Today’s unboxing is full of Rolex, Vacheron, Breguet, and an Audemars Piguet Purple Monster! 😈
Roman:
Okay. So it’s going to be a very exciting Unboxing today. We’re going to have the usual Rolex, AP, blah, blah, blah, blah, although not so regular AP. But we’re also going to have a whole bag dedicated to our boy Marco.
We’re going to start with some usual suspects, and give you a couple of market updates, courtesy of little Alex.
Unboxing a Rolex Sky-Dweller
Roman:
And we’re going to start… What’s that?
Alex:
Sky-Dweller white dial.
Roman:
It is a Sky-Dweller white dial, reference number?
Roman:
326934. Talk to me about the market price today on it. This is pre-owned.
Alex:
So something like this, you’re going to be picking up under $20K, most definitely. Maybe even in the $18 to $19 thousand range. Just depends on the condition, year, box, and papers. These are really good values. The Sky-Dweller overall is a big watch to have.
Roman:
I mean, the white dials and the black dials, they went up to about $30 grand, right? In the high market?
Alex:
Yeah.
Marco:
Yeah.
Roman:
So Sky-Dweller is one of the models that took the biggest hit, but yet it’s still…
Alex:
And to think about it, you’re picking up one of the highest complicated…
Roman:
Well, currently the highest complicated.
Marco:
Yeah. The most –
Alex:
Yeah. It’s a complicated Rolex for under 20K, which is something that a Starbucks is trading for.
Marco:
I love it, too, because it’s so reminiscent of… It’s this steel Day-Date of sorts, right? It’s like, if you don’t want all gold or you can’t afford white gold, maybe you go for a Sky-Dweller. It’s a perfect alternative.
Roman:
Yeah. There is no steel Day-Date, so there you have it.
See Also:
Breaking Down Rolex Prices: Retail vs. Actual Market for Top Models
How Does The Rolex Waiting List Work? Can it Be Avoided?
ROLEX GMT-MASTER II “ROOT BEER” 126711CHNR
Unboxing a Rolex GMT-Master II Rootbeer
Roman:
Let’s talk about the two-tone root beer. Another one that was high and mighty. This thing went up to the low thirties.
Alex:
$30 grand. Yeah.
Roman:
And where’s it at now?
Alex:
This is sitting just under $22,000, $21,000.
Roman:
Again, now, when we say –
Alex:
But it also depends on the condition. You can pick these up as low as $18,000.
Marco:
Right. Again, these all vary depending on your condition.
Alex:
I’m giving brand-new prices.
Roman:
But the thing of it is, what I’d like to see is the fact that the market has come down to earth, rather than taken a dump, because some of the prices were just outrageous, yet all of these Rolexes are still trading way over the list.
Alex:
We’re back to where we were before the whole boom right around Christmas time.
Roman:
It’s not so normal because some of these drops are pretty significant. They’re 30%, 40% drops. So that’s pretty significant. Let’s talk about this guy.
Unboxing a Rolex Explorer
Alex:
These went as high as $15,000, $14,000.
Roman:
They were pretty steady. They didn’t go up super crazy, they didn’t go down super crazy.
Marco:
So interesting thing, actually, about this watch is in the GMT, they usually use the caliber 3186. This version, 216, is the only one with the caliber 3187. So potential future collectible. Only one of its kind that uses that movement.
Unboxing a Rolex Ladies Datejust
Roman:
What is this?
Marco:
Ooh. That’s pretty.
Alex:
Another ladies’.
Roman:
I guess nobody knows the reference number on this one.
Alex:
Yeah, it’s a 1742 something.
Marco:
I have no idea.
Roman:
It’s a 1742 something.
Marco:
It’s a ladies’ Datejust.
Alex:
278273.
Roman:
These are watches that all of a sudden became unavailable when the hype happened. Before, in the good old days before your times, a 28 or 31-millimeter Rolex is something I can call 10 ADs on and get 25%, or 30% off on. That became impossible during the hype, and it’s still impossible because people are picking up every Rolex that’s out there because right now you walk into some of these boutiques and this may be the only watch that’s available. But honestly, not every lady wants to wear a big watch. This is a good size. At the end of the day, aesthetically, size is somewhat irrelevant on Rolex, and especially ladies’ Rolexes. It’s just the overall look of the watch. It’s a good-looking watch.
Unboxing a Vacheron Constantin Dual Time
Roman:
I think that’s it for Rolex. Let’s go to Marco’s favorite brand, Vacheron.
Roman:
How do you say it properly?
Marco:
Vacheron Constantin.
Roman:
So I know what this watch is because I bought it. This is part of the Historique lineup.
Marco:
Which is the best lineup, in my opinion, or one of the best lineups in all of watches.
Roman:
It’s funny. Everybody wants the Overseas from Vacheron. But if you asked me and you put a gun to my head and said, “Hey Roman, what’s the one Vacheron that you want?” It would not be from the Overseas lines. It would be from their complicated… Like in the likes of the Tourbillon that we received.
Roman:
I do like the Historiques line. The original one was actually… Well, let me show you this guy.
Marco:
This is a Harmony, I believe. It’s their square…
Roman:
This is the dual time.
Marco:
Yeah. Harmony dual time. What more to say? It’s a white gold watch, trading well under retail. You can get them for great discounts. In my opinion, it’s just a perfect design.
Roman:
It’s got a nice weight to it, too.
Marco:
Yeah. It’s a great everyday watch. You could wear that every single day.
Roman:
Now, just for those that don’t know, when they launched the Historique line, they started with the Historique 1921, where the dial was offset by, what? How many degrees? I think it was offset by 45 degrees, I think. So basically, 12 o’clock was here. Right? Right about here. And the reason for that was because it was a watch that you could, at a glance, as you’re driving, are able to look at the time. So basically, as you wear a watch, if you imagine you being a race driver and you’re holding a steering wheel this way, 12 o’clock is back this way. So they made it here, so that at a glance, as you’re driving, you can see it.
See Also: TOP Affordable Alternatives to ROLEX WATCHES! (Daytona, Submariner, GMT…)
Unboxing an F.P. Journe Octa Sport
Roman:
Let’s go to… These are kind of special, but I’m going to start with a Journe. Now, this is their Octa Sport line and made out of full aluminum, and what else, Alex?
Alex:
So this one is Journe’s first in… This is their first entry into the sport lineup of watches. This one features a 120-hour power reserve, but in reality, it’s seven days. And it’s like –
Marco:
Yeah. Officially it’s listed as 120 hours or five days, but FP Journe is on the record himself saying the power serve is officially closer to seven. The reason that he listed 120 hours is to force people to wind the watch because in the last two days, there’s a huge amplitude dropoff, which affects the accuracy of the watch, so he wants people to keep the watch constantly wound.
Roman:
In layman’s terms, if you can imagine the main spring fully wound, as it unwinds, eventually we’ll start losing torque or power, let’s say.
Marco:
Exactly.
Roman:
Right? So towards the last days of the power reserve, the watch becomes less accurate. That’s the one way to force the user to actually wind that watch five days into their power reserve, which is kind of cool.
See Also: These are the TOP 5 WATCHES Released in 2022
Unboxing the AP Purple Monster
Roman:
We always have to have something special and this is the purple monster. This is the part where Alex says pause.
Alex:
26239, frosted. 26239 BC frosted purple.
Roman:
All right. So when this watch first came out, my initial reaction was like, “What in the hell, and who the hell is going to buy this watch?” And it sold through the roof. Impossible to find, in fact. Anna’s been looking for one for two months to try to fill an order for a client. She could not find one. Finally one came across our desk. These things are still trading at a quarter-million-dollar price range. They haven’t really suffered any… People were asking more for them in the higher market. I don’t know if they were necessarily selling for three-plus.
Alex:
They were.
Roman:
What was the highest?
Alex:
The highest I sold one, I think, was like $330,000.
Marco:
Yeah. I’ve seen $350K-plus online as well. Yeah.
Alex:
Realistically, it’s $315K to $330K is where they were selling.
Roman:
But the thing with this watch is, if you actually have it, you can still ask that number because you can’t go out there and get another one. It’s not like they’re readily available. The finish on the watch, the frosted finish, is literally a process where imagine… somebody taking a needle and literally breaking a bunch of holes in the metal. My first reaction was, “Holy shit. This thing is going to scratch. It’s going to get beat up.” It’s not as easily beat up or scratched up. We’ve had a couple of… This is a pre-owned piece and the frosted stays intact.
Unboxing a Few Rolex Day-Date 36mm
Roman:
So now we’re going to get to the Marco bag. But before I do, guys, remember I always said, practice what you preach. There is a couple of Day-Dates in here. One of them with an interesting dial.
Marco:
Is it Myriad? Yeah, I think so.
Alex:
I certainly practice what you preach, Roman.
Roman:
Yeah, you wear one. So this… I don’t think this is the Myriad dial.
Marco:
Or it’s close to a Myriad.
Roman:
So this, again, I like to pick up Day-Dates. I like to pick them up with papers, as I always do. I like to pick them up clean, with a fairly tight bracelet. This watch is from…
Marco:
We’re probably eighties.
Roman:
W serial.
Marco:
81.
Alex:
Let’s admire the patina on this one, actually.
Roman:
Patina is actually a good thing, and the reason for that is that means this watch hasn’t been touched, polished, or anything like that. It just kind of sat. That’s how you get that patina on gold, and I tend not to remove that. Most people want to wipe it off, and polish it off. I tend not to remove it because I think it adds to the overall aesthetic. This is just a regular diamond dial, but this dial’s a little bit more special. This watch is from 1998.
Alex:
Birth year. Someone.
Marco:
Yeah. I’m ’99.
Roman:
Again, outside of picking up Day-Dates, I look for good shape, I look for properly working watches, but I also look for special dials. The reason I do that is that they make less. It’s that simple.
Roman:
All right. So now let’s get to the Marco bag, and the Marco bag is going to have the godfather of watchmaking, as he’s sometimes referred to. That is –
Marco:
Or one of them. Yeah, definitely.
Unboxing a Daniel Roth Metropolitan
Roman:
Or one of, and that’s Mr. Louis Breguet. So I’m going to line them up. Right? I’m just going to line them up and I’m going to let Marco just go ham on these.
Marco:
I’ll start with this one just because it is a Daniel Roth.
Roman:
So much for Breguet.
Marco:
Yeah. Yeah. Well, it’ll tie in. Daniel Roth today is one of the very best independent watchmakers or recognized as one of the best. He really rose to prominence for his work at Breguet, but he also did a brand when he left. I think it was ’85, maybe a little bit later. This is the Daniel Roth Metropolitan World Timer. Really interesting ellipse case shape, almost, like the Patek ellipse itself. Again, a really interesting complication from an independent watchmaker.
Marco:
I think Daniel Roth is right up there, especially for these kinds of watches, with Moser as the best first independent watch, just because the price point is very accessible and again, you get something from one of the best watchmakers in the world. This is really where he became famous and where he had his bread and butter, which is at Breguet, under the Chaumet family, which was tremendous for the brand. It’s really when I feel they made the best watches. You get watches like these, which is the 3580, watches like this, which is the 3137, I believe.
Roman:
Look at the back.
Marco:
Look at this.
Roman:
I knew he was going to say that.
Marco:
It is all freehand engraved. We’re talking about one person engraving a movement like this, which takes an incredible amount of time. And you have to think about the thought process. You can’t just wake up one day and say, “Oh, I’m going to engrave this movement.” Because if you mess it up, you have to restart from the beginning. So this is just so much work and effort that goes into these watches.
Marco:
Again, with Breguet, something that’s so lost is the cases, too. I can’t say enough. Gold-rolled edges, soldered-on lugs. It’s just not made like this today anymore. This is, I think, the most beautiful as well. I mean, just look at the balance, the symmetry of this. It’s just gorgeous. Absolutely incredible.
Roman:
Here’s a nifty little thing here for you. The strap actually has the setting tool. You can take this on and off, but a lot of people actually keep it on and wear it with it, which actually makes a full cool look.
Unboxing a Breguet 3580
Marco:
This is a triple calendar and this is the same complication, just in a different format.
Roman:
Well, this is a newer watch. This was the Breguet.
Marco:
But the same kind of idea. Moon phase power reserves, and a date wheel as well.
Roman:
So the overall theme of this, I can pick a few words to say. Number one, sleepers, right? Somebody’s always… Breguet’s are becoming more and more collectible because people are understanding the value behind what’s in this watch, be it complications, be it finishes, be it the case, be it the name. Let’s start there. And to go back to Daniel Roth, Daniel Roth is another one that’s becoming super collectible, because if you think about it, when he opened up his own company after Breguet, he had a really short run up until 2006.
Marco:
Yeah, when he was acquired by Bulgari, right?
Roman:
I think ’06 is when Bulgari acquired them. Right? And now you still have more or less those same watches from Bulgari, except they’re not Daniel Roth.
Roman:
But guys, overall, I’m going to conclude it with this. We talked about Rolex and Rolex market a little bit, which I feel has already stabilized, and I feel that we may see a push-up even a little bit come the busier month.
Marco:
You got to take advantage of good deals when they come across. Right? I’m not a watch trader, I don’t believe in investing in watches, but Warren Buffett always says, to be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful. Look at, for example, during COVID, you were super successful. You were one of the main guys saying, “Keep buying watches. It’s just a temporary hiccup. Everything’s going to be back.” And look at now, the market’s starting to stabilize. People are taking advantage of this.
Roman:
People think that we took huge advantage of it. “Oh my God, they must have made so much money because they weren’t afraid to buy when the market was down.” You guys have to understand the number of watches that we actually trade on a daily basis. Right?
Marco:
Right. Nothing stays.
Roman:
If we’re averaging upwards of 15 million a month, it just keeps going. It just trades at a different price, right? But with stuff like this, I will always, always be a buyer. But the problem is, last week, I managed to come across a deal where I managed to pick up one, two, three, four, five, six Breguet’s. This doesn’t happen every day. The next time this may happen maybe two years from now.
Roman:
When the dip happened three months ago, what did we do? We started actively buying and buying and buying and buying more because, at the end of the day, there’s still value in these things. Yes, the market may fluctuate. The initial dip was a dramatic one because the rise was pretty dramatic.
Marco:
But again, these never experienced that kind of price volatility. These are always what I call stable risers. You’re going to get them huge discounts from retail.
Roman:
But I probably paid… What I would normally pay for these, I probably paid a good 30%, 35% more than I would, let’s say, three, four years ago, because everything rises with time. Just like a simple, cheap car that was $12,000 new five years ago today is going to be $15, $16.
Roman:
I’m just going to say this. Nobody’s here to talk you into buying stuff like this. I’m here to provide information. We had this argument about this whole sleeper situation and people were screaming at me like, “Oh my God, this is bullshit. This is a sales technique.” It’s not. Go back to my… Watch all my What’s On My Desk videos from three years ago, where I talked about sleepers that were trading around the $10,000 price range. And those watches, after the dip, are in the mid-twenties. The 36-millimeter Royal Oaks come to mind. The Day-Dates and all that stuff. They’re all trading –
Marco:
Forget it. Unbuyable.
Roman:
They’re all trading $20 to $30,000. And those were watches that, at the time, were selling for $10K to $12,000. And this was three years ago. Not even. Right? So when I say these things, I say this based on my knowledge, but don’t buy them because I said that these things may go up in value $10,000. The only reason I would ever want anybody to buy this Breguet is that you can appreciate it for what it is.
