Kurono Tokyo have some great 36

And even 34 mm watches

When a major brand makes a watch you are paying for more than the simple raw materials to make a watch and the labour to put it together

1. It takes knowledge and experience to make a design which is attractive to the consumer

2. It takes experience and past performance to have knowledgeable people on the pay roll who know how to take a watch from an idea to production

3. It takes large amounts of investment and cost to employ the best and most experienced people to work on physically creating the watch to the highest standards

4. There are many other issues that I’m sure other people can expand on

When you buy a watch that is a straight copy, then that manufacturer is essentially stealing the money, effort and the profit that the original inventor is entitled to for their initial intellectual property, knowledge, skill and heritage. If the copying manufacturer possessed these skills, then they would have been able to create their own watches rather than copying someone else’s creations.

Anyone can copy a painting by Pablo Picasso and say ‘look I only need to charge $20 because paper and paint are cheap’ yet the magic with a picassso is he came up with that

Painting and that is what you are paying for. His skill, intellectual property and ability, not the raw materials

Interesting info. I guess the crux of my question/thought is ‘what if I buy your Tudor from you privately, within the warranty period, with all the box and papers etc and you don’t notify Tudor about the change in ownership (which would be a common scenario imo….you may not be bothered or don’t want to notify the ad etc), and then the watch stopped working….if I presented to a local Tudor distributor and asked for help….what would occur?’ I was under the belief that Tudor would honour the warranty if I have the papers in my possession, even with a different name to my own…..but again I’m curious to hear your thoughts?

@caktaylor I defer to your knowledge….i am visualising a purchase through chrono24 or a local grey market dealer (not a retailer like joma shop as such) that comes with box and papers…. I would imagine if you took your watch to the local Rolex service centre (for example) and it was 6

Months old watch , that Rolex would honour the warranty even if you were not the original owner? I haven’t personally experienced it however I hasten to add. In addition, even if they won’t honour the warranty, they should still be willing to service the watch (and if u r correct there would obviously be a fee….but the watch can still be fixed). If it was joma shop, would a retailer of that size not have some sort of warranty even if provided by them, rather than the manufacturer? I haven’t bought anything from them specifically…..but have bought from chrono and other grey market / second hand dealers…..

If you plan to develop a collection over time, it is best to buy from an AD. Down the track, you may want a watch which is limited or difficult to get (Rolex Patek etc). At that point , you can still buy gray but the price can be well above retail. If you have bought from an ad previously, especially if you have done so on multiple occasions, then you will have a good chance of getting the sought after watch at rrp. This is the main advantage of buying through an ad. There are others. Although you can rely on many grey market sellers, there is absolutely no doubt about authenticity with an ad. In addition, you can enjoy some of the experience of the buying experience (if that is important for you). My final advice is when buying from grey, it’s very important to buy from a reputable grey dealer who will have experience and a reputation to protect if there are issues with authenticity, delivery issues or the watch not working.

Re

Box and a papers, many collectors will want that if buying a relatively new watch. It is accepted that an older watch may not have the full set (but makes a vintage watch highly desirable if it has.). When it comes time to sell, if you yourself have bought a watch that comes with the papers, your resale price will hence be better. Hope that makes sense

That said I think it makes perfect sense if you are looking for a single watch to go grey, or alternatively go all grey but accept you will pay over retail for highly desirable models….but have saved thousands on other purchases….but buy from reputable grey dealers

My understanding is if u buy grey but the watch is within its original manufacturer warranty period, then you are still covered.

I love speedy also and can agree re a 1 watch collection however as far as a gada watch, I don’t think it fits as it isn’t as suitable from a water sports / outdoor activity perspective imo