bluespower Posted December 7, 2006 Report Share Posted December 7, 2006 The wife and I just went to NYC yesterday for our annual holiday pilgrimage to Rockefeller Center, etc. I made the rounds through Tourneau and other jewelry stores looking at watches and, I must say, came away with a very good feeling about the watches we collect. First of all, Tourneau had a pretty paltry selection of Rollies (all pre-owned), no Pams, a lot of Breitlings, Tags, Invictas, etc. I'm hoping there are other floors in the store I didn't see because I was thoroughly underwhelmed. The thing that impressed me is that all of the watches I own from our better dealers -- Rolexes, Omegas, Tags, Breitlings -- look every bit as good as the real ones at Tourneau, including the couple of gold-plated Rollies I own. Then my mind starting playing tricks on me: Are the dealers in NYC are passing off reps as genuines? Later, as we window-shopped through the Diamond District, I really started getting suspicious. Many of the watches displayed in the windows, especially the Breitlings, were wrapped in plastic (sound familiar) and not only looked like reps, they looked like really bad reps. That, coupled with the sleazy characters hawking outside those stores, really made me wonder if some well-to-do shlep went into one of those stores and plunked down five grand on a Navitimer, would he walk out with the real deal or a rep with a fake box and certificate? Anyway, the whole experience was interesting and made me feel really good about the collection of fine timepieces I have in my box. It made me feel good that a lot of people who don't know what we know are paying 10 to 20 times as much for watches that don't look any better (and in some cases, worse) or function any better than the ones we get from our dealers. If your conscience has ever questioned whether you're doing the right thing collecting reps, after my trip to NYC, I can say without question, you are. Rep on!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jetsons Posted December 7, 2006 Report Share Posted December 7, 2006 Rollies (specially Subs, SDs & Daytona) are usually scarce this time of the year in Manhattan. Between Holiday shopping, bonus season and the enormous amount of visitos, the high end stores get wiped out. I was at Tourneau a couple of months back and even then, a Sub, GMT or SD was nowhere to be found........they did mention that I could get on a waiting list. BTW, The Pam display section was also looking mighty thin. Our European friends are having a field day shopping in the US with a Euro on steroids. I much rather take my chances on reputable sellers on TZ than some unknown on 57th street........that is were the good deals are at anyway. Glad you had fun on your trip. The tree at Rockefeller Center is awesome and the largest ever. It's around 78' X 45'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddhead Posted December 7, 2006 Report Share Posted December 7, 2006 William Barthman located downtown on broadway, had a decent collection of subs and GMT's a few weeks back. They were actually talking to me about a modest discount. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2005SUBMARINER Posted December 7, 2006 Report Share Posted December 7, 2006 hey glad you enjoyed NYC a place where i like to call home did you go down town to china town's canal st ? & look at all the bad reps ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YellowHat Posted December 7, 2006 Report Share Posted December 7, 2006 I was in NYC for a conference this weekend and went to Tourneau TimeMachine with one purpose in mind - to try on the B&R 92-01 and determine if 46mmx46mm is too big for my wrist. I did try on the watch and loved it. Tourneau is great for that - you get to see a lot of watches up close and personal, but the help in there is hit or miss. You either get the snooty type behind the counter who doesn't want to talk to you about the watches, or the young, clueless type who can tell you how many jewels the movement has and nothing else. I had a GREAT experience at Joseph Edwards (44th and Madison) next to Nat Sherman. The guy is having to move his store after 25 years because the building owners rented the bottom three floors to a single tenant! So everything was 25% off! I was trying to talk my buddy into buying the Ulysse Nardin 1846 Maxi Marine Chronometer. At 25% off, it was going to come in under $45 hundge. Anyway the guy we were dealing with was the opposite of what you get a Tourneau. He showed us all the watches and compared the movements and told us about his visits to the factory. Then he broke out some for the high end UN watches so that we could appreciate the amazing complications that UN makes. The guy truly loved watches and he was just glad to talk to some people who knew some basics and who weren't just looking to buy another sub. So my buddy was torn because he had his eye on a Black Seal but he could't afford both. So, being the nice guy that i am, I clued him in on the whole replica deal. Let's face it, if you want to blow 45 hundge on a genuine watch, a Black Seal is not the way to go. Not that Panerai is the Fossil of the Swiss Watch industry, but it is more of a fashion piece than anything particuarly unique in terms of movement and complications. So he's going to buy a 99% Black Seal with the swan neck ETA for $350 and that frees him up to go for something truly special with lasting value. Anyway, finding the right person to deal with in NYC makes all the difference. Of the 6 Tourneaus in NYC, I haven't found anyone on a par with the people in the smaller shops. Sure is fun looking around though. YH :cc_jockey: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkatbamna Posted December 7, 2006 Report Share Posted December 7, 2006 When I went to the Wynn Rolex shop in Las Vegas 6 weeks ago, there were 5 stainless steel submariners in stock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
section8 Posted December 7, 2006 Report Share Posted December 7, 2006 I was in NYC for a conference this weekend and went to Tourneau TimeMachine with one purpose in mind - to try on the B&R 92-01 and determine if 46mmx46mm is too big for my wrist. I did try on the watch and loved it. Tourneau is great for that - you get to see a lot of watches up close and personal, but the help in there is hit or miss. You either get the snooty type behind the counter who doesn't want to talk to you about the watches, or the young, clueless type who can tell you how many jewels the movement has and nothing else. I had a GREAT experience at Joseph Edwards (44th and Madison) next to Nat Sherman. The guy is having to move his store after 25 years because the building owners rented the bottom three floors to a single tenant! So everything was 25% off! I was trying to talk my buddy into buying the Ulysse Nardin 1846 Maxi Marine Chronometer. At 25% off, it was going to come in under $45 hundge. Anyway the guy we were dealing with was the opposite of what you get a Tourneau. He showed us all the watches and compared the movements and told us about his visits to the factory. Then he broke out some for the high end UN watches so that we could appreciate the amazing complications that UN makes. The guy truly loved watches and he was just glad to talk to some people who knew some basics and who weren't just looking to buy another sub. So my buddy was torn because he had his eye on a Black Seal but he could't afford both. So, being the nice guy that i am, I clued him in on the whole replica deal. Let's face it, if you want to blow 45 hundge on a genuine watch, a Black Seal is not the way to go. Not that Panerai is the Fossil of the Swiss Watch industry, but it is more of a fashion piece than anything particuarly unique in terms of movement and complications. So he's going to buy a 99% Black Seal with the swan neck ETA for $350 and that frees him up to go for something truly special with lasting value. Anyway, finding the right person to deal with in NYC makes all the difference. Of the 6 Tourneaus in NYC, I haven't found anyone on a par with the people in the smaller shops. Sure is fun looking around though. YH :cc_jockey: WOW, %25 off everything? I'm scheduled to do a project in NYC - some place off 5th ave - maybe he'll still be running the sale when i get up there - and I'll be able to convince my wife to let me buy something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aeroguy Posted December 8, 2006 Report Share Posted December 8, 2006 The thing that impressed me is that all of the watches I own from our better dealers -- Rolexes, Omegas, Tags, Breitlings -- look every bit as good as the real ones at Tourneau, including the couple of gold-plated Rollies I own. I must say there was a time I would have agreed with you. I have an LV rep which has been moded... massaged etc. and It's a fine looking piece. Compared to my gen LV it's dull though. The sparkle and shine of the gen vs. the rep are WORLDS apart on the wrist. That's not to say that the reps are of poor quality or that the casual or even pre-WIS would be able to pin them as reps... The reality is that the gen has more pop. $5000 more pop...? well... that's another discussion Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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