Purchase Experiences...

My purchase experiences have been varied. I'll identify each below.

AD - Boutique: The first boutique/Jeweler I went to and tried to establish a relationship was a mixed experience that eventually turned out to be inconsistent and bad. I won't name them here, but the various locations were not in sync, and the snobbery was real. This was the first time I had tried to establish a relationship with a boutique. As  you will see later, I mainly purchased grey market and from private sellers. In general the issue was that each person I spoke to on the multiple occasions I visited were polarizing. I had two staff members that were  great then I had two more that were arrogant and pompous. I wasn't impressed. I did, however, have them write up an appraisal as I was looking to insure my pieces. That was smooth and overall good, but I did not purchase from them as I didn't want to give a company that didn't even want to sell me anything my hard earned cash.

AD - Jeweler: I've recently found a Jeweler who is top notch. They've been honest and open with me and they love watches as much as I do. So I walked in with a quarter zip on and jeans with dog hair on my jacket from my dog. They didn't care, judge or anything. They welcomed me and asked what brings me in. I chatted with the rep, who was awesome and I also had planned to have my Breitling serviced, but they didn't know that. I wanted to ensure that I had a good feeling about them. Our values align not only with watches but in giving back to the community, how people should be treated and more. So what happened next....She showed me a Breitling and I told her that was funny, I liked Breitling and I pulled out my Colt and discussed service. She loved the watch and we talked about why it means so much to me. She then took me over to Rolex. Yes Rolex! I didn't even say a word about purchasing one. They have MANY other brands. She said are you interested in this brand. I said "sure" casually. We then conversed about what I like and would potentially would want. How long it would take. It was a great experience overall. I met the manager, and a customer who had come in to pick up his new GMT Master II, his second one a Pepsi. He was a hoot! They also don't do lists and they were up front about that and that they wanted to be straightforward with me. This was a night and day difference from my other AD experience. Additionally we talked about some Seikos as well. I'd say not all ADs are the same. Try a few, and look for family owned.

Grey Market: I've purchased from 3 grey market dealers. Overall the experience was fine. Fast shipping, great communication. Obviously purchasing over retail wasn't ideal, but the pieces I purchased were as described, in great condition and I'd recommend doing it. I did research the dealers though before I purchased. 2 of them were purchased via Chrono24 and the final one was purchased recently via the dealers website which I had complete trust in based on my research.

Private Sellers: I've done this in the past many, many times. From my Breitlings to my other off beat pieces, I've found that the experience was similar to my grey market. I still did my research and used tools to protect my hard earned cash (i.e. paypal, chrono 24 etc.).

AD in Hong Kong: Great experience, probably more so because my father brings all his clients there. Tried on pretty much everything I wanted, talked about watches for a good while with the retailer too. Great price as well.

Amazon: Pretty much standard Amazon affairs. Watch had a few scratches so I got a discount after contacting the seller too. I honestly would rather not buy off the internet again though, too much worrying about lost packages and counterfeit products, etc.

Private Party: I was scoping out eBay, for nothing in particular (sound familiar?), when I came across a dive watch I'd not seen before.  It had a titanium case and champage dial, but what really struck me was the bezel, which was unlike any of my other watches, including my many Seikos.   The dial has a pop of red with the text "Professional" just above the 200m rating, and a Kanji day wheel.  The price was $350 obo AND the seller was located not more than 10 miles from my house.  Win-win!

I am NOT a haggler - either the price is something I'm willing to pay, or I simply don't buy it. However, in this case, it was an anonymous transaction, so I offered $300 cash.  The offer was accepted, and the next day, I met the seller at Top Pot Donuts in Ballard.

It's not an automatic, but rather a high accuracy quartz movement, and that doesn't bother me in the least.  I was initially surprised at how much smaller it is compared to my SKX009, but it fits perfectly and I absolutely love it.  It's the image used for my profile pic, and it's a keeper.

SEIKO 7C43-6A00 a.k.a. SSBT014