Rolex's that I don't understand why?

[SpeedFreak]

Hi all.

Been following Rolex my whole life, owned a few, tossed a few, but still kept a few in my collection. Still interested in a nice condition piece once in a while. However, would like to ask, what was the purpose of these particular models?. And were they ever popular?..

- Milgauss 116400: This watch has a soft iron casing to protect from magnetic forces. What for? I noticed that IWC pushes this same soft iron casing message a lot, but they focus on pilots watches. If that's the case, then shouldn't GMTII have this "soft Iron casing".. And Milgauss has no date?.. So why does this watch command such a high price????

- Yatch Master 16622: This is supposed to be for Yatching, but how? It doesn't have a timer, split seconds or anything remotely useful for yatching? Sure the bezel turns and you can set a count down, but so does GMTII/Sub. Who buys this model and why does it command such a high price??

Just wanted some opinions.

thanks.

[Dfive]

Hi all.

Been following Rolex my whole life, owned a few, tossed a few, but still kept a few in my collection. Still interested in a nice condition piece once in a while. However, would like to ask, what was the purpose of these particular models?. And were they ever popular?..

- Milgauss 116400: This watch has a soft iron casing to protect from magnetic forces. What for? I noticed that IWC pushes this same soft iron casing message a lot, but they focus on pilots watches. If that's the case, then shouldn't GMTII have this "soft Iron casing".. And Milgauss has no date?.. So why does this watch command such a high price????

- Yatch Master 16622: This is supposed to be for Yatching, but how? It doesn't have a timer, split seconds or anything remotely useful for yatching? Sure the bezel turns and you can set a count down, but so does GMTII/Sub. Who buys this model and why does it command such a high price??

Just wanted some opinions.

thanks.

MILGAUSS was made for engineers in power stations and other such places where... in the days of mostly automatic watches would loose accuracy or stop.
Old Milgauss is rare and big $$, new one can be had for 7-8K not bad $.

YACHTMASTER like a divers watch uses the bezel and seconds or minutes hand AS the timer, used for countdown to start of race time - norm 10mins and 5 mins and 1mins till race start..... they would time the course and using the sails would tac side to side to ensure they CROSS the start line, either in line or slightly ahead of others. They need the colored seconds hand mostly.
Bezel on ALL YM's is 18k gold

GMT2 is a 24hrs bezel.... you can't time with it.

SUBS.... yes can use like Yachtmaster, more waterproof but seconds hand is not as clear at a glance, diver look at minutes only.

[LEXONG]

Hi, i can answer the Milgauss without date reason, with a date opening on the Milgauss dial would increase the chances for exposure to magnetic field, thus without the date opening, magnetic field exposure are reduce to the minimum.

So, never place your watch anywhere near the speaker and TV set, as they have a big manget inside and generate a high magnetic field exposure, causing the watch not to keep accurate time and worst, the watch stopped !

[SpeedFreak]

Still doesn't really explain why these 2 models (new or second hand) still attract high prices?. If they are not popular, then why/how do they retain such high re-sale value compared to say a Sub or GMTII????

[roguehog]

Hi, i can answer the Milgauss without date reason, with a date opening on the Milgauss dial would increase the chances for exposure to magnetic field, thus without the date opening, magnetic field exposure are reduce to the minimum.

So, never place your watch anywhere near the speaker and TV set, as they have a big manget inside and generate a high magnetic field exposure, causing the watch not to keep accurate time and worst, the watch stopped !

I m not too sure but just wondering about the date window. I understand that most anti-magnetic watches do not have see-thru back but many have date windows. Most pilot watches are anti-magnetic butbhave datevwindows. The iwc ingenieur mission earth, though not a pilot watch, has a datevwindow and is supposed to be more resistane to magnetic fields.

Hope the experts here can educate me on this further.

[jackjack]

Still doesn't really explain why these 2 models (new or second hand) still attract high prices?. If they are not popular, then why/how do they retain such high re-sale value compared to say a Sub or GMTII????

I feel that they retain such high value simply because they are Rolex =)

If i have a very powerful antimagnetic G-shock... ermm... anyone want to buy from me ?

[Dfive]

Still doesn't really explain why these 2 models (new or second hand) still attract high prices?. If they are not popular, then why/how do they retain such high re-sale value compared to say a Sub or GMTII????

Bro they make so little YM's and Migauss...... less supply = higher price's for Rolex. ( e.g. Daytona's ).

What do you currently own, or you looking at buying ?

[SpeedFreak]

They don't retain their value just because they are Rolex, that's silly.

They don't retain high value because less supply, because less (demand) people want to buy those models anyways.

So why is a YM and Migauss more expensive than a GMTII on secondhand market, when they have less functions?. and in Migauss case, not made of any special materials?..

Think I need DarkAngel onto this one?... Please explain to me why, why, why??...

[pegasi]

So why is a YM and Migauss more expensive than a GMTII on secondhand market, when they have less functions?. and in Migauss case, not made of any special materials?..

Are you referring to the GMTIIc or the non-ceramic GMTII? I don't think a preowned YM or Milgauss at the current market fetch a higher value than another model that have a higher list price. Of course you have to compare apple with apple, i.e. similar age/condition, SS vs SS and TT vs TT etc.

And since when do such big brands have to justify the prices of their luxury goods with "functions"? They are not selling tools afterall...

[Dfive]

They don't retain their value just because they are Rolex, that's silly.

They don't retain high value because less supply, because less (demand) people want to buy those models anyways.

So why is a YM and Migauss more expensive than a GMTII on secondhand market, when they have less functions?. and in Migauss case, not made of any special materials?..

Think I need DarkAngel onto this one?... Please explain to me why, why, why??...

You could PM them

GMT not have a solid 18KT gold bezel like YM's, AND Milgauss is Cheaper actually..... they are selling on SG-ROC at 6.8-7.2K...... far cheaper than a GMT2C......

Are you referring to the GMTIIc or the non-ceramic GMTII? I don't think a preowned YM or Milgauss at the current market fetch a higher value than another model that have a higher list price. Of course you have to compare apple with apple, i.e. similar age/condition, SS vs SS and TT vs TT etc.

And since when do such big brands have to justify the prices of their luxury goods with "functions"? They are not selling tools afterall...

AGREE Bro.

[kohym]

This is Asia and in this part of the world, Rolex = status.
You find Rolex in pawnshops but you don't see a high end Seiko or another Swiss brand for that matter.
People who do not see the value or do not want to pay so much just becos "it is Rolex" got many other choices.
One can make noise that "Rolex is expensive", "not worth the money", "can buy another better watch but lesser money". But then, there are still buyers and tonnes of them.

To each his own, different pple like different brands and go for different looks, features etc..

So in a nutshell, it is emotional, no right nor wrong.

This is just my personal opinion

[eastsider]

I am a milgauss owner. Sorry that im not able to answer ur question but i just tot of explaining to non-milgauss owners y i chose milgauss lo.

I kinda like gmt but honestly i dun think it will look good on my wrist. I like milgauss's simple design. Im sure other milgauss owners also feel the same. Its not too thick like other models. Just very simple. With no date on the side, everything is symetrical which i like.

I may consider gmt or submariner when i have extra money nx time.

N im also suprise that milgauss is not a popular choice

Cheers

[roguehog]

I could be wrong but from what I've been told by the AD's and other friends, and from what I had read on the net, only one milgaus is very popular and commands a premium. And that's the green sapphire model. Others are not that popular.

I reckon it's a combination of some of the possible factors that have been brought up thus far by others who have contributed to this thread. Like it or not, rolex commands better value than most other watch brands in Asia, particularly in sillypore. There are still many that harbor the misconception that ALL rolex models commands good resale value. That's why the regular datejust models are flyng off the shelves faster. A lot of people are still buying a rolex cos of the brand. They do not seem to care much which model as kong as it's a rolex they can afford. It is still regarded. A status symbol here in Asia and ESP on this tiny red dot.

As to why certain models are costlier and seem to be lesser in supply, well, I reckon it's pretty much basic economics. Demand put strips supply. Why have the prices of certain models like the milgaus and ex2 finally come back to rrp? Well, the easiest answer is cos the initial demand has been satisfied, thus have died down a bit. Naturally, when de,and overwhelms supply, sellers will raise prices. Nothing new here.

[jieming]

Just one word "Marketing" . Do you think people working in power plant bought the Milgauss ? All the divers wearing the submariner or deep sea ?
If you put up an advertisement just showing your watch, how you going to distinct with another similar watch? You have to create a cult or hype of the watch, so people would be excited about it.
Imagine an advertisement, showing the underwater exploration or a nuclear plant incident. At end of the advert, the "hero" is wearing that special watch. You will get people drooling about it.

[Dfive]

just one word "marketing" . Do you think people working in power plant bought the milgauss ? All the divers wearing the submariner or deep sea ?
If you put up an advertisement just showing your watch, how you going to distinct with another similar watch? You have to create a cult or hype of the watch, so people would be excited about it.
Imagine an advertisement, showing the underwater exploration or a nuclear plant incident. At end of the advert, the "hero" is wearing that special watch. You will get people drooling about it.

its just a romantic notion that divers need submariners, pilot need gmt, sailors need yachtmaster, mountaineers need explorer, etc

yup !