The Watch Appreciation Thread (Reviews and Photos of Men's Timepieces by Rolex, Patek Philippe, Brei

[Dusty Heaters]

The Watch Appreciation Thread (Reviews and Photos of Men's Timepieces by Role...

A

My Omega Seamaster Pro Ceramic in Stainless.

My Omega Liquid Metal Planet Ocean XL in Titanium.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[papa kot]

^ The liquid metal PO is stunning.

 

[Omega Male]

I wonder if pricing might have to start coming back down to earth, too?

Swiss Watch Exports Fall Most in Six Years

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...exports-fall-12-in-october-on-hong-kong-slump

The numbers:

http://www.fhs.ch/file/59/comm_151010_a.pdf

 

[Clark]

Vintage "pre-moon", 1970 Speedmaster Pro:

/C

 

[JohnGalt]



Just send it directly to Cartier.  There is no reason to get an AD involved as there is nothing they will specifically do to improve your service from Cartier.  They are merely a middleman who will charge you a shipping fee.  Cartier's turn around time for servicing time only watches is pretty good.  We just had my wife's large/automatic Tank Francaise overhauled and it was back to us in under a month.  Obviously turn around time varies by how busy they are and how complicated the repair/service is.  Good luck!

P.S.  Call their customer service  1(800) CARTIER ...for shipping instructions to send it to their service center.  Don't just send it to a local Cartier Boutique, as that will slow the process because they will then mail it to the service center. 

Before sending it in, you might want to check if it's been magnetized. That happened to my Nomos and it took me about 10 seconds to demagnetize. Let me rephrase, it took me 3 days and 10 seconds because I had to order a demagnetizer from Amazon or eBay first and wait for the mail. Finding someone who can demagnetize your watch, if that's the problem should be no relatively easy and it doesn't involve opening up the watch so there is virtually no risk of damage. Hopefully this saves you from having to send your watch in.

Thanks guys - I thought it might need to be demagnetized, but decided to send it in anyway as it's due for a service. Missed the part above about sending it directly to the service center and sent it to the (most local, though still relatively far) boutique as I already have a relationship with the manager there from some other items. Expect to have more information hopefully this week.

 

[papa kot]

I wonder if pricing might have to start coming back down to earth, too?

Swiss Watch Exports Fall Most in Six Years

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...exports-fall-12-in-october-on-hong-kong-slump

The numbers:

http://www.fhs.ch/file/59/comm_151010_a.pdf

Given the comeback the industry has seen over the last decade or so, the correction is due. My take? Prices, quality and exclusivity will go up. The number of watches produced per year will go down. We may like high-quality mechanical timepieces on this forum, but a significant percentage of the world's population still lives on less than 2$ per day.

 

[Andy57]

Am I missing something?

I'm visiting Paris just now and as I wandered the streets I happened upon a Rolex boutique. So I went inside to have a look around. The prices seemed to me to be remarkably reasonable.

I saw an Explorer II (ref 216570). In the US, the retail price is $8,100. This Rolex store had it listed for 7,000 Euros. Assuming VAT of 12%, that would be 6160 Euros and at this afternoon's exchange rate that would be roughly $6,500.

Seems too good to be true. What am I missing? Or should I just march right back there and pick myself up a pretty good bargain Rolex?

 

[Dino944]

Thanks guys - I thought it might need to be demagnetized, but decided to send it in anyway as it's due for a service. Missed the part above about sending it directly to the service center and sent it to the (most local, though still relatively far) boutique as I already have a relationship with the manager there from some other items. Expect to have more information hopefully this week.

As long as it went to a boutique, it will be fine since they will send it to the main service center for you. I always tell people NOT to use an AD or gray to send it in for service if you want to be sure that it is serviced by a factory authorized service center. A friend of mine bought a Breitling chronograph from a big name AD that will remain nameless, and when it was due for a service he brought it there and asked them to send it in for service. When the watch was returned to him it had problems and he wasn't happy with the refinishing of the watch, so brought it back to the AD. They said they would send it back to the service center. When it came back it had some other problem and he wasn't happy with the re-do of the refinish so he called the Breitling service center directly. He discovered they had no record of the watch and that they never worked on it, so the AD either tried doing the work inhouse or sent it to a local place rather than sending it directly to the manufacturer's service center (to try and pocket the difference between a factory service and the local service guy). My friend complained to the AD but he ultimately solved the issue by trading it toward something else. However, he learned if you want factory service, bring it to a boutique or send it directly to the factory service center yourself. Cartier has pretty fast turn around times so you should have it back again pretty soon (if the holidays don't slow the service department down too much). Cheers!

 

[zippyh]



Am I missing something?

I'm visiting Paris just now and as I wandered the streets I happened upon a Rolex boutique. So I went inside to have a look around. The prices seemed to me to be remarkably reasonable.


I saw an Explorer II (ref 216570). In the US, the retail price is $8,100. This Rolex store had it listed for 7,000 Euros. Assuming VAT of 12%, that would be 6160 Euros and at this afternoon's exchange rate that would be roughly $6,500.


Seems too good to be true. What am I missing? Or should I just march right back there and pick myself up a pretty good bargain Rolex?

Isn't vat in France more like 20%?

 

[Dino944]

Isn't vat in France more like 20%?

Yes, that sounds correct. Although, my wife bought some stuff at Hermes years ago, we sent in the refund papers, but didn't get all of our VAT refunded. Maybe it has never happened to anyone else, but after experiencing that, I rarely purchase high priced items overseas.

 

[Akeem]

6500 is a decent price for a new exp ii. it'll be hard to match at an AD, but probably doable online from a trusted seller.

 

[jbarwick]

Yes, that sounds correct. Although, my wife bought some stuff at Hermes years ago, we sent in the refund papers, but didn't get all of our VAT refunded. Maybe it has never happened to anyone else, but after experiencing that, I rarely purchase high priced items overseas.

We never get the whole VAT refunded. I think we ended up only getting 12% refunded when we were there in January. It is a strange system and I don't know enough to argue about it anyway. If I were purchasing a larger item instead of a bunch of smaller transactions I would definitely read up on the topic.

 

[Mannix]

Purchased this old Bueche Girod tank this weekend. It's 18kt yellow gold, mechanical movement, has a new crocodile strap, and looks unworn. I'm very happy with my purchase, and it beats the hell out of paying for a Cartier at retail.

 

[kimmo]



Am I missing something?

I'm visiting Paris just now and as I wandered the streets I happened upon a Rolex boutique. So I went inside to have a look around. The prices seemed to me to be remarkably reasonable.


I saw an Explorer II (ref 216570). In the US, the retail price is $8,100. This Rolex store had it listed for 7,000 Euros. Assuming VAT of 12%, that would be 6160 Euros and at this afternoon's exchange rate that would be roughly $6,500.


Seems too good to be true. What am I missing? Or should I just march right back there and pick myself up a pretty good bargain Rolex?

EUR has really tanked during the last year and a half and although Rolex (and Swiss in general) booted the prices up, they are maybe one step behind at the moment. VAT is around 20% in France.

Big boys told me that Parisian boutiques can refund VAT directly back to Centurion card, if you show your passport and while you wait, ask it.

 

[pmeis]

Been a busy last few weeks and went on a bit of a spree after only having my Panerai since July, now I'm looking at having one watch too many on hand.

Got this Nomos Metro that I posted pics of a few weeks back:


Last Monday I received the new blue 39mm Oyster Pertpetual that a friend of mine was able to hook me up with a great deal on. Really been wanting a blue dialed watch and other than this OP, the other ones I liked were a bit out of my comfort zone price wise.


And then Saturday I received what might be the coolest one of them all, a Nomos Ludwig Neomatik just in time for me to wear to a wedding.



Overall, the Neomatik is the one that blue me away the most upon opening the package. Really everything I was wanting from a dress watch. All that being said, the Metro is likely the odd man out here. I like it, but not as much as the other three and I foresee it getting the least amount of wrist time. Probably overextending myself a bit, so it already on the block.