Want To Buy A Watch !!INSTALL!!

Ken got into watches after earning his PhD in clinical psychology and working in the field for a few years. After a childhood of collecting and an early adulthood spent going to the Rose Bowl Flea Market to trade coins, he discovered watches, first being drawn in by early 20th-century pocket watches.

want to buy a watch

Second Time Around Watch Co. was a role model in the fashion of wearing vintage watches and putting them on showcase, especially in L.A. They had all these early 20th century Patek Philippes, and they made a market selling to the upper crust of Hollywood and the entertainment industry. I saw that aesthetic and totally got it. My strength is not technical, but I learned that other people liked what I liked.

Ken Jacobs started Hollywood vintage watch store Wanna Buy A Watch? in the early 1980s. Talk to the guy, and you\u2019d be surprised to learn he\u2019s been in the business for more than 40 years. The youthful energy and passion he still has for watches bursts out of every sentence, perhaps most eagerly when he\u2019s talking about his own collection.

\u201CThe lightbulb went off \u2014 these things are valuable \u2014 beautiful, functional, and historical,\u201D Ken said. \u201CI thought \u2018I\u2019m moving out of coins, which are two-dimensional and static, to watches, which are 3-D.\u2019\u201D

I ran into a UCLA student who was selling pocket watches, mostly hunter case watches. They were beautiful, fascinating, and I thought it was just great value. He was selling them for maybe $125 or $150 \u2014 beautiful Elgin, Waltham solid gold watches. The lightbulb went off \u2014 these things are valuable \u2014 beautiful, functional, historical. I thought \u2018I\u2019m moving out of coins which are two-dimensional and static, to watches, which are 3-D.\u2019 So I moved out of buying and selling coins to pocket watches, a far more interesting object.

Within about a year \u2014 this would\u2019ve been 1977-78 \u2014 I started discovering wristwatches. The first 4 I bought for $140. This was in the late 70s when the fashion of vintage wristwatches was just beginning to pick up. It was all about style and Art Deco.

I\u2019d come to L.A. for my job as a clinical psychologist. I worked for 5 years as a clinical psychologist and became the head of the department, but after that moved into the watch business full-time. It was exciting to become part of the Melrose scene, which was exploding as a vintage venue.

I\u2019ve had a retail store for 40+ years now. We\u2019ve moved a number of times into larger spaces, eventually into my own space. In the beginning, there was no eBay, no literature, nothing. Your local vintage watch dealer was your source of information.

In the early days, guys had rolls of gold watches, electric watches, often from American brands like Hamilton or Elgin, and they\u2019d be proud of and celebrate and wear different ones every day \u2014 rose gold, yellow gold, different straps, mostly rectangular.

In the late 80s or 90s, the sports Rolexes \u2014 GMTs, Explorers would cost $1500 to $2000. Daytonas were $500 when I started and would sit unsold. The first Paul Newman Daytona I sold may have been $6500. A shift began when collecters began consolidating their collection of 10, 20, 30 American wristwatches into a couple Rolex Bubblebacks and more valuable and prestigious pieces. There was a huge shift towards Rolex and Patek.

Not necessarily, it\u2019s just a shift. When you have a history of 40+ years in the business, you know about these things because you\u2019ve lived them, not because you read about them or watched a documentary.

I\u2019m really drawn to good design. That really is the strongest driver for me. Those square gold watches, it was all about design. Now, I\u2019ve shifted into the mid-century design aesthetic. 30 years ago I started paying attention to these designs and I started referring to them as hipster designs, when all the juice was in those 1920-30s watches. But the watches from the 50s-60s just had a slicker design. And I thought, \u2018I have to buy some watches for the hipsters.\u2019 Well, the hipsters have turned into mid-century modern, and it\u2019s all these fantastic 50s, 60s, and 70s designs.

I would\u2019ve guessed I have 5 or 6, but I counted them up and realized I have 15. And it\u2019s not like I\u2019m just a Rolex guy, though I do wear a lot of Rolex. I don\u2019t swap watches every day, so sometimes I forget I even have these.

But I bought a dressy Vacheron on 47th Street 30 years ago. It\u2019s got massive lugs and this fantastic guilloche dial. The guy did not want to sell it to me, and I assured him that I wanted to buy it for myself. That has been my one dress watch for the last 25 years. I can\u2019t say I\u2019ve worn it more than 8-10 times, because I don\u2019t get dressed up much.

I decided to show two Universal Geneve Polerouters to complement the Broad Arrow. I was at the Rose Bowl Flea Market, and UG was just starting to come into my mind. A guy who deals in scrap gold pulled out this broad arrow Polerouter, on an old gold-filled bracelet. As he takes it out I just go \u2018holy sh*t.\u2019 I didn\u2019t know about the broad arrow, or that the outer ring was luminous. I ended up buying it for $125. The other Polerouters I bought over the course of doing business and they happen to be in great condition, so I kept them. When you\u2019re only paying a few hundred dollars for these, it\u2019s more fun to have the watch in mint, mint condition. It\u2019s not just buy-sell buy-sell for me, there is a joy in collecting.

I\u2019ve had this Weems for thirty years, I\u2019ve been wearing it just because it\u2019s so flipping cool. It\u2019s huge and has this gorgeous enamel dial. I used to wear it all the time \u2014 I owned it before I owned any Rolex. I wore it just because it was cool and striking, way before the fashion of oversize watches.

In this guide, we are going to break down everything that you need to know in order to buy a Rolex and walk you through the steps of how to make your first purchase. Additionally, we are also going to go over the pros and cons of buying new vs. pre-owned Rolex watches, the different levels of condition you are likely to encounter, how you can find a trusted dealer, and what you should always keep in mind as you go about searching for your dream watch. More than anything else, buying a Rolex should be an enjoyable process, but nothing can ruin the fun more than feeling lost and confused, so here is everything you need to know about how to buy a Rolex.

Rolex was founded way back in 1905 by Hans Wilsdorf and today, the iconic Swiss watch manufacturer is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. Rolex watches are now sold in more than 100 different countries and the brand produces approximately a million timepieces per year in addition to sponsoring countless different sports, athletes, cultural projects, and conservation efforts all around the globe.

There are many different reasons why someone would want to buy a Rolex. Some people want a Rolex watch due to their impeccable quality and universal recognition, others buy one as a means to celebrate a specific life event, and some seek out specific models due to their amazing ability to serve as wearable investments.

Many people choose to purchase a Rolex watch as a means of celebrating a significant life event. Whether it is a milestone birthday, a wedding, the birth of a child, or even just achieving your professional goals, a Rolex is always the perfect way to commemorate a special occasion, and it can be worn every single day as a constant reminder of a remarkable time in your life.

Most people buy watches simply because they like them and want to wear them, but luxury timepieces also have an amazing ability to retain their value over the years and Rolex watches are able to retain their value better than almost anything else. Rolex watches can serve as investments that you can wear and enjoy every day, and they can even appreciate in value if given enough time or the right market conditions.

For some buyers, purchasing Rolex watches is just like adding stocks or other assets to their portfolio. These types of buyers may purchase Rolex models due to their value, rarity, and potential future value, rather than due to any reasons related to actually owning or wearing the specific watch. While buying Rolex watches is by no means a plan to get rich quick, it is undeniable that the prices for many of them keep going up each year. We always say that it is most important to buy what you love, but if you are savvy about your purchases, you can make a decent amount of money doing nothing more than owning the right Rolex watches and then letting go of them once prices increase.

Rolex makes an incredibly wide range of models that span everything from classically-styled dress watches, to purpose-built divers that are able to travel to the very deepest parts of the ocean. However, despite this diversity and numerous different models that the brand produces, all Rolex watches fall into one of two categories: either Classic or Professional.

Once you decide to buy a Rolex, the next step will be figuring out which model is right for you. Rolex makes watches for everyone from scuba divers to frequent travelers, and on the pre-owned market, they can cost as little as a few thousand dollars all the way up into the millions. 041b061a72