Hi all

I've been interested in watches for awhile now.

Back in 2017 I decided to buy my first watch.

A Pro Trek for RM500.

However after I've started my own work and became more financially and literate my view of watches have changed.

I used to see them as a fashion statement but now I'm thinking them more of a store of value. An asset if you will.

With that said I'm thinking of getting a decent watch that

1. Not prone to depreciation , ( if it appreciate great! Although unlike )
2. Hopefully buyable 2nd hand at a better price. Wing Wah watches for example

Personally I don't wear watches but I think a nice watch watch will fight inflation better than leaving in FD (2.1% is awful). Whilst having something to wear on a nice occasion.

I'm thinking of a Rolex as that's the only watch brand I heard that actually appreciate.

So what do you guys think ? My budget ranges from RM 20-40k depending

No. Don’t do it.

Watches are never good investments. What is hot today may not be popular or sellable in a decade. Value will plunge when the model is no longer sought after.

I have collected watches long enough to see value of watches go up and down.

Take Franck Muller for example. It was the IT watch of the mid 90s. And when the millennium rolled about, the value of FM watches tanked and never recovered.

Then Panerai came about and become the darling of the watch world in the mid 2000s. Their value shot up and almost any Panerai was trading above MSRP. Then towards the tail end of the decade, their value plunged and people started selling en masse but no buyers.

In the mid 2010s, Richard Mille and Rolexes were the hot commodity watches. I don’t see them being able to sustain their speculative prices any longer due to Rolex producing almost 1 million watches per year and RM producing only 2 or 3 types of design - Tonneau, Round and Misshapen Tonneau shape cases suffers from the same problem that plague Panerai. Lack of diversity.

Now, due to retail buyers buying watches to speculate on, a lot of watches are seeing an uptick in prices. I don’t see this trend being able to continue much longer.

Buy watches to collect and wear. Never buy them to store value or as investments. There is Gold or Crypto currency for that sort of thing.

This post has been edited by friedricetheman: Apr 26 2021, 09:05 AM

Rolex is the only watches with steady appreciation . Just buy what u like, but at rm40k, is very diff to buy a Rolex ..

40k can get u Airking, 41 smooth DJ, and milgauss I think

Why difficult? RM40K and below has an abundance of options.. unless you are talking about grey market prices..

no value physical watch, better go trade forex with that good startup capital

Ya, air king maybe 38-39 can, no sure about the current price now..

Having 40k is one thing, whether Rolex wanna sell u one..is another story...

Can't go wrong with a Datejust.

issue is whether the boutique will sell you one for retail. But yes. no doubt if you know how to play the game, you will for sure get the return over 2.1%.

For 40k, u can get a DJ41 smooth bezel (29.5k), or a Airking (below 30k), or a milguass as someone pointed out.

Bought a smooth bezel DJ41 last Oct, didnt really fell inlove with it and let it go at 36k just few weeks ago. You need to know the people in the market as well. Buyers will not buy from a random tom dick harry as you do not have reputation. Not as easy as posting on some random FB group and you're done.

On social media it looks good la, people selling at x2 the price or x1.5 the price. but its isnt as glamorous as it seems

Ya. Agree. That’s the quintessential Rolex. It was my first Rolex too.

Date magnifier cyclops? Check.
Fluted or smooth bezel? Check.
Jubilee or Oyster bracelet options? Check.
Easylink extension inside the clasp? Check.

This watch is choke full of Rolex DNA.

Of course - a DJ with a smooth bezel is just an OP with a date. Fluted/jubilee is where it's at

Fluted bezel with jubilee bracelet reminds me of my French Professor in college. Too apek lah.

Smooth bezel and oyster bracelet is the better option for us Gen Y WIS..

im in the ah Pek category... die die must flute n jubilee

currently if u buy a rolex watch from the grey, u r basically converting the cash into a watch. but grey stock doesnt appreciate much because the price kena goreng already.

if u sell back to the grey, they potong 10-15% from the price u pay. in another word, if u decide to buy a rolex from the grey, u r instantly rugi the value once stepping out the shop. just like buying a car. when the wheels touch the road, the value gone -10%.

u earn to own, but u barely earn when sell.

depends also, if u bought a Pepsi from grey since lets say last year, at 75k, the current price for new is about 92k, there is still a buffer of 17k, I'm very certain the grey would buy back ur Pepsi at 80k or for an 1 year old unit Pepsi
so u make 5k n ownership of a year

Pepsi at 92k is almost 10k more than my AP Diver retail price last year. Not sure if this is sustainable or not for the long term. I mean I love Rolex but not sure if I love Rolex more than AP though..

I mean, would you rather have a steel Rolex or a Steel Audemars Piguet? Sure the Pepsi has a ceramic bezel and GMT complication but the Diver has a 22k gold rotor viewable through the see through caseback and a fun 60 minute timer operated through the crown at 10 o’clock.

Everybody cares about brand equity and value retention..very little plp view watches as a pc of art..

Only a few watch aficionados into finishing/brushing quality/decoration ..

Flexing cultures only buy to impress...why would they buy AP when it’s unknown to ladies?

Hence , the crown would be the choice..

Actually, to tell you the truth, flexing with a watch is the wrong thing to do as there are so many fakes that anyone with RM2k can get a superfake Rolex to impress the ladies..

The real flex that girls are impressed by is your education level and connections. Take her to a diplomatic event that you are invited to as a date. Most diplomatic parties and cocktail receptions allow you to take a +1 as part of your invitation but you need to RSVP the name of the person before hand to allow them time to do a background check on the person.

Another great date idea is to take her to your alumni dinner, again as a +1. Nothing is more flex worthy than being part of London School of Economics or Stanford University alumni group and hobnob with the likes of Ong Kian Ming or KJ.

Watches are not a flex item, bro. And neither are cars.

woi... dont personal attack ler
normally I use the fake PP to attract ladies

regardless the 92k sustainable or not, seriously the amount of ppl tat buy off at that grey price is tremendous
they may not be as knowledgable in watches as you guys, but heck, I like tat watch, I can afford it at 90k, I seriously DGAF what you say hahahah
And yes they are only into watches, but u can't blame them, by the time they want it, u can't get it at retail already, sometimes dont really have a choice, u tell them go buy other brand la, but other brand they x suka, then amacam

so bite bullet pay 92k lor

maybe they like to flex, maybe they dont, but obviously they have money to burn

Hype comes and goes. I'll just be waiting at the bottom 3-5 years later when the FOMO crowd moves on to the next big thing.

...if it doesn't, we'll just have to make do I guess haha, you with your fake PP and me sending you AP photos