In March, we asked you to share the story behind your first Rolex with us. After submissions closed on March 29, 2021, we had originally only planned to publish the winning entry. However, upon reading the many amazing stories you submitted, we quickly realized that one story simply was not enough. So, from now through the end of the year, we will be posting more of our favorite submissions from our community!
We started with Eric from Austin, Texas. You can read the moving account of his Rolex Datejust here. Edward from Australia also captured our attention with the fascinating story behind his Rolex GMT-Master II.
In the following article, David, another community member from Australia, recounts how his comic collection led to his Rolex Milgauss.
My Rolex Milgauss
As a long-time watch fan, it was obviously always my dream to own a Rolex.
While I do have other watches in my collection, all of which I’m very happy with, we all know that no collection is complete without that one special piece with the crown on the dial.
With the myriad of models out there, it can be easy to fall for only the most well-known models or the one that some celebrity is currently flashing on the cover of GQ. Or perhaps you buy into a link between motorsport, tennis, golf, or one of the other lead marketing positions for some of the models. All are valid reasons to support this iconic brand, and that’s what makes it personal: You choose the watch that you want to be seen wearing for reasons only you know.
Having originally seen a Milgauss on the wrist of a colleague some years ago, I knew straight away that this was the model I wanted—eye-catching from some angles, understated from others, but at first glance unmistakably Rolex. That was my watch dream. And unless you work in atomic energy fields all day or subscribe to Rolex’s magazine (is there even one?), you might not even know this model. Hence, you couldn’t say that I was buying into the whole “fanboy” club by pursuing this model.
Being in my mid-40s, you might say this was my “mid-life crisis” moment. I call it my “mid-life opportunity” moment. Here’s why.
As a kid of the late 70s and early 80s, I had amassed a sizable collection of items that suddenly everyone wanted: Star Wars, Legos, comic books—all in essentially brand new condition, intact, and many with the original packaging. None of it was the “gold mine” stuff you hear about selling for millions at auctions, but it was all there and all collectible. And with my parents wanting to downsize the house, they gently “encouraged” me to come and clean out my stuff.
Thus began my 2020 lockdown obsession: searching internet forums for what to sell, how to sell, and how to list details properly. The process became a little bit addictive, but it allowed me to amass quite the war chest of liquidity that I would have been unknowingly sitting on if my parents hadn’t put the pressure on. At this point, eBay had become my virtual second home.
So, long story short: I could now take my time and research my dream watch on Chrono24. After much time spent comparing, calculating import duties (a trap for beginners!), and identifying credible sellers, I made the purchase: a one-owner, green Milgauss complete with all the original paperwork and packaging.
From the moment I committed to buying until the moment the doorbell rang were some of the most anxious days in my life, followed closely by the anxiety associated with opening the package!
Would it be the same watch I’d fallen in love with?
Would I have buyer’s remorse?
I needn’t have worried. In fact, looking back now, the anticipation is also part of the joy of such a purchase: the increased heart rate and feeling like a kid at Christmas, which, if we’re honest, we don’t really get to relive as adults. I showed it off to my colleague, who was still sporting the original one that I’d spotted years ago, and his reaction was interesting. “Why a Milgauss?” he asked. I told him that from the first day I had seen it on his wrist, I knew that it was the model I wanted simply based on how it made me feel and how it looked in the role he had chosen for it. He responded that he, too, had had a similar experience, albeit when he had spotted his sitting in a shop window overseas and found himself staring at the timepiece while ignoring all the other models around it, working out if he could justify the investment.
And that’s what they are: an investment. Not necessarily driven by financial reasons, but an investment in a brand and in a lifestyle that these watches complete. A Rolex can often be the missing piece.
The other great joy the Milgauss has brought me are the sideways glances from other watch spotters. Whether friends, colleagues, or strangers, it gives me a little skip of excitement every time I notice someone taking a quick glimpse of my watch. They don’t always say something, but they don’t have to.
And to be honest, I still steal glances at it myself. Because it’s a Rolex. My Rolex.
