As a watch fan, I was impressed by their laissez-faire approach to the hobby – and I mean that in a positive way. These are all Mayer’s watches and he wears all of them on very special occasions. Of all the watches in his collection, there is one that stands out to me.
2013 was a simpler time – before watch speculation became a cottage industry and before the modern Rolex moniker entered the trend in watchmaking. The nuances of modern watch collecting hadn’t quite caught on, as evidenced by the amazing description of Mayer’s GMT in the Talking Watch article.” A simple modern watch with a travel time function that he could easily wear on stage”. Imagine a modern Rolex being described like that today? But that was all that needed to be said at the time, and it was enough to draw me in.
The following year, I traveled to Paris and made sure I went to all the well-known watch stores. The goal? To see these metal replica watches in blue and black GMT. This was a fairly new piece at the time, so finding it wasn’t easy, but it wasn’t impossible as it is today. I went from store to store without any luck until the last day of my trip when a glassy boutique had an example in stock. I remember holding it in my hand and thinking a lot of profound thoughts.” Wow, this is really heavy and really shiny.”
With the blue and black bezel, Rolex effectively created a whole new watch. Rumor has it that the colors were more a product of experimentation than a purposeful choice. It has become a common trope in the watchmaking world to hear how difficult it is to make different colors of ceramic. In this case, red proved impossible to create, and red and blue were even more difficult. Rolex just can’t do that – at least not yet.
The whole story came full circle this April when Rolex announced its new line of products – led by the Rolex Explorer, a two-tone offering. Among them, without much fanfare, was an update to the GMT-Master II collection. The Oyster strap has returned. It basically looks like my watch in every way. Resurrecting a dead watch is a very un-Rolex move, but it happened. I remember wondering if the value of my watch would go down because of it.
The thought lingered in my mind for days. Over the years, I’ve become accustomed to its appreciation in value. I was used to having a copy watch that would never be produced again. On the other hand, a drop in value would give me what I’ve always wanted. A watch without the guilt – without the guesswork.
Frankly, I still don’t know how to feel about it. I know that the Oyster strap on my Batman/Bruce/Blue & Black GMT Master II is scratched and it reminds me of my family and starting a dream job. It’s a watch I will never sell. You can ask me to do so.
