I guess if Rolex is the only piece you want and no other options, that's the fastest route you can take. Sometimes i find it easier to just forego the desire of wanting a Rolex and forget about competing with any spenders in the AD, ask the AD to introduce some other brands to you, try it on, appreciate the watch history/movement and how it wears on your hands, who knows right you might end up paying for a non-Rolex piece and that's also a good way to start your journey with the AD.
The majority of the people getting into Rolex is really just because of FOMO, and that's what fueling the grey dealers lucrative business. The grey dealers will always tell you if you pay rm165k for a daytona it will never lose value it will keep going up and if you wait somemore you won't buy it at his price the next time. And just 1 page back I read someone claim that he has a friend who bought like 7 - 8 pieces of the Starbucks rolex? Come on.
Yes, ever since I bought my first Rolex in 2012 there was no turning back. It was my first luxury watch and I knew very little in terms of horology (still very little today). I just knew that the Datejust II looked very classic, iconic and timeless. After owning it, I appreciated its toughness, reliability and ease of use (due to my work I engage in lots of physical activity for which an SS Rolex is the ideal watch for all occasions). Also another aspect was that I thought it would hold its value pretty well. In short, I just fell in love with the brand in all aspects.
Sure enough, once I was in a good financial position, I started branching out to its other lines - Daytona, Submariners, GMTs, etc, I've just never branched out to other brands because I was thoroughly impressed with every single piece of Rolex I've acquired.
Thinking back, life is full of wonders. Had I started earlier with this expensive hobby with the ADs, I probably would not have invested my money elsewhere and instead put all that hard earned money to build a relationship for watches. I got into Rolex rather late, and as a result I had my priorities taken care of first, and am able to buy the pieces I want today with returns from my investments years ago.
Anyways, I definitely agree with what you've said. Although I've already dug in and went grey, at the end of the day I'm just happy and feel fortunate for what I have. Still though, I would love to have the AD experience in the future, so will definitely consider other options.