The Watch Appreciation Thread - Part two (Rolex, Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet, Jaeger LeCoultre,

[Journeyman]

^ Love those straps.

Absolutely.

@rirakuma - are those the straps that came with both watches, or are they aftermarket? If so, would you mind letting us know where they're from?

 

[rirakuma]



Absolutely.

@rirakuma
 - are those the straps that came with both watches, or are they aftermarket? If so, would you mind letting us know where they're from?

I make them myself, send me a PM if you're interested in one .

 

[chanoch]

Has anyone had experience with watch.lounge.de through Chrono24? They are advertising a GO Senator I fancy (to replace my father's Rolex, for those who have been following my search) and although I have not had great experiences with grey market vendors, the price is very attractive and they have confirmed that it comes with a 2-year manufacturer's warranty.

Also, the customs is not included. I have no idea how to take care of customs, duties, taxes, etc on a watch purchased this way. Guidance for those who know would be much appreciated.

 

[TheFoo]



Has anyone had experience with watch.lounge.de through Chrono24? They are advertising a GO Senator I fancy (to replace my father's Rolex, for those who have been following my search) and although I have not had great experiences with grey market vendors, the price is very attractive and they have confirmed that it comes with a 2-year manufacturer's warranty.

Also, the customs is not included. I have no idea how to take care of customs, duties, taxes, etc on a watch purchased this way. Guidance for those who know would be much appreciated.

Customs on watches coming into the U.S. is minimal (2 or 4% I believe), and that's when they charge it at all. The last few times I've had watches shipped to me from authorized dealers in Europe, I've paid no customs duty even though the full values were always declared.

Have you tried connecting with an authorized dealer in Europe? On a Glashuette Original, you should be able to get an easy 20 percent off retail price just for asking, then another 16-20% off for VAT, depending on the country. Grey market dealers often can't take the VAT off so going the AD route is often better.

 

[chanoch]

@mafoofan

Thanks for this suggestion. Just wrote to an AD in Madrid to see that they say ... Hadn't thought of asking an AD in Europe for a discount, as the ones in NY (Tourneau, Wempe, etc.) wouldn't budge.

 

[chanoch]

@mafoofan

The trey market dealer watch-lounge.de has offered to take off the VAT, making the price even more attractive than the original Chrono24 deal.

SF Watch Appreciation comrades, any advice on dealing with this watch merchant or Chrono24?

 

[Dino944]

Hadn't thought of asking an AD in Europe for a discount, as the ones in NY (Tourneau, Wempe, etc.) wouldn't budge.

Have you considered contacting small AD's outside of NY? I've done lots of looking in NYC, but I've always been able to get far better deals on watches at smaller AD's in other states. Tourneau and Wempe generally never offer a deal worth considering. I'd only buy there if its a watch no-one is discounting or its hard to get piece selling over list price and you can get it there for list. Cellini sometimes does better, but they weren't competitive compared to an AD I dealt with in another state on an AP.

 

[chanoch]

Have you considered contacting small AD's outside of NY? I've done lots of looking in NYC, but I've always been able to get far better deals on watches at smaller AD's in other states. Tourneau and Wempe generally never offer a deal worth considering. I'd only buy there if its a watch no-one is discounting or its hard to get piece selling over list price and you can get it there for list. Cellini sometimes does better, but they weren't competitive compared to an AD I dealt with in another state on an AP.

Will try NJ more, now that I have a somewhat better understanding of how things work, but I think it will be hard to beat the Chrono24 deal.

I am down to two models: GO Senator Automatic (the basic Senator model) and Senator Panorama Date Moon Phase (a real mouthful -- why can't they just all it Date-Lunar?). Have tried on both and still can't decide ...

The folks at watch-lounge (fellow named Frank Shuster) that I connected with via Chrono24 have offered me a good price. Wish I knew more about them, as I am always nervous about grey market sales. They are offering the original warranty, and the price is where @mafoofan said it should be: 20% off and no VAT. Sounds like the real deal, box, papers, warranty and all. Do you know these guys? Any experience with Chrono24?

In any case, I still need to decide which model and hope to settle it in the next few days. The base model is a bit more elegant and at barely 10mm, is thin and comfortable. The Date-Lunar model is 11.5 and feels noticeably bulkier because of it, which I expect I'd get used to -- after my Metro, pretty much everything feels bulkier. I like the complications and how GO implemented them, but it's not as clean looking as the regular Senator. The 100-caliber in the Date-Lunar seems like a better movement, based on what I've read and its features, which is a selling point with me; not sure why GO has two very different movements in these very comparable models. Will try to stop by Wempe's to check them both out again. Love them both, so I know I won't be unhappy either way.

Grateful, as always, for advice ...

 

[Ambulance Chaser]

Between the two, I prefer the Panorama Date Moonphase. Moonphase is an interesting complication, albeit one that is not that useful. GO's execution of the big date is really good, with both numbers on the same plane. A lot of other big dates have numbers on different planes, requiring a bar in between the numbers.

 

[Imyouricecreamman]

Wow! Those are 2 great options. I'd take the Date/Moonphase version, no doubt.

 

[pmeis]

Will try NJ more, now that I have a somewhat better understanding of how things work, but I think it will be hard to beat the Chrono24 deal.

I am down to two models: GO Senator Automatic (the basic Senator model) and Senator Panorama Date Moon Phase (a real mouthful -- why can't they just all it Date-Lunar?). Have tried on both and still can't decide ...

The folks at watch-lounge (fellow named Frank Shuster) that I connected with via Chrono24 have offered me a good price. Wish I knew more about them, as I am always nervous about grey market sales. They are offering the original warranty, and the price is where @mafoofan said it should be: 20% off and no VAT. Sounds like the real deal, box, papers, warranty and all. Do you know these guys? Any experience with Chrono24?

There is a longish thread over on the Watchuseek German forum and it looks like several members have had positive dealings with Frank. http://forums.watchuseek.com/f8/buying-nomos-german-chrono24-sellers-1512202.html

I had a deal fall through with a German Chrono24 seller for a GO 70s where the seller couldn't get his export paperwork together and eventually we just agreed to kill the deal. It was via the trusted checkout option and once we agreed to cancel my money was refunded promptly from Chrono24. Luckily I was able to source a slightly better preowned deal in the US shortly after!

 

[Renault78law]



Wow! Those are 2 great options. I'd take the Date/Moonphase version, no doubt.

I agree with this. I think the date and moon phase complications are very well done on this dial.

 

[chanoch]

There is a longish thread over on the Watchuseek German forum and it looks like several members have had positive dealings with Frank. http://forums.watchuseek.com/f8/buying-nomos-german-chrono24-sellers-1512202.html

I had a deal fall through with a German Chrono24 seller for a GO 70s where the seller couldn't get his export paperwork together and eventually we just agreed to kill the deal. It was via the trusted checkout option and once we agreed to cancel my money was refunded promptly from Chrono24. Luckily I was able to source a slightly better preowned deal in the US shortly after!

Many thanks, @pmeis much appreciate the link to the thread on watchuseek! Exactly the kind of info I was hoping for ... Glad to hear that you eventually worked out a good GO 70s deal -- and that Chrono24 sorted out the cancelled sale ok.

 

[Fred G. Unn]



There is a longish thread over on the Watchuseek German forum and it looks like several members have had positive dealings with Frank.  http://forums.watchuseek.com/f8/buying-nomos-german-chrono24-sellers-1512202.html

I actually had posted on that thread (here) after I had purchased a Nomos Orion from Andrea at Uhrenatelier Bruchsal through Chrono24. Sale went through without any hitches, great communication, and didn't get hit with customs on the USA side.

 

[TheFoo]

Swiss watch sales sharply down, -16% in 1H 2016 versus prior year:

https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/m...-results-show-industry-beset-by-perfect-storm
http://www.fhs.ch/file/59/comm_160606_a.pdf

Market is oversaturated--too many brands, too many models, too much volume. Meanwhile price increases in recent years have too aggressively chased Chinese demand, which has fallen off a cliff. Industry is in for a shake-up. I expect the handful of blue chips to soldier on. The many others? Will be a rough ride.