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The three brands that are the most popular are Rolex, Cartier and Patek Philippe. There are many other brands that I own and that I love, but those are the big three. I never buy watches straight from the authorized dealer – dumb to pay full retail. There are lots of reputable places.
Also, there really aren’t any counterfeits that will fool a real watch collector. All you have to do is look at the watch and maybe have it opened and examined to determine that it is real - counterfeits are meant to fool other people looking at the watch on your wrist. I’ve seen almost no counterfeits that would even come close to fooling me. Plus you are almost never going to find counterfeits with solid gold or real diamonds. Counterfeits are generally for people who want to pay a couple hundred dollars, tops.
Where you do have to be careful of is in aftermarket dials, bezels and diamonds, at least on Rolexes. Those are not an issue with most other watches. Rolexes are the ones that tend to have the most aftermarket junk put on them. Some Cartiers too - such as Pashas, might have a gold grill or something like that placed on them aftermarket. But, a reputable dealer will tell you what is aftermarket, and anyone who knows what he is doing can tell a Rolex diamond (which will always be a flawless D grade) from an aftermarket.
What you will find is that the discount from full retail on a brand new watch is about 40 - 50% discount on Cartier, and anywhere from 25 – 40% off on Patek and Rolex. When gold and platinum prices are super high, this discount tends to be less.
To get a discount, you buy these watches from non-authorized dealers (ones that are not authorized to carry the brand in question - for if they were authorized, they could not offer you any discount). From these non-authorized dealers you will find two kinds of watches:
1 - Pre-owned
2 - Brand new never worn.
The pre-owned are pretty easy to imagine how the dealer got them. The brand new in the box - well that is harder to imagine.
The way these dealers get the new watches, is that someone buys them in Europe or in Asia, especially during the periods when the currency exchange rate made this favorable, for prices that are much lower than U.S. retail. Also, although this is not allowed, sometimes Rolex dealers will sell the watches out the back door to their friends.
Even if nothing else is in play, the full retail on a Rolex for example, in Europe or Asia is always going to be less than the full retail in the U.S.
Then, the buyer brings the watch into the U.S., usually not at the same time as the box, to avoid customs. The box and warranty papers might be shipped in empty, separately. And now you have a brand new, unworn watch, with blank warranty papers.
It's amazing the deals you can get for such watches. There really is no reason to pay full retail for any watch, if you know what you are doing and can find the right dealer.
If you want to get a pre-owned watch at the best price, you really have to go into the business. I don't have time for that, and in general I won't even buy a pre-owned watch, because I have the connections to get a brand new one in the box for about the same as a pre-owned.
BUT if you are interested: here is one way, and the way a lot of these guys on EBAY get their merchandise. You have to go to the local authorized Rolex dealer, preferably more than one, in your town. You get to know the manager - take her out to lunch. Tell her that you are a watch dealer, and that you will purchase ANY Rolex (or maybe also Cartier and Patek) watch that comes in the door from a customer. In other words, that when a customer comes in the door with a watch he or she wants to "trade in" or sell, that you will purchase it.
The manager's incentive is that once that customer gets the cash from you, he will buy from her. So you don't need to grease her really any more beyond that occasional lunch or whatever.
Then, each time such a customer comes in the door, and it does happen often, you have to be ready to roll on short notice, with cash in hand and go in and buy that watch. Of course, you have to really know what you are doing - you have to know what the watch is worth and offer that much (and not much less - because you have to assume that the customer may have already checked out another source, such as a pawn shop). The catch is - that you MUST buy every watch that comes your way. If you get to picking and choosing, the manager will eventually drop you as a source for her.
Nowadays with the internet, there is no such thing as "wholesale" when it comes to watches. With enough time and research, anyone can get a watch for the same price as the reseller. It just depends on how much time you are willing to put into it, and how much you know so that you won't get burned.
Also, there really aren’t any counterfeits that will fool a real watch collector. All you have to do is look at the watch and maybe have it opened and examined to determine that it is real - counterfeits are meant to fool other people looking at the watch on your wrist. I’ve seen almost no counterfeits that would even come close to fooling me. Plus you are almost never going to find counterfeits with solid gold or real diamonds. Counterfeits are generally for people who want to pay a couple hundred dollars, tops.
Where you do have to be careful of is in aftermarket dials, bezels and diamonds, at least on Rolexes. Those are not an issue with most other watches. Rolexes are the ones that tend to have the most aftermarket junk put on them. Some Cartiers too - such as Pashas, might have a gold grill or something like that placed on them aftermarket. But, a reputable dealer will tell you what is aftermarket, and anyone who knows what he is doing can tell a Rolex diamond (which will always be a flawless D grade) from an aftermarket.
What you will find is that the discount from full retail on a brand new watch is about 40 - 50% discount on Cartier, and anywhere from 25 – 40% off on Patek and Rolex. When gold and platinum prices are super high, this discount tends to be less.
To get a discount, you buy these watches from non-authorized dealers (ones that are not authorized to carry the brand in question - for if they were authorized, they could not offer you any discount). From these non-authorized dealers you will find two kinds of watches:
1 - Pre-owned
2 - Brand new never worn.
The pre-owned are pretty easy to imagine how the dealer got them. The brand new in the box - well that is harder to imagine.
The way these dealers get the new watches, is that someone buys them in Europe or in Asia, especially during the periods when the currency exchange rate made this favorable, for prices that are much lower than U.S. retail. Also, although this is not allowed, sometimes Rolex dealers will sell the watches out the back door to their friends.
Even if nothing else is in play, the full retail on a Rolex for example, in Europe or Asia is always going to be less than the full retail in the U.S.
Then, the buyer brings the watch into the U.S., usually not at the same time as the box, to avoid customs. The box and warranty papers might be shipped in empty, separately. And now you have a brand new, unworn watch, with blank warranty papers.
It's amazing the deals you can get for such watches. There really is no reason to pay full retail for any watch, if you know what you are doing and can find the right dealer.
If you want to get a pre-owned watch at the best price, you really have to go into the business. I don't have time for that, and in general I won't even buy a pre-owned watch, because I have the connections to get a brand new one in the box for about the same as a pre-owned.
BUT if you are interested: here is one way, and the way a lot of these guys on EBAY get their merchandise. You have to go to the local authorized Rolex dealer, preferably more than one, in your town. You get to know the manager - take her out to lunch. Tell her that you are a watch dealer, and that you will purchase ANY Rolex (or maybe also Cartier and Patek) watch that comes in the door from a customer. In other words, that when a customer comes in the door with a watch he or she wants to "trade in" or sell, that you will purchase it.
The manager's incentive is that once that customer gets the cash from you, he will buy from her. So you don't need to grease her really any more beyond that occasional lunch or whatever.
Then, each time such a customer comes in the door, and it does happen often, you have to be ready to roll on short notice, with cash in hand and go in and buy that watch. Of course, you have to really know what you are doing - you have to know what the watch is worth and offer that much (and not much less - because you have to assume that the customer may have already checked out another source, such as a pawn shop). The catch is - that you MUST buy every watch that comes your way. If you get to picking and choosing, the manager will eventually drop you as a source for her.
Nowadays with the internet, there is no such thing as "wholesale" when it comes to watches. With enough time and research, anyone can get a watch for the same price as the reseller. It just depends on how much time you are willing to put into it, and how much you know so that you won't get burned.
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