The new (pre-owned) GRAIL watch · Watch Lover

The new (pre-owned) GRAIL watch

I will cut straight to the chase. I have bought yet another watch. But this time it was a big purchase watch. I finally obtained my first proper luxury watch. I have a Rado Diastar Original 38mm, which was my first luxury grail watch purchase. However, given Rado's not so well beloved reputation in the West, I considered it a "pseudo-luxury watch."

My first luxury that I bought is a.... Cartier. Not just any Cartier, the first iteration of the Cartier Roadster 2510. I promised myself I would not get a new watch for a while, especially not until I get a proper luxury watch.

Recently, my friend sported an Omega Aqua Terra he recently bought. He bought it pre-owned with the original box but no papers. It looked like a masterpiece on his wrist. He recently purchased it as a treat to himself. I was quite happy for him making such a nice purchase. Then I thought, maybe it is also time for me to tap into watches again. Life can be cut too short not to enjoy the little things, so why not, I thought.

As long as the watch was priced under $4,000, I am very willing to consider purchasing. But which one shall I go for. Like my friend, I browsed for pre-owned luxury watches. I appreciated Cartier watches, but never bothered to look closer into them. Then one caught my eye. A Cartier Roadster. An automotive themed watch that takes styling cues from cars from the 1950s.

I never heard of the Cartier Roadster before. It was one Cartier's more obscure watches, it did not have a long standing heritage like the Tank, Santos, or Pasha. It is a design and philosophy that is as old as Gen-Z (what I am). I thought the automotive cues on the watch were beautiful, along with Cartier's jewelry like look, it is a must have.

The one I found was a tad bit over my budget, and did not come with original papers. So the hunt for a better priced Cartier Roadster was on. I was continuing doing research on the watch as I was hunting down the one Roadster for myself. The watch came in several different styles and dials: the Vegas style Roulette dial, the speedometer dial, Chronograph, GMT, etc.

Eventually I found it. The Roadster I wanted was listed under $3.7k and has the original box and papers included. From the images shown, the watch looked practically new. No scratches or flaws. I contacted the seller and asked many questions, and they answered all my questions and concerns. I pulled the trigger and purchased it. I felt really excited waiting for this watch to be delivered. It felt like Christmas morning, waiting a week and a half for the watch to ship.

The seller sent me more photos and videos of the watch to show it is in tip top condition before finally shipping it to me.

With vintage watches, the main concern was how the bracelet would fit. With my large wrists, I knew I had to buy extra links to put on the watch for it to fit. So, I had to shell out extra money for a couple of genuine Cartier links for the Roadster.

Low and behold, it was finally delivered to me and I pretty much fell in love with it. Even though, my large wrists (really) watered down its presence. It still amazed a Cartier watch is now in my possession. My first proper luxury watch purchase and I am proud of it!

I do hold some regret for not opting for a larger model like the Roadster S, or the XL GMT or XL Chrono. But my reasoning for not going for any of them overshadowed any desire to buy them. The S seemed too tame in terms of styling compared to the regular Roadster. I am not a big fan of the GMT XL especially with the 4th hand. The chrono did not look the sexiest to me, and was out of my budget range.

But I got to say, the Chrono XL Roadster is starting to grow on me a little bit. And it is something I do want to eventually get in the future, as as it will sit better on my rather large wrists.

Sadly, I will have to wait again before wearing it due to purchasing the wrong tools for bracelet adjustment. I am currently waiting for another watch tool kit to arrive before I can finally work on the watch.

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The new (pre-owned) GRAIL watch