My Rolex GMT Master Pepsi

If you have been following my blogs for years, you will know that I own one of the most sought after Rolex, i.e. GMT Master Pepsi in Stainless Steel. Prior to 2018, it was a collectors item. I bought my first Rolex when I was in my late twenties.  At that time we were in a recession (1997 – 1998) and Ringgit was weakening like nobody’s business. The watch cost more than my monthly salary; however, I had made lots of money as I had sold most of my shares just before the market collapsed. So I thought to myself back then, if I didn’t get a Rolex watch, with our Ringgit weakening day after day, soon a Rolex would eventually be beyond my reach. Today, a new Rolex 2 tone GMT Master II cost more than 3X (i.e. 300%) compared to what I paid about 20 years ago.

I tell you, the quality of Rolex  Stainless Steel watches are damn freaking good.

Below are photos of my Rolex GMT Master Pepsi Stainless Steel (Model No 16700) taken back in 2016, close to 20 years after I bought it and it still looks as good as new and works perfectly fine. I tell you, buying the Rolex Pepsi was the best thing I ever burned my money on as I can still use the damn watch after 20 years. I can’t say the same for the many notebooks, tons of mobile phones and other electronic gadgets that I had bought, where most are obsolete today.

My Son’s Rolex GMT Master II Batman

In 2015, I bought my eldest son his first Rolex, i.e. GMT Master II Batman (for about RM28K, today it is selling for RM38K). Reason was because he made me damn happy when he finally decided to enroll into Med School after burning tons of my money on two Engineering degrees (he was accepted into a Top 10 USA Engineering Uni at the age of 16 before his SPM results were out and subsequently obtained his Masters in Engineering from an Ivy League Uni). He is now in his final year pursuing a post graduate Doctor of Medicine (M.D) degree from one of the World’s Top 50 Med Schools.

Below are photos of my Rolex Pepsi side by side with my son’s Rolex Batman:

My Son’s Limited Edition Bell & Ross GMT BR03-51 Blue where the Serial No ends with No.8

Then for my second son’s eighteenth birthday, I bought him a Limited Edition Bell & Ross GMT ( model BR03-51 GMT Blue ) where only 50 pieces were produced in the entire world:

My First and Last Smartwatch

In late 2016, I did buy a Samsung Gear S3 but sold it after using it for about 2 weeks. The watch is damn troublesome, need to be recharged.

My Baselworld 2017 Rolex Air King

For Baselworld 2017, Rolex introduced a new Air King, i.e. 116900; and I was lucky to secure one on 2nd January 2017 🙂 I love this watch, no need to adjust the date, hahaha.

My New Toy for 2018

However, nowadays, I only wear my cheapo Citizen Eco-Drive All Black Stealth Military Style watch, hahaha. Bought it at a steal price for about RM450. Click here to read my article titled My New Toy.

Baselworld 2018 – My Rolex Pepsi is Back!!!

Wow! For Baselworld 2018, Rolex has reintroduced the GMT Master Pepsi in Stainless Steel!!! This is going to be another most sought after Rolex for the next 10 years or so.

My second son will be graduating soon with a Bachelor of Commerce majoring in Accounting and Banking & Finance from University of Melbourne which is ranked No.1 in Australia and Top 20 in the world for Accounting. And if he pursues a Master Degree like I have instructed him to do so, it would make me damn happy and I might just buy him the new Rolex GMT Master II Pepsi 🙂

My second child, a daughter, she has a Rolex ladies watch too. nothing fancy but an entry level model.

Now, with me buying the watches for my children, I am actually using their inheritance in advance, and best of all, they will be thankful to me and remember me as a generous father, hahaha. Same thing, my children are burning their future inheritance by attending World’s Top 50 Universities. By end of this year, my family would have a total of 11 degrees!!!

• My father – Bachelor of Engineering with Honours from UM.
• My mother – Bachelor of Arts with Honours from UM. She was a former headmistress of 2 Convent High Schools.
• Me – Bachelor of Engineering with Honours and Master of Engineering, both from USA.
• Wifey – Bachelor of Science with Honours from USA.
• My eldest son – Bachelor of Engineering from a Top 10 USA Engineering Uni and Master of Engineering from an Ivy League Uni (World’s Top 1% of Universities). End of this year he will obtained another degree, i.e. Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) from a World’s Top 50 Medicine Uni.
• My second child, a daughter – Bachelor of Pharmacy (with Honours) from a Melbourne uni ranked World’s Top 5 for Pharmacy. End of this year she will graduate with a Masters.
• My third child a son – by end of this year, Bachelor of Commerce majoring in Accountancy and Banking & Finance from a uni in Melbourne which is ranked World’s Top 20 Uni for Accounting.
• My youngest is still attending an elite all girls High School in Melbourne (this year 2018); but she was accepted into University of Melbourne (Ranked No.1 University in Australia and Top 50 in the world) to attend 2 first year courses, i.e. Micro and Macro Economics. She is competing with other first year uni students. FYI, in order to be able to enter University of Melbourne, one needs at least ATAR (Australia Tertiary Admission Rank) Score of 95 (top 5% students).

Better that I burn my money now on my children education instead of them “suka-suka” burn my money on non-durable stuff when I go to the next world. Worst case is – if any on my son go burn their inheritance on his girlfriend(s) (potentially other people’s wife) by buying her a Chanel bag – I would be damn freaking pissed off in my grave but I can’t dig out of it to go give him a good scolding, hahaha.

So, for those of you who have attained the level of “Chiak Bui Liow” (i.e. you have more than enough for your retirement until age 100), click here to read my article Spending Your Children’s future Inheritance so that you won’t need to dig yourself out from your grave, hahaha.

I bought my Rolex GMT Master Pepsi 20 years ago for just below RM11K. Today, the same model watch, second hand, is selling for RM30K to RM40K which is about the same price of a new Rolex GMT Master II !!! An unworn Rolex GMT Pepsi 16700 can go as high as RM70K!!!

Like I mentioned at the very beginning, buying the Rolex GMT Master Pepsi is the best purchase I ever made because I can use daily and it last forever plus the price has appreciated more than 300%. So you better go get yourself the new Rolex GMT Master II Batman or Pepsi; because, in another 20 years time the same watch may cost you RM100K!!! However, please note, not all Rolex model appreciates but only selected models, especially stainless steel sport models (e.g. Daytona and GMT 2 tones). On the other hand, a Solid Gold Rolex watch may actually deprecate in value (second hand) but owning one is the ultimate epitome of success, i.e. you have reached the level of Chiak Bui Liow, hahaha.

Last but not least, the card to use to pay for a Rolex watch is no other than the Maybank 2 Cards Premier AMEX Reserve where you earn 1 Enrich Miles or 1 KrisFlyer Miles with every RM0.954 spent locally. By you using the Maybank AMEX Reserve to pay for a Solid Gold Rolex watch, you will earn yourself a one way FIRST CLASS ticket with Singapore Airlines KL to Europe!!! And if your Rolex dealer is giving you less discount because you used an AMEX card, you are buying the watch from the wrong dealer, hahaha.

Click here to read my article on Rolex Authenticity and Security Features.