If your impression of buying a pre-owned Rolex involves navigating grey-market dealers and second-guessing authentication, the 1916 Company Ardmore experience next month is the corrective. On June 18–20, the Philadelphia institution brings more than 200 Rolex Certified Pre-Owned watches to its Main Line showroom — available to try on and purchase, each carrying Rolex’s own certification seal and a two-year international guarantee.

A Philadelphia stop follows in November. For the region, two roadshow dates in one year is a meaningful window of access to one of the more unusual collector experiences the watch world currently offers.

The collection at each stop spans more than 200 Rolex Certified Pre-Owned watches: historic references, pieces with stone and lacquer dials, neo-vintage models from the 1980s and ’90s, gem-set examples, and current-production models. It’s the kind of inventory range that rarely sits accessible in one room — which is the entire point of the roadshow format.

What the 1916 Company Ardmore Stop Actually Looks Like

The June 18–20 event runs as an open house at the 1916 Company Ardmore showroom at 102 E Montgomery Ave, next to Suburban Square in Lower Merion Township. Visitors can walk through the assembled collection, handle the watches, and speak directly with the team — no appointment required, though private appointments are available for anyone who wants dedicated time with specific pieces.

The event format includes daily Collecting Conversations — informal afternoon sessions at 2 p.m. — covering the watches on display, what the Rolex Certified Pre-Owned program involves in practice, and how to read the collection across its different categories. It’s designed to be useful whether you’re a committed collector or someone considering a first purchase.

What the roadshow format offers that a standard boutique visit doesn’t is scale and informality. More than 200 watches across a three-day window, with team access throughout, under no pressure to buy. The 1916 Company Ardmore setup — private appointment tracks running alongside open house hours — serves both the serious collector and the genuinely curious.

For someone attending for the first time, the open house format removes the pressure that typically accompanies a luxury watch purchase. There is no appointment required, no expectation that you arrive with a specific reference in mind, and no obligation to buy. The 1916 Company Ardmore team is on hand throughout — available for questions but not crowding the experience. Browsing 200 certified pieces in that environment is genuinely different from reading listings.

The Collecting Conversations sessions add something further: context. The 2 p.m. daily sessions are designed to walk visitors through the collection with historical and technical framing — what distinguishes a reference, what the certification process involves at each evaluation stage, and how to read condition across different dial and case types. For a first-time buyer evaluating a pre-owned Rolex, that kind of guided access is exactly the information that the secondary market rarely provides clearly.

Private appointments are available throughout all three days for collectors who want focused time — a specific reference, a trade discussion, or a more extended consultation with the team. Booking ahead is the recommended approach; the roadshow draws serious buyers, and dedicated time goes quickly at each city stop.

Rolex Certified Pre-Owned — the 1916 Company Ardmore Explanation

Pre-owned Rolex is a wide market. The Rolex Certified Pre-Owned designation is a specific one. A watch that carries the RCPO seal has been evaluated, serviced, and authenticated by Rolex directly — not by an independent grader, not by the selling dealer. It comes with a two-year international guarantee issued by Rolex itself.

The practical implication is straightforward: when you’re buying from the 1916 Company Ardmore’s roadshow collection, you’re buying a watch that Rolex has inspected and backed. For first-time buyers — people who’ve been curious about a pre-owned Rolex but found the secondary market opaque — the RCPO program removes the uncertainty that typically accompanies that purchase.

Why the 1916 Company Ardmore and Philadelphia Matter for This Collection

The 1916 Company’s Philadelphia roots run more than a century deep. The name itself is drawn from 1916 — the year Govberg Jewelers was founded in the city. That history, now operating as a multi-location platform that includes WatchBox, Radcliffe, and Hyde Park Jewelers, became part of the official Rolex Certified Pre-Owned network in 2023.

The 1916 Company Ardmore showroom at 102 E Montgomery Ave — next to Suburban Square in Lower Merion Township — is the company’s flagship multi-brand location. At nearly 7,500 square feet, it opened in 2025 as the first site to operate under the unified 1916 Company identity. It is an Official Rolex Jeweler, a dedicated Rolex Certified Pre-Owned destination, and the host for the June roadshow stop. The Philadelphia flagship at 1529 Walnut St in Rittenhouse Square holds the November date.

The Full 1916 Company Ardmore and Philadelphia Schedule

Both Pennsylvania stops are part of a five-city 2026 Coast to Coast Roadshow: Newport Beach (June 4–6), Ardmore PA (June 18–20), Manhattan Beach (August 6–8), Baltimore (November 5–7), and Philadelphia (November 19–21).

Private appointments for the 1916 Company Ardmore stop and all roadshow locations can be booked through The 1916 Company directly. Open house hours run throughout all three days of each event.

About Post Author

Allan Lane

Philadelphia born and bred, Allan Lane is the Publisher and Editor in Chief of digital magazines. He launched his first publication, SportBikes Inc Magazine in 2010, followed by dosage MAGAZINE in 2019. Recently, Allan launched his third online publication, Club For Man. As a journalist, Allan covers fashion, lifestyle, culture, art, and motorcycles.

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