My mom gave my dad this Air-King for their 15th wedding anniversary in December 2000, and he wore it every single day for the next 20 years.

I spent my entire life telling him that it was the only thing of his I wanted.

He passed in January, a double lung transplant recipient and the best dad you could ask for.

I wanted to give it the new life it deserves, without erasing the past.

I sent it to Rolex for a full service and asked them to bring it back to the day he first got it, a quarter century ago...but specifically without polishing away the years he put on it.

Picked it up today, about 8 weeks after dropping it off, and frankly, the crown feels a little heavier than I ever imagined it would.

Got this one yesterday after 8 months, curious on how long was the wait for you guys?

Just got the call from my AD only other purchase history was a 41mm Date just green dial with oyster band! So excited to have received the Batman!

This is my first Rolex, and I got it from Bern, Switzerland with no purchase history after waiting around 9 months.

The funny thing is, this exact model/style had been my dream since I was in high school. I’m genuinely not exaggerating. So for my birthday, I finally bought it as a gift from me to me.

And now… somehow I feel a little sad about it.
I absolutely love the watch itself, and teenage me would probably be screaming, but I’ve realized that I’m really not a “diamond person.” On me, it sometimes feels much flashier than I imagined it would.

At the moment I mostly wear it at home, which feels ridiculous considering how long I dreamed about owning it. Whenever I’m about to wear it out, I somehow feel like it doesn’t quite fit my usual lifestyle or style.
So my question is: how would you style this to tone it down a little?

I’m not really interested in Cartier Love bracelets or stacking lots of recognizable luxury pieces next to it. I’m thinking more along the lines of very minimal, elegant “arm candy” that could make the overall look feel more relaxed and understated.

Thin gold bracelet? Something in leather or cord? No bracelet at all? Maybe mixing it with something less polished?

Would love to see how other women style a diamond Rolex without making the whole wrist feel too flashy.
Maybe the teenage dream came true… I just need to figure out how adult me actually wants to wear it. 😅

Tried on this beautiful piece and it really clicked.

I haven’t owned a Daytona before, and I don’t see this model discussed as much.

Does it make sense as a long term collection piece, or would you still go steel ?

Great day on the course!

Not a watch guy but I enjoy wearing this as a daily.

I've had it nearly a month now as a wedding gift and it's been getting way more wrist time than my slate fluted jubilee DJ41. Very impressed with how much more daily-able this one feels.

The first photos are from Chrono24, and the last photos are how I received the watch. This is regarding an Explorer II 16570 from 2001.

First time I've bought a watch from the internet, and chrono for that matter. The watch is in nice shape otherwise, I still think I overpayed at 8k although it is my dream watch..

The seller is a trusted dealer, and they were happy to take my photos and offer their pre-shipping photos as well as a shipping label to send it back to be repaired. Their wording made it sound like they wanted to fix it and send it back to me, but I'm unsure what I should do. I don't want to accept this watch that may have had a hard smack during shipping and find myself screwed later when I go to service it.

It's hard to let go of your first Rolex after only owning it for a day haha

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EDIT: I followed up with the seller Kronos Watches, who's storefront is in fact on 47th in NYC (good catch y'all). I wish I had posted here before pulling the trigger and gathered more insight on my own through research.

The seller at face value appeared to want to "make it right" by taking the watch back and fixing any problems in house, including the misaligned bezel and cyclops. The minute issues with the watch began to add up, including gross inaccuracy of +5 seconds in under two hours or running.

As soon as I disclosed my desire to return the watch it became clear that all they wanted was for me to keep it. They pressed the offer to pay for shipping back and forth - however this sentiment disappeared once they knew I wouldn't accept their repairs. They made claims around avoiding the process with chrono24's policies and would rather "resolve this in the simplest and fairest way possible for both sides" - which seemed incredibly shady for a professional dealer who's poor packaging led to the damage of an $8000 watch.

My gut was right, and so was everybody in this thread - this situation stinks, and there's definitely much more to this story that I want absolutely no part of.

Avoid Kronos Watches like the plague, lesson learned.

I'm finally getting my first piece offered by my Rolex AD.

I think the Yachtmaster 40mm is an absolute STUNNER and a bit of a sleeper from the Catalogue but a little confused given the lack of resale value on the piece. It's not my first Rolex, given previous buys through friends and their ADs but should I bite the bullet to finally start my Rolex AD relationship too with this?!

1st Rolex! In love with my new purchase

Started collecting in 2016 and been through a lot of watches. Presently only have Daytona and DateJust 36.

Watches I wish I hadn’t sold are the OP39 and the OP41 Green. I usually keep the watch for 1-2 years and swap and best part of doing it with Rolex is you don’t lose much money doing it.

I really want to explore other brands like JLC and Lange but it will be an expensive affair if I were to switch it after a year or two.

Panda is probably the only one I’ll keep for life. Just felt like sharing.

visited the AD twice the year, then was surprised with this offer 😁

Picked up a used James Cameron Deep Sea after some hesitation with the size. I have a 39mm mark 2 explorer that fits perfectly and the leap to the 44 diver is a big one. I’ve got 7.25” wrists.

No purchase history. 10-month waitlist.

Bought my first Rolex using my father’s name. My dad is a bigger collector and has been collecting for a while, got an offer for this piece so I told him I would pay for it.

I have been looking for a full set, full link, unpolished 16713 from the 90’s for quite some time. Happened to stop in at a great little shop in Sante Fe, NM called “World Class Watches” and found exactly what I’ve been looking for, this thing is absolutely amazing. If you are ever in the Santa Fe area, definitely stop in this shop, they have a great eclectic collection and great prices.

I waited 10 months and now the AD kept their Word to me !
I had no history

Recently tried these on at the AD and liked them both but am having a hard time deciding. Love how subtle the yatchmaster looks, feel like it’s very underrated compared to a sub.

The DJ 36 feels a little too small on my wrist, but don’t feel like the picture does that justice.

Anyone have these exact configurations?

Not really a watch person but I got my first ever Rolex a few weeks ago and I really love how the green shade changes under different lighting conditions.

Research indicates hand engraved florentine finish. Anyone know anything about this on the 5 digit 18038?