Have you been to an AD?

I'm a familiar face (if not necessarily a welcome one) at many ADs near me.

This sounds truly strange to me 😮 I don't visit ADs all the time, but there are least five or six good ones nearby (about 5 minute walk from where I work), which stock all the major brands, from Rolex, PP, Ulysse Nardin, Omega, GO, Panerai etc. to JLC, IWC, GS...which I stop by sometimes, and there are many more shops selling Citizen, Seiko etc. For a brand like Mido or Squale I'd have to travel a bit farther (about an hour, hour and a half). Especially for a large purchase I want to see and feel the watch / would not buy it if only seen online.

I have visited a Seiko boutique in Amsterdam. Nice people, not pushing anything. Had to see the Blue Ocean line. Good experience.

I’ll swing by my AD when I’m in the neighborhood. They carry Rolex, Omega, Tudor, Brietling, Oris, TAG & Frédérique Constant along with pre-owned / estate pieces. I kick the tires and get new ideas on what I like and rarely feel any pressure to buy. I’d recommend making the trip and trying on a bunch of watches, taking note of what you like and refining your taste. That way when you do pull the trigger you’ll have no regrets!

I’ll pop in occasionally when I’m at the mall. I like to see things in person when I can. Rolex displays have obviously been empty for years (unless you’re looking for a 26mm Datejust). Everything else is in full supply.

I stop by the Seiko boutique every now and then to try new releases and drool over GS models out of my price range. Friendly staff, excited to talk about the watches even if I only bought from the boutique once.

I also swing by the Tudor and Omega boutiques to do some window shopping but never bothered the staff to try something I have no genuine interest in buying anyway.

I swing by my Seiko/Tissot/Hamilton/Citizen/Luminox AD I'd say fairly often

Pop into Cambridge occasionally for a snout, but buy online...

I've been in a few times but only if there's a reason to visit.

It's not like wandering into the local art galleries which we do all the time because there's always something new to look at. All the art dealers know us by name and many know what we like and what we have. This makes for an enjoyable visit even if we're just popping in because we have a spare 30 mins on parking. They're happy enough to chat over a coffee.

First off shouts to KoP mall! I grew up in the area. My brother lives in Philly still, working as a barista with a Brew Watch I gave him a few months ago. Second, I say go check those guys out. The sales people are a mixed bag, some will be nerds like us, others are just folks good at retail that used to sell cars and now they sell watches and they just want your money and that’s fine, after all you just want their watches…I don’t go in often, I’m not pestering anyone but if I’m curious how a new piece looks and I may buy one in the next few months I want to try it on. A lot of these stores may offer a used section as well and I love a good bargain.

Yeah I mean I guess I’m lucky to have some dealers within a 45 min drive if I am actually about to purchase a really nice piece and wanna see it, but some people, I imagine in rural-ish areas, would have to make a whole day of going to an AD.

I visit them whenever I see something interesting in the window - while it’s nowhere near as much as I look at Chrono24, it does help being able to go in and try something on for size - but I always make sure to not lead on the sales staff or give them any illusions I’m going to buy anything.

Now what kind of AD are we talking about? Like Piaget? Or something more accessible like Citizen?

At some point in the mid-90's I was in the mall with my friend and he popped in to enquire about some Rolex. It was a different time. Some slovenly college-aged guy was apologized to for their not having the exact model he had in stock but assured they could get one.

At some point I wandered into a Seiko boutique in some other mall. But since I got sucked into this internet nonsense, no. I really do want to visit Hublot and jerk around Rolex as mentioned here.

Never been but often window shop at Watches of Switzerland.

Well, really anything. I guess anywhere you’d consider a “watch store”? It had just occurred to me that my entire re-entry into watch collecting has been entirely online, so it got me thinking about this. I suppose I shoulda been more broad in the post

Of course I stop in whenever I have a chance! How else would you know how a particular model that you're interested in would look on your wrist, or at the very least, talk to someone knowledgeable about watches the entire time that you're there? It's also more enjoyable to do it when you're traveling, as it makes the trip much more memorable. I've had very enjoyable visits to the Cartier and Bulgari boutiques in Rome, Piaget in Venice and Granada, and Mayfair Watches in Marrakech...

Nearest AD for me is a 30 min drive… so I usually don’t visit unless I happen to be in the area.

Been a handful of times.

I must have the same luck with ADs that I have with bronze cases and patina.

I must smell or grow black mold, cuz they won't touch me without turning up their noses 😂.

I live in the greater Boston area and wouldn't even step foot in an AD on Newbury Street, given the clientele they would be accustomed to. But that hasn't limited me in my Rolex/Jaeger Lecoultre buying experience. I drive to New Hampshire (an hour's drive) and avoid sales tax while having a much more laid-back purchasing experience. Locally there is an amazing Oris AD that is a 5-minute drive from my house that services all my vintage watches and has been family owned for 65 years, so it's great to support them and shop their new offerings. I go in about 6-8 times a year. It's wild to me that AD's can be so wildly different (even within the same brand) within 75 miles of each other.

I find many ADs to be super wanky. They're trying to create an 'experience' which a certain kind of watch person really leans into and thinks is quite awesome. I'm basically the opposite. I run a mile from it.

I say I go a few times a year, but it's not to an AD in the way most people probably perceive the term; a store that focuses on mostly watches.

No, I walk into a mall department or jewelry store and basically do a drive by of the watch display; never pausing long enough for a SA to chat me up.

Walked past a GS dealer in Vegas a few months ago and that zaratsu polishing about blinded me. LOL

I go to the mall near me to get out of the house and be in some AC as it is hot here. I choose to go to the mall with a citizen store, Movado store, 3 or 4 jewelry stores one with a pre owned section, and until recently an Invicta booth. It gets me some exercise and I get to check out all the watches.

Got a watch repair shop near me as well love the personal service there.

I do when I think that they may have something that interest me. The problem is that once I'm inside they try to sell me whatever they have instead of trying find what I like and see if they have something that could interest me.

Bottom line it's fine for window shopping but not the greatest if you are serious about making a purchase. YMMV of course.

Today I handled a couple of Longines , Oris , TAG , Breitling and Rado , in Miranda , Australia . The Longines seller had about three watches I liked, and the ORIS AD had two I like , yada yada , it’s good to see these watches at a bricks & morter to assess your gut reaction to these pieces. Online shopping is like dating on Zoom as compared to real life at a nice venue .

I think of those authorized dealers as business people to make money and rip you of anything you've got in wallet. At least my experience is like it. For instance, the other day I had to go to shopping mall for some reason I don't even recall what was it and as I passed around one of those watch shops I've had a quick glance. I seen a nice Zeppelin but when I've seen the pricof it I'd knew it was way overpriced. So I looked in Chrono24 just for comparison and it was 450€ above the price. This isn't only one and only experience. So therefore I rather stay away from ADs and use them only when I like to see some watch in person.

I can tell you as someone that is connected to a sales team, there is nothing more infuriating than a habitual time waster/Dreamer! By all means visit, have a look, if they engage, try on some watches but please don’t be the guy that goes in every other month trying on the same watch or has them pulling loads of watches out of cabinets wasting their time 😆

On the other hand, if you’ve got your name on a list or paid a deposit, it’s worth a visit every month to see on the off chance if they’ve got one you can walk away with. There’s been a couple of posts here recently where that’s happened.

I live an hour south of a decent sized city and will stop at the AD when I’m up there. There’s an Omega AD, but they have a ton of used Rolexes with the usually secondary mark up, I laughed when he wanted 15K for a plain OP. That was a couple years ago. I did see a guy drop 25K for a Submariner. There’s a couple Rolex AD’s, one I avoid and is like many of the AD’s described on here. The other is a great AD, really chill, no waitlist, but there is waiting. They also carry Tudor, GS, Longines, Seiko, TAG Heuer. If I buy my second and last Rolex it will be from there.

Whenever we are visiting family, I’ll stop there for some window shopping, in Wisconsin they’re Rummels which carry’s Rolex and PP, and in Hawaii there’s Ben Bridges and Torneau which carry most everything. Love to visit those but that’s not very often.

Never been to London, just Heathrow, and they had a Harrod’s watch boutique. Greatest watch store I’ve ever been to, and it was just the airport. I can only imagine what the streets of London have to offer.

Moving to New Hampshire where is it?