Vacheron just interviewed me ? 🧐

How odd!..

I think I got a very gentle polite interview when I went to AP in London.

Time will tell if I passed the test (it’s been a couple of months..)

It was very polite, but I thought it would be typical exchange of a request and information. I was talking about life experiences and what they meant to me lol

This KYC (know your customer) practice was started by Patek and Rolex around 2018-2019 to limit sales to “watch investors” who bought too many watches from ADs, therefore limiting regular customers the opportunity to buy and enjoy these timepieces.

Also a number of dealers who knowingly sell watches to these investors got their Patek distribution agreement terminated.

Many top Swiss brands have since followed the similar policy, and even shrink the ADs network greatly, instead by rely on brand’s own bouquets to sell their products.

I don't know what to think about how these people treat buying a watch like getting screened for the country club. More importantly, are you really getting rid of the Breitling and Ball just to appease their desire for blue dial monopoly?

Wow. talk about an interrogation. Wonder the response if you had said 'I only Collect watches with a Blue dial'

It’s unbelievable to me some of the stories I read on here about how people are treated by boutiques when trying to buy A WATCH! Makes me thankful for my AD, who has always treated me wonderfully.

Imagine if a Mercedes, BMW or Audi dealer treated customers this way?

Hoping they at least take you to dinner before bending you over any further 😂

These ADs anymore suck the joy out of buying which blows. Hopefully they come through for you here. Hell of a piece in the Overseas. Sheesh! One day!

At least they have you the chance to talk that alone is probably a good sign. Very weird overall though they themselves just don’t want to get in trouble if it gets flipped

My father in law caught hell from his wife one time when he started to nap in the chair the sales staff set up for him while she shopped for a simple bag from a company that starts with a C, she strongly suggested that more fastidious attire would be ok also. He pulled out his well worn wallet and said this is what matters! When I picked up my Tudor Ranger which is bottom of the barrel in the BB catalogue, there was a lot of paper involved. I started to lose my temper asked the polite sa WTF, she promised that it was just documentation etc etc. I miss the good old days when the customer was in control.

VC in London were great the first time I walked in. A couple of questions about watches owned and what I'd be looking for. To be fair, I'd taken in a vintage to get the archive extract, so the ice was broken already. Still, there was no stuffiness or snobbery, just an open discussion.

The minute they started asking me questions about me and mine I’d a told em to F£&k off!

Cheeky barstools

It’s a goddam watch not an atomic bomb or a baby..,……..

I hate this whole fake superiority that luxury brand sales people subject their customers to and it’s even worse that people actually pander to them and buy from from them. I’ve done that for certain perceived luxury products and I’ve hated myself for it. Never again. It’s just material objects they are peddling.

I ran into this sort of thing at Walmart. The counter guy insisted a cavity search was a standard part of the interview process to help screen out flippers when Duros were on closeout for $11.

Maybe he wants to buy you dinner first before bending you over 🤣

How much blood did you have to give? Pee in a cup? Did they ask for your thoughts on Casio? 🤦

Your good dude I honestly thought it was hilarious 😂

I'm poor, so I don't have the worry of dealing with ADs. But if I were rich, and I WAS dealing with ADs, this kind of stuff wouldn't fly.

If I want a watch, I am going to go somewhere where I can walk in, give them my money, and walk out with what I want. This goes for watches, cars, and any other product that I might want to buy.

Whomever can give me what I want, when I want it, is going to get my business. Period.

There will always be people trying to make money by buying low in one market, and selling high in another. That's capitalism. And people do it every day with stocks, so why not with watches? These watch companies should let the markets take care of themselves.

My two cents. YMMV. 😎

Jesus christ I have alot of blue dial watches. Including a Vacheron 56 in blue dial. That means I can't get the Overseas in blue dial?

I was questioned about who I was, why I wanted this piece, and the state of my current collection.

I'm Duke, I want it because I like it and "about to have a Breguet or Lange if you don't shut the hell up and sell me the watch".

This was directly through their boutique, so it was probably just standard. I don’t really mind the gate keeping it’s kind of all part of it, if it something I truly want it’s just part of the game. But I figured everyone would enjoy hearing the experience.

Like others said, they're likely trying to determine that you're not a flipper or some other odious character. While I dislike this practice, it's better than having to buy a bunch of watches you don't want in order to build up a history.

It's all in how the SA approaches it, this one seems a bit clumsy. We can't complain about brands selling to flippers and also complain when they employ techniques to try and weed them out. Some are better at these chats than others.

Nothing wrong per-se, and I was being mote than a little glib, but I'm a somewhat less sanguine than you regarding the motivations of the AD. He's probably not gate-keeping to keep the riffraff out or anything, but he's also not looking out for anyone but himself and his bottom line. I'd hazard to guess he's more interested in making sure you aren't going to want to return it than if you love and deserve it.

I can guarantee you if he knew you had three already and were buying another to throw in a drawer he'd sell to you in an instant, no questions asked. That's a repeat customer right there. And one who's not going to piss off the manufacturer reselling it.

You gave me an idea !

I have two cats and many old watches that dont work anymore...

I think they would look nice as a decoration in a cat s collar !!!

I hope they arent too heavy...

Mercedes, BMW and Audi don't but Ferrari, Lamborghini and Bugatti most certainly do.

My experience with Vacheron:

One day I walked in the mall, and I decided to go into Vacheron. Ohh behold, they didn’t let me in! They said theres an very important customer inside and they will text me when they are done. So I went away.

After 2 hours, I’ve already left the mall. They texted me saying sorry they missed me, i texted back: I want a Vacheron Fifty Six in steel please.

4 Months later, I was watching World Cup Soccer Finals. This is Argentina vs France. Argentina was up 2-0.

I suddenly got the call from Vacheron. A Korean lady said come and pickup the watch. Wow! I’ve actually never met her! I never walked into that store.

I walked in that store and she showed me the watch. I said put it on my credit card. Then she went to the back.

I pulled my iPhone out and continued watching soccer. And then the manager noticed it, so she started watching it with me!

After that, they decided the soccer was too important. So they locked the doors and treated me like I was a very important person! Lol little did they know it was my first time in the store.

It’s not that simple, it takes a huge investment and human resources and time to meet the real demand. Unless it is machine produced in mass scale ( like cheap watches) this is not easily achievable within the time frame.

2. When i say real demand which is basically tested over a period of time and not the sudden surge in demand as the economy falls down. There are many flippers and non watch people who basically came into this industry to trade/ invest like stocks rather than real steady watch demand. Analysing this is tricky but im sure those clever ppl can have an accessible database to filter this. Yup few % of real customers do get affected here.

3. Apart from human resources we are also looking at raw materials and physical resources that are sourced from across borders.

Ofcourse the above points doesnt justify bad ADs and their attitude and some brands’ sales strategy? Only the inside person can throw some morr light on this.im fine with waiting time if it is not crazy like 5 years. And ive no urge to add another watch as well. If possible yes else wait and move on not the end of the world :)

Rolex did announce additional temporary production facilities to be opened even before their new big shiny factory if I remember correctly. They do that, but there is a limit.

Also, increasing supply would likely reduce demand because many buyers are just in it for the secondary market price appreciation. When people want it because they can't have it (which is insane but not the brand's fault), increasing supply is a delicate matter even if you ignore the manufacturing issues.

This is funny but I can relate. I walked into a Rolex AD I’ve never been too and they asked me a ton of questions. I told them, I’m in a rush and don’t have time to be interviewed. Obviously I never heard from them again 🤣

So this part of Watch collecting is what gets my 🍒 twisted right…like look if I get the whole game they make you go through the ringer so there is a process what will keep people thirsty for the product but I think they take it to far and if that’s the experience then I expect every AD to train all there staff to be super friendly great me with a super big smile make me a coffee offer me a snack and be completely honest with me.