the time and date. It’s marked often with a crown logo with Rolex. And for Rolexes, they’ve screwed automatically onto the case, making them waterproof.

Next up, you’ve got the watch glass. The watch glass – is the transparent convex crystal, that covers the face of the watch. Since the 1970s, Rolex has been using a synthetic sapphire crystal to make their watch glasses.

Next up, we’ve got the bezel. And the bezel – is the outer ring, that seals the case. Now, when you hear the word “bracelet”, this is going to be the band, that attaches the case and holds it to your wrist.

Next up, we’ve got lugs. These are the protruding edges of the watch itself that attach to the bracelet.

Now, when people say model, what they’re referring to is the outer design of the watch. The reference number will tell you the year and version, as well as the caliber.

And so, what’s the caliber? The movement(the caliber), that’s the type of mechanics inside the watch.

Next up, we’ve got the concealed clasp/crownclasp. That’s a clasp, that’s concealed under the link of the bracelet. Basically, it makes the bracelet look like a continuous loop.

Now, let’s talk about the Cyclops lens.

If you’re going to buy a Rolex with a date, you’re probably going to see that Cyclops lens. It’s a very distinctive feature of Rolex because they patented in 1950, and it was something, that just stood out from all the other watches out there.

Basic Rolex materials

Now, let’s talk about the nine basic Rolex materials.

Oyster steel. This is Rolex’s own superalloy and basically, it’s a 904L steel that is resistant to corrosion.

Rolesor. This is the combination of Oyster steel and gold in a two-tone Rolex.

Everose 18k gold. This is a rose gold that gets a unique color from added silver and copper and doesn’t lose its color.

Yellow 18k gold. This is Rolex’s own gold alloy with an iconic color.

White 18k gold. This is Rolex’s white gold, that many people think seems to radiate light.

Platinum. Rolex uses a 950 Platinum, which basically means, we’ve got 950 thousands of platinum and it’s generally combined with a little bit of ruthenium.

Cerachrom. This is Rolex’s, proprietary ceramic that they use in their bezels. It’s scratch-proof and UV-proof, so the color won’t fade.

Precious stones. You’re going to find these on higher-end Rolexes, and they use a wide variety of the different precious stones out there, diamonds being the most common.

And finally, we’ve got Chromalight. This is Rolex’s Lume.

Basically, it looks white in the daytime, but it glows blue in the dark.

Rolex bezels

So now, let’s talk specifically about the bezels. There are six types of bezels, you’re going to see on a Rolex.

First up, you’ve got the plain bezel. You’re going to see that in steel and precious metals.

Number two- we’ve got the fluted bezel. You’re only going to see that in precious metals.

Next up, you’ve got the engraved fixed bezels. You’re only going to see this on the Explorer II and the Daytona Cosmograph.

Rotating bezel with inserts. This is used on professional watches.

Rotating precious metal bezels. You’re going to see this on the sporty, but elegant watches, such as the Yacht-Master.

And finally, we’ve got the bejeweled bezels. As that sound, these bezels are going to come encrusted with precious stones.

Rolex Bracelets

Now, let’s talk about the six types of Rolex bracelets.

First up, we’ve got the Oyster bracelet.

This is going to have larger three-piece links for a sporty look. Now, the Oyster bracelet only comes with the Oyster lock clasp.

Jubilee bracelet. This has a five-piece link. It’s used in dress and sports watches and it comes with either an Oyster lock or a Crown lock clasp.

President bracelet.

It’s less common. It uses the elegantly rounded three-piece links and only comes with a Crown lock clasp.

Pearlmaster bracelet.

This is Rolex’s most elegant bracelet with five-piece links and a Crown lock clasp.

Rolex leather bracelet. It comes in a variety of colors.

Finally we have the Oysterflex rubber bracelet. The luxury rubber with an Oyster lock clasp.

Rolex clasps

Now, we’ve talked about clasps quite a bit, but what are they? They’re the locking mechanism that’s basically, going to open up the watch bracelet, so that you can slip it on and then attach it to your wrist.

Rolex has two types, that they’ve made popular. The first is the Oyster clasp-Oyster lock and basically, this has a two-part mechanism. You open it up right there and then you open it up like that and then you secure it and is the most popular because it comes off as the most secure.

Next up, we’ve got the Crown clasp/Crown lock. It’s very simple, there’s no second mechanism right there.

The essential Modern Rolex Movements

So, we’ve talked about the outside of the watch. Now, let’s talk about the inside of the watch, the movements in particular. You need to know these modern movements if you’re going to be out there looking to buy a Rolex.

First up, we’ve got the 3135. Now, this movement forms the basis of most Rolexes, made today. It was introduced in 1988 and basically, it’s got instantaneous dates switch at midnight, and it has many variants:

3155. It includes the Day-Date.

3130 which has no extra features.
3131 has an anti-magnetic shield, but it doesn’t have the date mechanism. 3132 includes the Paraflex anti-shock system but has no date.

2235. This is a smaller version of the original.

2230 is a smaller dateless version.

3186 has a 24-hour GMT movement.

3187 is the 3186 plus the Paraflex anti-shock.

Now, the next modern movement, you need to know, is 3255. This is a highly accurate movement, introduced in 2015. Rolex says it’s accurate to +3/ -2 secs/day, which is double the standards, set by official Swiss testing institutions. So, if you’re going for time telling accuracy, 3255 is the movement you want in your watch.

Next up, we’ve got the 4130. And we’re going to find this one in the Chronograph Daytona.
Finally, we’ve got the 9001. So, 9001 includes two time zones and an annual calendar. This is the most complicated Rolex movement and it’s available only in the Sky-Dweller.

Modern Rolex watch categories

So, what are the three categories of Rolex watches? Well, first, what we have is the Oyster Perpetual Classic.

These are versatile waterproof watches in classic styles. There are six models available.

Next up, we’ve got the Oyster Perpetual Professional.

These are going to be specialized performance watches and there are seven models.

Cellini.

This is the traditionally styled most dress watch that Rolex makes. They’re going to be less waterproof than the other categories, but they’re still water-resistant. There are four models here.

Let’s talk about the classic models.
The first one, I’m going to pull up is the Oyster Perpetual. This is the classic Rolex watch. We’ve got the three-hand time-only watch Rolex’s most basic watch. It’s a direct descendant of their original Oyster watches and it works as a sport or a dress watch. In my opinion, the Oyster Perpetual is one of the best Rolex watches out there. It is simple, it is elegant, and it’s at a great entry-level price.

Next up, we’ve got the Datejust.

It is considered the iconic Rolex dress watch. So where does the Datejust get its name from?
It used to be wristwatches took hours to actually change the date, with the Datejust, the date changes just before midnight.

Next up, we’ve got the Day-Date. This is going to be a Datejust plus the date of the week. It’s generally offered in fancier configurations, than the Datejust. It only comes in gold or platinum, and it’s sometimes called The President because so many world leaders have owned this watch.

Next up, we’ve got the Pearlmaster.

And this is going to be a Datejust covered in ethically- sourced precious stones. The blinged-out Rolex is basically what it is.

The Sky-Dweller.

I like this watch, but I love this quote, “If you want a watch that looks like a Russian oligarch just curled up around your wrist and died, you might be interested in the latest model of Rolex’s Sky-Dweller.”

I personally like the watch because it’s one of Rolex’s most complicated. It’s going to be able to tell the time in two time zones and it’s got an annual calendar.

Let’s talk about the Cellini collection.

This is going to be Rolex’s line of dress watches. They’re only available in precious metals and according to the catalog, it uses silver in refined lines. Having seen these in person, I think that they’re fine-looking watches. It really wasn’t my cup of tea, but I know many guys that love these watches and if this is what you fall in love with, all the better to you.

Now, let’s talk about Rolex’s professional watches. We’re going to start this off with the Cosmograph Daytona.

So, the Cosmograph Daytona is a very popular racing watch, made in limited numbers. Basically, if you want this watch, you’re going to have to get on a waiting list, unless you’re going after one of the higher end ones, made from precious materials.

Next up, we’ve got the Sea-Dweller.

This is going to be Rolex’s largest watch. It’s a heavy-duty dive watch. It’s only available in Oyster steel. The Deep-Sea version went to the bottom of the Mariana Trench with James Cameron. This thing is made to go underwater.

Now, this next watch is the iconic Rolex. When people say I saw somebody wearing a Rolex when they buy a Rolex, often times, the Rolex they’re talking about is the Submariner.

Now, why is this Rolex so iconic? Because, when you look at James Bond, you look at someone like Steve McQueen, you see them wearing a Rolex Submariner. And, guys, despite being the most common Rolex, this is still an amazingly functional great watch.

GMT-Master II.

This is a pilot watch with a range of colorful two-tone bezels with soda related nicknames like Pepsi and the Coke and the root beer. Now, the bezel type, it uses a bi-directional rotating 24-hour bezel for tracking multiple time zones.

Rolex Explorer.

As mentioned earlier the name of this watch in the association with it is with Mount Everest, Hillary, and Tenzing when they went to the top. This was the watch that commemorated them climbing to the top.
Explorer II – very different than the classic Explorer.

So, what is this watch for? This watch is all about caving, spelunking in dark environments, but the big feature here is the highly visible bright orange 24-hour hands.

Now, speaking of a functional watch, have you ever seen the Milgauss?

Look at the dial on this watch. Do you notice that second hand? Do you notice how it’s got that little lightning bolt there? This is all about how this watch is actually functional. It’s got the whole anti-magnetic shield. So, if you work in and around speakers, if you work in an environment in which your watch could be magnetized, you want to go for the Milgauss. And, even if you don’t need the features, a lot of guys just simply like the look of this watch. For them, it’s fun, it’s playful with the green tint with the orange lightning bolt, it’s a good-looking watch.

The Air-King.

And this one was marketed after World War II as an aviation watch because so many World War II pilots used Rolex Oysters for the legibility and the accuracy, it was something that they wanted to have a watch that basically was all about the air.

Yacht-Master.

Now, the Yacht-Master as the name implies is a yachting watch. And it’s got a bezel that goes both ways the reason being, so you could time races. While we are here let’s talk about the Yacht-Master II.

This is a yachting watch with a countdown chronograph programmed, by rotating the bezel and crown.

When and how to buy a Rolex

Before you spend any money, you need to have these three things lined up. So, the first thing you have to have in order before you buy a Rolex is your own mindset. You got to be honest with yourself on why you are buying this watch and for the vast majority of us, it is going to be because of our ego, because we want something, that’s a status symbol.

I’ll admit, for me, it was a symbol. You’ve got to be honest with yourself and when you have all of a sudden clarity on why you want to do this, then we go to the second part.

The second thing you need to have lined up when you buy a Rolex is your finances. You need to be able to buy that Rolex in full. Do not use a credit card, don’t put it on some payment plan, don’t be paying 20% interest. Guys, that is stupid. And you don’t want to be in a position that that’s going to cause you financial ruin. I know there are people that buy up watches and then they resell them. And they’re doing this as an investment they’re trying to make money off this. If that’s your business and you’re good at it and you have built your way up, congratulations, for the vast majority of us, that is not the case. Here our replica Rolex store comes handy since you can get a hold of your favorite Rolex watch without breaking the bank.

And, the third point- the more you know about Rolexes, the better deal you are going to get. I’m not saying