Shopping for watches while on shore in Bahamas

[captainannoyed!]

1 minute ago, Seville2Cabo said:

I saw the video that he claimed a $225K RM was stolen from him.  Was a shop in Scottsdale that I do visit to window shop.  He was caught because he posted a video a month earlier saying he has sold the watch

 

He’s a convicted criminal, admitted by himself.  As I understand it the watch he was claiming was ‘stolen’ from him was never reported stolen.  So, we are being expected to believe a known criminal that a watch he points at in a case is his because he says so, and oh I kinda forgot to report it stolen.  Um okay.

 

Look, I’ll never understand why ANYONE would trust a known, admitted criminal with consigning their watch, buying a watch from such a person, or anything else.  He was a known criminal before the current 5 million dollar ponzu scheme.  Now, anyone that bought a watch from him might actually have a stolen watch and be in possession of stolen property without knowing they were buying stolen property.  
 

He was a criminal - admitted - before the current scam.  All he will ever be is a scumbag criminal.

[Seville2Cabo]

2 hours ago, poncho1973 said:

 

You have to wonder what the watch manufacturers all over the world are thinking.  Obviously, as a GenX I'm not young anymore, but even people my age have long stopped wearing typical watches.

 

Are they trying to sell as many as possible to the Boomers before they die off and resting on that?

I looked around the office and there is ONE watch that isn't a FitBit or smart watch.  One out of 30+ people.  He's retiring June 30th.  So if you're wearing a watch... isn't it just a cheap watch or is it a smart watch or a fitness tracker?

 

I'm sure there will always be a niche market of rich people with money to blow, but how long will watches be a legit thing?  It has to be going the way of the Dodo.

Not sure where you work, but high end watch sales are growing at a higher rate than smart phones or smart watches.  For the last 2 years most high end watches were selling for over list price.  The market has softened this year, but not below list and most companies are selling what they can produce.  

 

Luxury watch market is over $40 billion dollars per year and growing  Certainly not for the snowflakes that can't tell analog time, but still and large and growing market.  

 

 

[poncho1973]

On 6/13/2024 at 9:18 PM, Seville2Cabo said:

Not sure where you work, but high end watch sales are growing at a higher rate than smart phones or smart watches.  For the last 2 years most high end watches were selling for over list price.  The market has softened this year, but not below list and most companies are selling what they can produce.  

 

Luxury watch market is over $40 billion dollars per year and growing  Certainly not for the snowflakes that can't tell analog time, but still and large and growing market.  

 

 

 

And THAT answer shows who exactly is still buying watches.

 

I work with commoners.

[MandyMooToo]

On 7/16/2023 at 12:28 PM, BND said:

Yes, there is also a purse forum and it's all about designer purses, bragging and showing them off.  I can't remember the name of the forum anymore.  

It is literally called "Purse Forum" 😆 The creativity is endless!!  Ha ha.  I have surfed that forum before and it can get catty and snobby for sure.

[MandyMooToo]

On 6/13/2024 at 9:18 PM, Seville2Cabo said:

Not sure where you work, but high end watch sales are growing at a higher rate than smart phones or smart watches.  For the last 2 years most high end watches were selling for over list price.  The market has softened this year, but not below list and most companies are selling what they can produce.  

 

Luxury watch market is over $40 billion dollars per year and growing  Certainly not for the snowflakes that can't tell analog time, but still and large and growing market.  

 

 

This.  My husband searched forever to find one specific Omega that he was in love with.  The cost was mind boggling to me but he finally found what he wanted and got it.  I looked up that watch recently after a convo with some friends about the cost of lux handbags, watches, etc.  The same model is now selling for over $3,000 more than he paid for it...last year!  And this is at an Omega store.  He and my son are the watch fiends but they say costs are rising and no one seems to be stopping.  Rolex has a ridiculous waiting list for many, many models too. 

[Airbear232]

On 6/13/2024 at 6:16 PM, poncho1973 said:

 

You have to wonder what the watch manufacturers all over the world are thinking.  Obviously, as a GenX I'm not young anymore, but even people my age have long stopped wearing typical watches.

 

Are they trying to sell as many as possible to the Boomers before they die off and resting on that?

I looked around the office and there is ONE watch that isn't a FitBit or smart watch.  One out of 30+ people.  He's retiring June 30th.  So if you're wearing a watch... isn't it just a cheap watch or is it a smart watch or a fitness tracker?

 

I'm sure there will always be a niche market of rich people with money to blow, but how long will watches be a legit thing?  It has to be going the way of the Dodo.

Oh my fellow Gen Xer, while much of what you say is probably undoubtedly true, there is just something that appeals to me about wearing watches.  I have a few.  Aesthetically, they just look so much better than the lumps of plastic worn by so many today.  In a world where I may want to know the time and where I may not want to be tracked 24/7, they still serve a purpose.

[tomahawk246]

I got a great idea, how about buying your watches at the jewelry store in your home town. This way you know that you won’t get ripped off.

[chfenton]

Not exactly answering the question, but had to relate my favorite caribbean watch story.  Bought a rolex in Nassau maybe 10-15 years ago.  At the time we still filled out the customs forms when returning to the US.  I declared the watch (probably around 8k if I remember).  The first customs agent said - "ok since you declared the value go to the desk and he will process your duty".  I remember going to him, he takes a look at the paperwork, looks in his book, looks back at the watch and paper work, looks back in his book, starts punching the calculator.  After about 2 minutes of doing this and repeating the steps several times---he takes a big sigh, looks at me and says "how does 30 bucks sound.  I smiled  a little, handed over my credit card and walked out the door.

[gail-s]

We stopped into John Bull in January and they were the same as all of the brick and mortar Rolex dealers in the states.  They had a few you could look at but nothing you could purchase.  The waiting list for Rolexes is quite long.  Stores have very little say in what Rolex sends them and most have a list of preferred customers waiting for one.  Unfortunately you have places like Jomashop that somehow get them and then sell them for a mark up.  We also found the price of the pre-owned Rolexes on board to be higher than what we felt they were worth.  Most were also quite gaudy and not what we were looking for.  
Also, side note, we'd been to Nassau a few times and this last time the street John Bull is on felt sketch AF.  I could not wait to get away from there.  I now understand why so many people stay on the ship when they go there.  

[VernRDH]

20 hours ago, tomahawk246 said:

I got a great idea, how about buying your watches at the jewelry store in your home town. This way you know that you won’t get ripped off.

Not necessarily true. 

My husband is a collector, has watches that cost $50 or less up to thousands. He enjoys nice timepieces. Has ones just for work, ones just for cruising. He researches all his purchases and has yet to buy a watch in a "local" jewelry shop. 

If you really are interested in watches, check out Just One More Watch, The Mad Watch Collector, Peter Kosta or Teddy Baldassare on YouTube.

And as I commented on this thread previously, he bought a watch or two in Nassau. Not always the best deal, but many times it is stock you can't get elsewhere.