The Road Not Taken - the one most (less) travelled

Happy New Year everyone!

I've always thought that the watches I collect have great appeal, amazing design, great movements and don't break the bank. My watch collection includes watches from Hamilton, Elgin, Waltham, Gruen, Illinois and Bulova and generally vintages from the 1920s through 1930s.

I recently took what I believe is the road most traveled (or aspired to) when it comes to watch collecting for many. The road to a "luxury" brand. I say most traveled as some might see buying a luxury brand is the thing you do when it comes to watch collecting.

1949 Rolex Precision Reference 4560
This is an interesting segment of vintage watches. I have not pursued this segment and have owned only one other vintage watch perhaps from this segment - an Omega which I sold this past year. I frequently visit websites dedicated to "luxury" watches as it is a fascinating segment and just as fascinating to read about things like the Paul Newman Rolex selling at auction for over the crazy sum of $17 million (!). Check out Hodinkee's article on the auction if you want to read about watches that sell for ridiculous prices.

I digress. A chance encounter, a needle in the haystack, an owner that no longer wished to care for it and a price I could live with, I found this 1949 Rolex Precision. When I came upon this particular watch it seemed unpretentious, it had the coolest lugs referred to as "tear drop", "claw" or "horn" and the bank wasn't completely broken. The road to watch maker Rolex.

Inside the Rolex with its simple 17 jewel movement

Arguably some might say I took the road less traveled as many can't afford to buy a watch in this segment or simply don't subscribe to the prices you have to pay (usually) to enter it. But what was Robert Frost really talking about - acting independently and blazing a road for others to travel or perhaps the purchase of a Rolex is just a bad analogy to Frost's poem. Whatever the pursuit, it is a great watch and a great addition to my collection.

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1 comment:

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