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I almost pulled the trigger on a Chronomètre Bleu a couple of years ago but just couldn't justify the $30k price tag. Now I'm not seeing any under $170k!

What explains the crazy jump? Am seriously regretting that decision right now.

In the interest of sharing watch content, John Buckley (from legendary Rolex Buckley Dial fame, obviously) has been doing daily live streams from his Tuscany Rose social media platforms on TikTok, YouTube & Facebook and I've really enjoyed them. There's not much to it, he goes live for exactly 1 hour every morning 7am-8am EST and just reacts/answers questions and comments from people. A lot of it can be nonsense but I find fantastic nuggets of wisdom and advice on every stream. Most of it is him complaining about the industry but I find that interesting, too.

He's a delightfully charming & sometimes ornery guy but a 100% straight-shooter about the industry, 47th St, vintage vs. modern, etc. Leans heavy to Rolex but comments on other stuff, too.

He's also a fan of Fed (I know because I asked him!) so thought I would share his stream if anyone is interested in hearing from one of the legends. Maybe Fed has some stories too.

Link to the Tuscany Rose youtube page if you're interested:

https://www.youtube.com/@tuscanyrosemedia/featured

Local AD told me today they were informed by Rolex that no more orders accepted for the Pepsi GMT-Master II Reference 126710BLRO.

Might be old news to many of you as I have read this multiple times, but today was the first comment from an AD.

Still on the Rolex website though.

I'm curious if any of my counterpart Collective members have experienced wanting to like and own a "coveted" or esteemed brand but never warming up to it.

I have tried on more Cartier than I can recall and even gifted my daughter one (she is pleased). Try as I might, I realize they are not for me. Any Santos, Ballon Bleu, Pasha, Roadster... damn. Historic brand, stellar engineering, craftsmanship, classic designs, handsome, two-tone, rectangular, vintage looks ... doesn't matter. I know Fed worked for them and has great things to say and I suspect many enjoy their Cartier pieces.

Just for kicks, has anyone experienced similar "Meh, me no like," feelings about a premium brand? I suspect the Crown engenders similar feelings too, although that I kinda get with the hype, "scarcity," AD games, etc.

Hey FTW community! Very excited to be here. I'm pretty new to the "lifestyle" but am really getting addicted to learning as much as I can about watches and horology in general. I inherited an 80's sub from my father and it set me on the path. I'm partial to watches that are tough daily drivers (I always forget to check my wrist before getting in the shower) and have added a couple of beautiful but fairly inexpensive watches to my my drawer (Oris, Rado) and am really happy with them. I drool over the daily listings in the dealer market and feel like I need to expand my horizons a bit from dive/tool watches. Any recommendations on something a bit dressier/less divey that will be a good next addition? Ideally my budget would be $5k-$6k. I've been browsing German traditional houses and love the aesthetic but am totally open to suggestions. Thanks so much!