- The Rolex Oyster Perpetual 41 sells $ 10,550, but often sells up to $ 20,000 due to demand on media and limited availability.
- Despite solid specifications, it is a steel watch in time without a fluted telescope, without complications and undoubtedly no business is also expensive.
- Better alternatives exist less than $ 5,000, offering a finish, movements and superior originality without counting on the overhaul or a crown logo.
THE Rolex Oyster Perpetual has always been presented as the Rolex “starter”. It is the cleanest and most stripped expression of the brand's watchmaking DNA. No date. No cyclops. No fluted telescope. Just by Hystersteel, a smooth dial and the powerful Coronet at 12 noon. Completely harmless. “A watch that will never miss you,” said Hans Wilsdorf.
And yet, although it is one of the simplest watches that Rolex is, it has become one of the most absurdly swollen on the secondary market.
Rolex Oyster Perpetual is an entry -level error
Take the perpetual 41 mm Rolex oyster (ref. 124300 or the updated 134300), for example. At Retail, it is at a price of $ 10,550: a heavy sum for a stainless steel watch only without complications and precious metal.
But try to buy one. The variants of Pastel dial (Tiffany Blue, Coral Red, Yellow) that Rolex briefly offered in 2020 turned into an Instagram bait, pushing prices on the gray market at more than $ 20,000. Even black or standard silver dials often sell for a comfortable from $ 13,000 to 15,000.
The Rolex Oyster Perpetual is not a bad watch; It's just a bad value
I must say that there is nothing wrong with the idea with the perpetual oyser. In fact, it is a well -made, reliable, comfortable and versatile everyday watch. The 3230 caliber inside is a high-level automatic movement, COSC certified, 70-hour power reserve, anti-magnetic exhaust. The quality of construction is solid. The clasp is excellent. The Oyster bracelet still holds the Rolex approval seal.
But let's be honest, when you pay near the double retail sale for a three-date transplant, without lumes on the figures, and without significant exclusivity beyond the online media threshing, you do not buy a better watch compared to other models, you buy the crown on the dial.
Not even a fluted telescope. Not even a ceramic insert. It is the horrible equivalent to pay too much for an ordinary white t-shirt because it says “Balenciaga” on the label.
Collectors once loved the simplicity of Rolex Oyster Perpetual
The irony here, of course, is that all these things are the reason even for which the perpetual oyster was once loved by watches lovers. At the time, it boasted of a silent simplicity; Wearing an op meant that you wanted a clean and unadorned rolex. Today, he says that you have had the chance to jump on a waiting list or pay the nose to get one on the increasingly turbulent gray market.
Meanwhile, there is a whole world of watches of less than $ 5,000 that wipe the soil with the perpetual oyster regarding technical innovation, finish and originality. Brands like Grand Seiko are starting to turn horrible heads with its enviable Models fueled by the spring playerwith cases and dials finished by hand that resemble art.
The Rolex OP is not a bad watch. It just became a bad value. Eliminating media and sudden threshing, this so-called “entry-level rolex” is starting to look more like a punchline than a price. There are many ways to spend $ 15,000 worldwide. The purchase of a watch of $ 10,000 for double its retail value just to say that you have a rolex should not be part of it.
