The Timepiece Thread vol: READ THE 1st POST!!!

[Sonny Corinthos]

Breitling

I wasn't being serious

 

[rfx45]

Breitling makes nice watches though

 

[flyknitlvr]

I was told at a young age to never trust someone who wears a Breitling. So far in life this guiding principle has served me well.

 

[zk1mpls]

+1 on the 42mm Daytona if they release one. Finally got to try one on in Tokyo over the holidays. Felt tiny. Was going for double of MSRP

I was told at a young age to never trust someone who wears a Breitling. So far in life this guiding principle has served me well.

Hey!

 

[rfx45]

 

[vietster]

Had a Breitling before, but 44mm was too big for my liking. Would’ve kept if it were 40-42 mm and less bulky. Very durable, accurate, sturdy, etc.

 

[rfx45]

Luxury Watchmaker Audemars Piguet Embraces Second Hand
Audemars Piguet said it would launch a second-hand business this year, becoming the first big brand to announce plans to tap into a fast-growing market for pre-owned premium watches.

GENEVA, Switzerland — Swiss luxury watchmaker Audemars Piguet said it would launch a second-hand business this year, becoming the first big brand to announce plans to tap into a fast-growing market for pre-owned premium watches.

The company told Reuters it had carried out a test run in one store in Geneva and would launch the business more widely at its outlets in Switzerland this year. If this proved successful, it said it would roll out the operation in the United States and Japan.

"Second-hand is the next big thing in the watch industry," chief executive Francois-Henry Bennahmias told Reuters in an interview at the SIHH watch fair in Geneva this week.

Luxury watchmakers have hitherto eschewed the second-hand trade, fearing diluting the exclusivity of their brands and cannibalising their sales. They have instead ceded the ground to third-party dealers.

But some are now looking to change tack, driven by an industry-wide sales slowdown combined with a second-hand market that is expanding rapidly, fuelled by online platforms like Chrono24 and The RealReal.

"At the moment, in watches, we leave it to what I call the 'dark side' to deal with demand for pre-owned pieces," added Bennahmias, whose company is known for its octagonal Royal Oak timepieces that sell for 40,000 Swiss francs ($41,680) on average.

"Anybody but the brands [is selling second hand] — it's an aberration commercially speaking," he said, without giving any details about how they would price pre-owned watches.

Several smaller brands, including H.Moser & Cie and MB&F, have signaled interest in the second-hand trade.

"It is important to control the sale of second-hand watches to protect the owners and the value of watches already in the market by keeping the grey market in check," H.Moser & Cie boss Edouard Meylan told Reuters.

MB&F, which plans to launch second-hand sales via its website this year, told Reuters it expected to typically give a 20-30 percent discount on second-hand watches. A spokesman said customers buying from established watch brands could feel confident they were getting genuine products in good working order and with a valid warranty.

Bigger brands Rolex, Patek Philippe, Swatch Group, Richemont and Breitling all declined to comment, when asked whether they planned to enter the second-hand market, while LVMH's watch division was not immediately available.

Watches by the Bucket

Audemars Piguet said it would launch its second-hand business in several, but not all, of its 26 Swiss outlets, but declined to specify how many stores or give a more precise date.


It will initially allow customers to trade in old Audemars Piguet watches as part-exchange for new ones, and then sell on the second-hand watches. It has not yet decided whether to buy second-hand watches for cash, added the firm, saying its sales had come close to the 1 billion Swiss franc mark last year.

Experts say the second-hand luxury watches business, mostly done via online platforms or specialised retailers, is growing rapidly as a new generation of customers that values variety more than permanent ownership enters the luxury world.

In an example of the discounts offered online, a diamond-studded Audemars Piguet Royal Oak "with moderate scratches" sells for $9,450 on The RealReal, about a third of the "estimated retail price."

Kepler Cheuvreux analyst Jon Cox said he estimated the size of the second-hand market at around $5 billion a year in revenue, including watches sold at auction, and that it had outperformed the market for new pieces in the last couple of years.

That is still dwarfed by a new luxury watch sector worth €37 billion ($45.3 billion), according to consultancy Bain & Cie. However Swiss watch exports fell 3.3 percent in 2015 and 9.9 percent in 2016 before posting a modest 2.8 percent rise in the first 11 months of 2017.

The United States, where sales of new watches have been falling for years, is the number one market for pre-owned watches, followed by Britain and Japan, said US retailer Danny Govberg, who sells new watches for Rolex and other brands, but also an increasing number of second-hand timepieces. His company said its second-hand sales had grown by 37-40 percent year-on-year over the past five years. In an example of prices, it said it listed a second-hand Audemars Piguet Royal Oak for $24,950 compared with a $32,000 retail price.

Together with a partner in Hong Kong and a Singapore-based investor, Govberg recently launched global e-commerce platform WatchBox for buying and selling pre-owned luxury watches.

"People sell us watches by the bucket," he said.

He said many people sold watches to buy a new one so the pre-owned market was actually driving new sales, like in the car market. "The brands are still trying to figure it out, they don't have the solution yet," he said.


Audemars Piguet's Bennahmias said watchmakers had to amend business models to deal with changing consumer habits.

"We're witnessing a social and cultural change that forces us to think about what the business will look like in five or 10 years," he added. "Time flies, we need to watch out."

 

[cheeman]

So is it a watch no no to wear a silver watch with gold jewelry?

Like i have a gold cuban bracelet i wear and usually a gold chain with pendant, but kinda just want a silver blackface sub

 

[crownedhead]

I was told at a young age to never trust someone who wears a Breitling. So far in life this guiding principle has served me well.

Meh....

The Breitling Superocean Heritage is a beauty

 

[flyknitlvr]

Thoughts on WG Sky-Dweller on leather strap?

 

[Grine]

Thoughts on WG Sky-Dweller on leather strap?

Beautiful!

 

[wear rare airs]

Thoughts on WG Sky-Dweller on leather strap?

My personal favorite model.

 

[Sonny Corinthos]

Very nice

 

[flyknitlvr]

My personal favorite model.

Hmm. It's down to this and the WG DD40 (green face).

 

[typerpinoy]

I’d go day-date just based on bracelet vs leather strap

 

[wear rare airs]

Hmm. It's down to this and the WG DD40 (green face).

Def the DD40. Especially any version with a green dial.

 

[rfx45]

i'll go gainst the grain and say the SkyDweller, you don't see it too often out in the wild

DD40 with a green dial is uncommon too but personally I feel like outside of a hulk sub, i'd just get tired of it despite my love for rolex' sunburst dials

i think the biggest thing I see people get bothered with is the cut off numerals on the SkyDweller,

 

[flyknitlvr]

DD40 with a green dial is uncommon too but personally I feel like outside of a hulk sub, i'd just get tired of it despite my love for rolex' sunburst dials

This is the only thing that's stopping me from pulling the trigger. The other option is the silver quadrant dial pictured below, but it's a little too plain jane for me. The Sky-Dweller is cool, and I do love the leather strap, but I do find that the Sky-Dweller wears too big for my 7" wrists. Not to mention the dial on that particular reference is a flat out mess. Still a handsome timepiece IMO.

 

[wear rare airs]

If you want leather I’d also consider getting a different brand than Rolex. There’s so many out there that have taken a depreciation hit that are really beautiful watches. You can scoop them up super cheap too.

Lange 1, Vacheron come to mind which can be had over 50% off msrp or even a Ressence (which I love but many hate)

But I still stand on the DD40 WG in Green as that’s probably my favorite Rolex out right now. It definitely isn’t for everyone though. Price is steadily rising on it as well.

 

[flyknitlvr]

There's brands other than Rolex?

Nah, given that this is a "milestone" piece, Rolex and AP are the only 2 brands I would consider (and only in a precious metal). I absolutely love VC, but those watches are way too dressy for me. Maybe when I'm 40. 15400OR on leather is another contender, but part of the appeal of AP is their bracelet.

To be continued...

 

[rfx45]

That's one of the great things about Rolex, they are technically sport watches but they can also be dressed up.

Their Cellini line is suppose to be their dress watches but I am not really sure anyone buys them

 

[Sonny Corinthos]

Anybody here have some nice Omega watches ?

I was looking to get a Seamaster for my Uncle .

 

[rfx45]

I don't own any but it's always in the picture when I am considering a purchase.

Loved the old Bond Seamaster and you can't go wrong with a Speedy Pro.

Most of these watch are hard to appreciate it pics too, there are some watches like the other iterations of Speedy that I wouldn't even give a second look but then someone next to me would be wearing it and they'd look gorgeous in the metal.

Many of them you just can't tell are true quality until you hold it in your hand and you'd almost immediately be able to tell what separates them from other brands, not that those lower-tier brands are bad but they on different levels once you see it in the metal.

I'll never forget opening up the brand new IWC Portuguese Chrono and swore there was no crystal on it because the ar coating made it almost invisible and it made the dial even more amazing to behold.

 

[flyknitlvr]

Many of them you just can't tell are true quality until you hold it in your hand and you'd almost immediately be able to tell what separates them from other brands, not that those lower-tier brands are bad but they on different levels once you see it in the metal.

This is what sold me (almost) on white gold. You always hear of people joking about how WG looks like stainless steel, but I assure you that in the flesh there's no mistaking them. WG has this depth and lushness to it (my limited vocabulary can't think of a better adjective ) that stainless steel simply does not have. Same thing is what led me to my two-tone GMT. Hated it in photos. Never bothered to give it a second glance at the AD. Saw someone in HK wearing one and immediately fell in love.

 

[wear rare airs]

There's brands other than Rolex?

Nah, given that this is a "milestone" piece, Rolex and AP are the only 2 brands I would consider (and only in a precious metal). I absolutely love VC, but those watches are way too dressy for me. Maybe when I'm 40. 15400OR on leather is another contender, but part of the appeal of AP is their bracelet.

To be continued...

Great thing about AP is that they will sell you the 18k bracelet after the fact for around 16k and you can wear your watch two ways.