Dear Rolex, Bring Back The Best Online Rolex Submariner Ref. 6538 Replica Watches

I know seeing the rebirth of 38mm no-crown-guard luxury US replica Rolex Submariner ref. 6538 watches is as likely as seeing the original Beatles again — #nothappening. Thankfully, we still have our regular Sunday daydreaming column, don’t we? So, if you’ll indulge me, I’ll do just that.

What were you doing 10 years ago? Personally, I remember that very clearly. I didn’t get much sleep in those days, and not for the reasons that come to the top of your dirty minds. Rather, I was working 16-18 hours a day, seven days a week trying to build my own company in the heart of Europe.

Someone in Hong Kong, however, likely has fonder memories of that time. You see, back then, there was minty and unpolished AAA fake Rolex Submariner reference 6538 watches with an original bezel insert in an auction. To quote Eric Wind, that “absolutely dead stock” example of precious 6538 with a $50,000-$75,000 pre-sale estimate sold for over $92,000. If we saw that same watch in an auction today, it could easily score five to eight times more.

The skyrocketing Rolex Submariner reference 6538

There are high quality Rolex replica watches that you could technically buy for €3,000, but you won’t buy them because there are none of them around. And then there are watches like the 6538, and you won’t buy those either because you don’t have the budget. I guess these astronomical prices explain why you are not reading a hands-on review today, but rather, a pious wish for the next Rolex release. I didn’t buy the 6538 back in 2011, and I’m afraid I won’t buy it in 2031 either. But anyway, why do I like it at all?

It’s the ultimate Submariner

The perfect Rolex Submariner copy watches debuted in 1953 alongside the also-mighty Rolex Explorer. Early references with pencil hands don’t speak much to me. Reference 6200 gets me more due to its “Explorer” dial. But it wasn’t until I spotted a 6538 that my imaginary search for the ultimate Submariner came to an end. Honestly, I couldn’t care less how many Seans or Dr. Nos wore the Submariner 6538. It just had the most confident crown ever put on a wristwatch and, for me, the most iconic splash of color ever seen on one too.

Triangular red magic

Well, in terms of color ratios at least, we can call it a red splash. Technically speaking, it’s not a splash, but rather, the most carefully designed triangle in the history of dive Swiss movements Rolex replica watches. You may call me crazy, but I believe it’s this little shape laid perfectly in its place that makes most collectors crave this watch. Either they want or they don’t want to admit that they do. It has some kind of special aura. The triangle is not just flat red, though. Instead, it’s a vivid metallic shade. I would never have thought that such a tiny element would have such a game-changing effect. It has been almost four years, but I am still endlessly jealous that RJ had an intimate one-on-one session with this 6538.

Why won’t we see it again?

Well, I guess for all the reasons that I like it so much. First is its simple and functional no-BS case that measures just 38mm wide. Last year, I opened my wrist to a few 41mm watches, but I still find that nothing beats the 38mm diameter. Rolex super clone watches for sale did some crazy stuff recently, like moving the date and crown to the left, but I do not expect the brand to shrink the Submariner back to 38mm. No matter how much I would like to see it, I just can’t believe it will happen. Anyway, how would you feel about going back to 38mm again?

Thoughts on crowns and guards

The major switch that gave extra muscle to the cheap Rolex Submariner replica watches case came with the introduction of the crown guards in 1959 with ref. 5512. This was about the time that the 6538 came to the end of its three-year run. In general, that’s how I divide Submariners — the pre-crown-guard Submariner I naively wish for, and the later crown-guarded models I will probably end up with. That’s right, there’s still no Submariner in my collection. I was so close to getting one three years ago, but… em… I fell asleep and missed the bus to Germany. And eventually, I ended up spending the budget on a GMT-Master 1675 instead.

Crown guards dramatically change the body structure and make it stronger. Well, they make the Submariner case what it is today. But, if you ask me, I don’t need them. That’s also one of the reasons why the “Ed White” is the last “acceptable” vintage Speedmasters for me. The Speedy’s crown guards may provide some protection, but they kill the lightness and pure simplicity of the utilitarian watch case.

That brings us to another unique point and the reason why the 6538 carries the “Big Crown” nickname. Just look at that 8mm-wide crown and tell me frankly, does that watch need any crown guards? Not in my eyes. Because anytime I look at “Big Crown” Submariner 6538, I see Dwayne Johnson. And you wouldn’t succeed if you tried to tear off the head of the Rock anyway.

How many lines, did you say?

You can get… Oops, sorry… You can dream about getting chronometer-certified 6538s. These are easily recognizable with four lines of text squeezed above 6 o’clock. Allegedly, they are also more sought-after, however much more they could be when talking about a half-a-million-euro watch. But I actually prefer the non-chronometer-certified ones, and I find their two-line dials simply beautiful. You hear me, top Rolex fake watches?

What really counts is the condition. Early replica Rolex Submariner watches paypal lived their purpose, so to find an untouched piece is equivalent to winning the lottery… Assuming you won the lottery before to be able to afford one. The dials range from glossy marvels to beautifully tropical brownies. And among all the watches that age graciously, the Rolex Submariner 6538 could be the greatest of all. Each scar, light discoloration, and the muddy tone of aged lume only add to the tough character of each 6538.

Vintage US Rolex Fake Watches For Collecting

Last week, Eric Wind, the owner of Wind Vintage, a prominent vintage Swiss movements replica watches dealer, posted a photo of a badly damaged perfect Swiss Rolex replica watches to his Instagram feed, with a caption that began: “What happens if a 2,000-pound bull steps on your 1:1 fake Rolex Explorer reference 1016 watches?”

The short answer: You send it to Greg Petronzi.

The New York City-based best fake Rolex watches repair specialist is a rare breed: Not only is he a well-regarded watchmaker with a thriving business (@True_Patina) among Swiss movements copy Rolex watches and Swiss made replica Tudor watches collectors and dealers, many of whom regularly send him their prized timepieces (“Big Crowns,” “MilSubs,” you name it), he’s also a passionate and astute super clone Rolex watches online store collector himself, with a deep knowledge of the nuances of vintage replica watches shop online ownership (i.e., the perils of polishing).

“I understand the collector mentality and the obsessiveness about how careful everything needs to be,” Petronzi says.

Empathy, after all, is part of his job description (albeit not for watchmaking): Petronzi is a full-time psychologist specializing in adults with relational issues, depression and anxiety. (And yes, he occasionally turns the analysis on himself: “I’ve always wondered: Why am I so into replica watches for men?” Petronzi says. “One time, I had a supervisor on a case, and he said, ‘Greg, do you ever think you’re just trying to buy time?’ I think there’s a reality to that.”)

Like many collectors, Petronzi got his start with Swatch when he was in middle school. He became serious about timepieces when he was an undergraduate majoring in psychology at New York University in the early 2000s and began to collect Rolex fake watches wholesale—mostly pre-owned Submariners and GMTs. After graduating in 2005, Petronzi pursued additional degrees—first a master’s in counseling for mental health and wellness from NYU, which he completed in 2008, followed by a PhD in counseling psychology from Seton Hall University in 2016.

In the midst of his schooling, Petronzi met a veteran watchmaker named Rik Dietel on the US cheap Rolex imitation watches Forum. Once he completed his PhD and had more free time, Petronzi began to explore his nascent interest in AAA top replica watches repair, with Deitel’s encouragement. In 2016, he took an introductory watchmaking course at the Horological Society of New York. “It was my first experience manipulating parts on perfect fake watches and I found it was easy for me,” Petronzi says.

Encouraged by his affinity for working with mechanical movements, Petronzi embarked on a mission to learn all he could about the top quality replica Rolex watches and Tudor knockoff watches for sale that were his passion. He apprenticed under Dietel, studied YouTube videos, and bought movements to disassemble and reassemble.

“My initial goal was just to learn it,” Petronzi said. “I felt that watchmakers were like the key makers from ‘The Matrix’—they have all the keys to all the doors to make things happen.”

The insider knowledge and connections he’d formed as a collector (through communities such as RedBar) helped Petronzi build a client base early on in his watchmaking career. After he took on his first official wholesale replica watches repair client in 2018, it didn’t take him long to recognize he had a talent for restoring cosmetic details, such as hands and dials, a knack he attributes to his mother, a lifelong artist.

A few years ago, Petronzi noticed that clients were paying up to $1,200 for “a specific and distinctly dome-shaped plastic crystal” that appeared on early Submariner models.

“In the early ’80s, luxury Rolex fake watches switched this dome out for a flatter, different shaped dome altogether,” he says. “Then they moved to sapphire instead of acrylic. But acrylic has a warmth to it that sapphire doesn’t have. And the flatter crystal doesn’t showcase the dial in nearly as pleasing a way as what collectors call ‘superdomes.’”

Petronzi saw a timely business opportunity.

“People want these domes today but they’re hard, if not impossible, to source,” he says. “I got a few aftermarket variants but they were such trash. They distorted the dial, the dome shapes were incorrect. I said, ‘I wonder if I can get an original dome reverse-engineered?’”

In 2019, Petronzi and two business partners founded TrueDome to supply acrylic crystals faithful to best quality replica Rolex’s original designs (the company has since expanded its selection to include crystals for vintage Swiss top fake Rolex GMTs, Daytonas, Explorers and Tudor Submariners).

“Fortuitously, a few months after the company was formed, AAA luxury Rolex replica watches announced they would no longer be making acrylic crystals or even service them,” he says. “It went from being a passion project to something the collector community would benefit from.”

Petronzi knew that if the TrueDome crystals weren’t perfect, collectors would never let him forget it. “They get wound up about not only is the crystal acrylic or sapphire, but is the sidewall too high or too short?” he says. “We’re talking microns of variance.”

Today, as Petronzi prepares to send off his 400th US Swiss fake watches repair invoice, he waxes philosophical about why collectors devote so much attention to horological minutiae.

“There’s something sort of metaphysical about Swiss made perfect replica watches and timekeeping in general,” he says. “We try to quantify time, to understand our lives, to understand where we’re going. And vintage cheap quality fake watches—it’s a slice of time. Not only does it tell time in the present, but it also tells time in the past. It becomes part of people’s lives, a representation of time spent.

“That’s why people get so obsessed—it’s a way for them to sublimate their lives, and take attention off something they can’t control, like Covid, and put it on something they can control, which is the condition of their replica Rolex watches for sale,” says Petronzi. “So it becomes more than just the high quality fake watches for men, but what it represents, which is stability for people.”