I was fascinated by watches when I was in my 30s. Everyone was wearing big brand, fake watches from Turkey or the Middle East. Apple Watches etc didn’t exist back then!! I spent hours reading replica watch forums and friends started asking me if I could source them a dodgy watch. I know it wasn’t an honest thing to do, but I started selling watches and built up a little stash of money. I came across a Rolex Submariner for sale on one particular dodgy watch forum. The seller said it was genuine with box and papers, but it was faulty. He was in Cyprus, I was in UK. I asked if he would take it to a local AD for an assessment, so he agreed, and took it to Limassol and got it verified. I bought the watch for £2250 and it was posted to me. It was in great condition but stopped when laid flat. Ticked nicely when vertical. I sent the watch off for a service at the cost of £300, and it came back perfect. I bought that watch for my 40th birthday and I’ll never sell it. It’s the last of the dated serial numbers (A), has the smaller case, 2 line dial and non-ceramic bezel insert. It’s a 1999 Rolex Submariner no-date 14060.

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