Extraordinary Timepiece turned out to be a heck of a deal
by - Written: Jan 31 '07 (Updated Feb 12 '07)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Extremely durable, appreciates in resale, accurate, automatic
Cons: Non
The Bottom Line: This watch has turned out to be a heck of a good investment. Id buy another.
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| toolguy1963's Full Review: Rolex GMT-Master II 16710BLKBLK Wrist Watch |
If you’ve been following my reviews, I guess you’ve figured out by now that I’m a die-hard machinery addict. I love all things mechanical. The Rolex GMT is one of those things. Its about as mechanical as you can get with a precision build and quality that seems to be disappearing over the years.
I bought this watch, one, for its wonderful construction, two, because it’s like money in the bank with a continuous appreciation, and three, because my wife was pregnant with our first son and I wanted a nice heirloom to pass on to him. That was twenty years ago and none of that has changed, except maybe the passing it on part. I may have a hard time parting with this watch.
By now you’ve probably already done your homework on this watch and just need confirmation that it’s a great little piece before dropping any money on it. Well here it is. Rolex didn’t get the reputation it has by building junk. The watch has more than held up it’s end of the deal by being and staying a very accurate, well made and classic timepiece. It has appreciated a significant amount over the years. Not just in retail, but in resale value. I wish my mutual funds could keep pace with it. My young wife at the time was little put off that I could drop a good amount of money on the Rolex but over the years she’s come to appreciate it more than she does my company. She always makes sure I have it on when we go out and I think she places more sentimental value than monetary on this watch. So yes, if you have a semi-understanding wife the yapping will subside.
The GMT of course is a very easy watch to live with. It’s an automatic self-winding timepiece that uses pendulums on the inside to actuate the winding of the internal springs. It works very well and will only have to be manually wound if you take it off and leave it on a dresser for a couple of days. If I’m not wearing mine for a couple of days, I just shake it a little while passing to keep it ticking. Winding it manually requires unscrewing the crown lock and pulling the winding knob out to the first click and twisting a few times to get it going.
The time and date of this watch are also set by unscrewing the winding knob and pulling it outward. There are three outward click positions that you go through. The first click position is for winding, the second is for changing the date and all the way out for adjusting the time. Take note that there is a twenty-four hour pointer on this watch that coincides with the rotating bezel ring. Make sure your 0-24 pointer is at the twelve o’clock position and set the twenty-four hour pointer to either AM “red” or PM “blue” when you do the initial time setting. Once that’s done all you need to do is rotate the bezel ring to however many hours forward or back your going to be, or to the time zone you’re in. Sounds a bit hokey with all of today’s fancy electronic watches, but it’s simple and works great.
I love the black face on this watch. The numbers are so easy to read and are self-luminous at night. As long as it gets a little sunlight, the pointers and number dots will light up well enough to keep you on time all night long. Even after twenty years mine is very clear and easy to read. The magnifying crystal over the date number is also fantastic. I have a work watch without this option and I can never read the date. The Rolex practically jumps out and yells it to you.
The band on this watch is either stainless or gold, depending on which you get. It’s a very durable band that is easily adjusted by pin placement. Once you have it fitted its very comfortable and extremely durable. Iv also noticed that it doesn’t pinch the hairs on your arm and leave a bald spot on your wrist. That’s a problem with cheaper metal bands offered up by competitors. The pins I would have thought would need replacing after awhile, but I still have my original pins in place. Rolex did their homework on this band.
The watch came with a very nice box and storage case with integral mounted pillow for storage. Also a nice cleaning towel and instruction book. Rolex suggests a servicing every five years but I stretch that to ten without problems. It would probably last a lifetime without service, but this is a timepiece worth taking care of so I don’t push it.
Overall I have found this watch to have been one of the most rewarding investments that Iv ever made. It’s something I can use daily and I really do appreciate the quality in craftsmanship. It gives me hope for many of the things now gone that have given way to a throw away culture. Id buy another one tomorrow if I ever lost this one.
Update: Ive been surfing the net looking at different prices on the GMT. Be very careful about your Rolex purchase. There are many very good replica or knock off watches that can fool you into believing your going to get a Rolex. I would only suggest buying a Rolex from an authorized Rolex center. There is even one site attached to e-pinions that has a nice fake Rolex for 795. Avoid it. Even in the poor video I can see its no Rolex. You learn these things when you own the real deal.
Recommended:
Yes
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