Thought 2020 couldn’t get any worse? Well, it just did.
They say you can’t polish a turd, but you can roll it in glitter. But what is the opposite? What if you have something that is already so gorgeous and iconic in its looks, but you take away the glitter. Does it then become a turd?
That could well be the case for this customised Rolex GMT-Master II “Root Beer” with two-tone Oystersteel and rose gold finish, posted to luxury watch Instagram account A G Watch Company. What you’re looking at is an incredibly iconic timepiece, and one we feel should feature in any watch enthusiast’s collection at some point in their life. Only, gone is the Oyster or Jubilee bracelet that it would have come with as standard, and in its place is a white rubber strap.
View this post on Instagram
To be honest, we’re not sure whether to admire the courageous attitude of the owner or stab our eyes out with rusty nails.
The very idea of customising a watch to make it more personal to you is nothing new, and we’re not certainly against it. Changing the strap, for example, is one of the easiest ways to take your watch from stock looks to something truly out of this world – and to help it pair better with your outfit, of course.
Seikos are prime candidates to be customised and modified, and we fully encourage you to do so to make yours unique. But there are some watches we feel should be left untouched.
We’ll happily admit the change of strap does indeed give the Rolex GMT-Master II a completely new look, but because it’s not something we’re used to seeing, we can’t get our head around it. Given the two-tone bezel, black dial and Oystersteel case, choosing the ‘right’ colour for the rubber strap isn’t easy. We would have at least tried a dark navy blue number to complement the bezel, at least.
But it seems, judging by the few comments the post has received, we’re wrong:
“Daaayum! Lookin good” and “Iconic piece” they read.
Given the lack of further comment, people have quickly skipped past the post to avoid leaving a comment they’ll later regret.
We’ll let you be the judge as to whether you think this is a good look, and indeed, if Rolex watches should be modified in any way at all.
For us, we’re going to need some more convincing.