Sounds like the plot of a weird romance movie......boy buys watch that has two 9s. Boy meets girl whose watch has two 3s. And they lived happily ever after lol
I'm sure more people would find the defect quicker if you didn't use a different watch for the first half and then only give them 8 seconds to find it once you switched.
Yeah, I thought the same thing; pretty hard to spot it when you spend 3 minutes or so looking at a perfect specimen, only to have it switched out during the fade-out/in.
Really though. Was that even 8 seconds? Felt like 4. I get OP is trying to be artsy and have a lot of high-def close up shots, but this video could have been made into a 5-minute "spot the defect" game at it would have been a lot more entertaining.
It's the unbelievable Rolex hype from the 70s, aesthetics exclusive for divers, very few elegant designs, very limited complications like moonphase, perpetual calendars (not the marketing model called "perpetual"), no tourbillon ever, and here a huge flaw that is perceived as a rarity, the marketing on the brand is pretty amazing!
Have 2. Buy 2 and swap the 3 for the 9,and have 2-9s & 2-3s they have the same hole spaces drilled in the dial. It will not be worth anything as people have probably tried it
Its Rolex laying Easter eggs for collectors to find. Obviously done on purpose to increase brand and model hype. The only human touch from a watchmaker is applying the hands. The fact the mistake was not spotted over the the many checks afterwards doesn't ring true. More likely the Air kings not selling well and could do with a light push from their marketing team
This could wind up being the most expensive Rolex in history. Just like those old stamps with the airplane up-side-down. To say this is one in a million is probably actually an understatement. What an absolutely awesome piece to have in ones collection.
Well the crown in the rehaut at 12 a clock is also misaligned pretty often .If you ask Rolex via email they will tell you that it is not intended to line up with 12 a clock lol.
That’s freaking hilarious! It probably increased the investment value and collectibility status considerably. Possibly on purpose, maybe to see what the market would do with this error? As soon as I saw it, I wanted it, and I’m not a Rolex fan either. Love this channel! 3’s were on backorder.
There must have been a ton of chaos when someone noticed that one nine was missing from the box of nines and that there was an extra three. Someone probably realised but by the time they did, it was too late. Amazing.
Wow! This video is really one of the best if seen on RU-vid for years! I never thought I would smile and laugh that much over a video that is about watches. Brilliant job!
Nothing quite as interesting as this with mine. I picked up my 114060 new from an AD local to me and noticed after that the "30" on the ceramic bezel wasn't perfectly aligned with the 6 o'clock marker on the dial. It isn't centered with the end link of the bracelet either. I inquired about it and was shown a two tone sub with the same issue that they had supposedly never seen prior. Hardly two 9's on my dial but it caught my eye seeing as part of the draw for this particular model was the symmetry of the dial.
Probably won't be possible anymore, or at least will be made impossible in the near future. Nowadays many production processes including that of automobiles has quality control using cameras and the computer analyzing it to make sure everything is perfect. Such a system would _always_ catch errors like this.
It's not just on watches either. I used to work in sales & marketing for over 30 years and a one time colleague discovered that I was rather adept at spotting marketing copy errors and started showing me stuff as a last resort to "check the checkers", or asking me to do "my thing" of one more proof read for good measure. Many times he has given me things to check that have "supposedly" been proof read multiple times due to minor copy changes only to discover that I'd spot almost immediately a grammatical error, a blatant spelling error, punctuation error or word repetition - at the end of one line and flowing into the start of the next is a classic that gets missed. Being a graduate electronic engineer, I know there are other industries too like electronics where such checks can easily fail and it is only with EXTREME care and vigilance that they can be avoided. If it can happen to an "ultimate" quality company like Rolex, it can happen to ANY company. Keep your eyes open and remember Murphy's and Sod's laws: 1. If it can go wrong, it WILL (Murphy) 2. WHEN it goes wrong it WILL cause the worst chaos, confusion and disruption possible! (Sod) 😂
When I was age 16 I took flying lessons in 1968. I didn't know then that my flight instructor was a NASA wannabe astronaut. He wore an Omega .321 cal. pre-lunar Omega Speedmaster Professional. My 16 year old sweetheart girlfriend was his cousin and through her I was able to obtain my FAA student pilot's license and actually "soloed" in a Cessna 150 in 1968 before Neil and Buzz first landed on the moon. My girlfriend from back in 1968 gave me a pre-lunar Omega Speedmaster, one of the first .861 models ever built for my birthday on July 30th, 1969. She worked for Bambergers, an Omega dealer later bought out by Macy's. My guess is that my "Speedy" was built in October, 1968 about nine (9) months before Neil and Buzz first flew on Apollo 11. I still have my original Omega .861 Speedmaster Professional, one of the first original new .861 models converted from the .321s. However, back in the late 80s before anybody knew the original Speedmaster Professionals were made to a better model from the .321. to the cal. .861 I sent my "Speedy" to the Omega repair facility in N.Y.C for an overhaul. My watch needed a "tune up" because the green radioactive particles that were originally placed on the face hands of the watch were "crumbling off" and the particles were accumulating as debris inside the Hesalite crystal. Omega did a crazy thing. For $300 U.S. back in either the late 80s or early 90s for only $300 they replaced the old "Hasilite" plastic crystal with a newer and harder form of the plastic crystal. Omega also replaced the "pushers" with new pushers and new rubber grommets. But Omega also gave me a "brand new" silver wristband included in the cost of only $300 for ALL THE WORK including a new silver wristband. I was very happy that Omega replaced the "subdiales and the sweep second hand" as well as a harder shell newer "Hesalite" crystal. Back in those days, nobody predicted the Speedmaster would be an icon of Lunar moon landing. Especially my early model which was one of the first .861 models made in October of 1968 well before the first Lunar landing in July of 1969. I was given my "Speedy" as a BD give on July 30, 1969 only ten (10) days after Buzz Aldrin wore the first wristwatch on the moon. Of course Buzz's watch was a .321 cal Omega Speedmaster Professional. My "Speedmaster" was built about 9 months before Apollo 11 landed on the Moon. Thus my Omega Speedmaster Professional was built before the first Lunar landing. I still have the old "Hesalite" crystal and the old "pushers" from the later repair. I've been told that my pre-lunar Omega Speedmaster is worth its weight in gold. I don't believe it. But if there are any watch specialists here, I'd appreciate a true approximate value of my "Speedy". It holds its time to about a minute or two every two weeks. I don't mind because I constantly set it to my iPhone everytime I use it. So what is it worth in U.S. Dollars? Not that I'm willing to sell it. I'd rather bequest it to my son and let him keep it for years to come. But are there any professional Omega watch experts here willing to give me "some idea" of its present value? Thanks in advance..
daffidavit similar story about my sub 5513 purchased in 1977 for $270, found out a couple years ago that it’s a sought after meters/foot sans serif edition. Insurance co wants appraisal before raising value.
I love the way watchfinder managed to teasingly point out the mistake without being rude or disrespectful to Rolex. Way to go watchfinder. Your provide real value. :-)
So what would happen say if a fault occurs within the watch, and you have to send it off for a service? would they rectify this fault which may i add beautifully wrong, or just fix inside ignoring the face mistake and send it back to you??
I have the same defect on mine, except my Air King has a 9 where the six is too. So its 9,9,9. I though it was just a special feature but never mentioned it to the seller.
The time is usually wrong on any Rolex. It's a mechanical movement, obsolete since the 1970s. It simply can't have the accuracy of even the cheapest quartz watch.
I heard a story from a salesman at ultra jewelry in cancun Mexico a few years ! The guy bought a ceramic gmt with a black bezel an green font . But it had a blue Batman gmt arm instead of green one
What a great video and what a unique timepiece! Man I wish I could buy this watch! Now I am imaging me in a Rolex AD like: - Do you have an Air King? - Yes! -With 3 and 9? -Yes! - Than no thanks. ))))))
This rolex is special, it shows that people still makes mistakes, and shows that they are still people. People who still makes mistakes. and shows that people are not like robots, but they even have a family like us
@@Jochempie63 I think it might be the curse of handling all these high end watches ... Even Rolex and JLC cannot meet the standards A Lange has set it seems
I didn't notice it until you actually said what the defect was, and I have an Explorer I 39 mm with the same numerals. My brain well telling me it was a 3 as well.
I mean regardless of what you think they're the best luxury brand of watches that provide mountains of quality within the price range. Hate all you want about Rolex being mainstream or whatever other qualms you may have against the company, but they're the most widely known and best selling luxury timepieces.
The humble Air King 👑 is such a great watch in the modern size and update (2 secs a day, like the rest) its got personality unlike most. I'm sure they will keep track of the numbers. There's a double 3 probably
The Treskilling Yellow is considered one of the most expensive postage stamps in the world due to the fact it should be printed in a blue-green colour with the three-skilling print, but it was actually printed in yellow. This Swedish misprinted stamp issued in 1855 is believed to be the only surviving copy to exist, which is why it is worth over €2.1 million.
Correction- Rolex make one of the best mass produced machine made watches in the world. Feel your finger round the edge of the Sub's bezel. Not too hard - it could cut you. If you want to know what sharpness mean, put a handmade GS beside and compare.
Variations and faults in Coins and postage stamps are generally highly valued. Perhaps, if this issue is properly documented e.g. dial made by / watch assembed by / quality control etc. the watch would be no doubt more valuable.
I think the basic “correct” design is wrong anyway. Why have minutes at 1,2,4,5,7,8,10,11. Then hours at 3,6 and 9 Seems very odd and convoluted to me. And not inline with the clean simplicity of Rolex design aesthetics.
My gut tells me this is a deliberate act by either an individual employee or Rolex themselves. To me it’s a fantastic April fool and so easy to simply swap of an inverted 6 for a 3. Thank you for owning up to be a Civil Engineer, finally we have 2 things in common our careers and watches.
This is possibly the best watch I could imagine to own. I wouldn't exhange it if rolex would pay me to do so in addition to a new watch. As you said, it's probably one-in-a-million.
Deceptive video. He swaps watches at 3:12 while continuing his smooth talk. So you have already looked for 3 minutes at the defect-free watch when he does the swap without telling you
I know the AD that sold this watch who never seen the defect, neither did the person who bought it until the next day who then sold it to watchfinder for £15000.
