Condition, Originality, and Authenticity are just the surface of vintage and pre-owned watch buying. Make sure you know all the questions to ask before you pay!
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Today, Christian dives into some of the questions you should ask your watch dealer when going vintage or pre-owned. The world of the pre-owned watch is a great way to get into a contemporary luxury watch at a significant discount compared to what you would pay new at an authorized dealer or boutique. Vintage, on the other hand, is a way to get into a piece with some serious history, the kind of thing that simply can't be bought anymore.
The first thing you should look for and ask about is box and papers (sales documents). While the expectation is that having box and papers is a good thing and not having them is a bad thing, this isn't always the case, as it ultimately comes down to the watch itself and, if the quality and condition isn't there, then the box and papers certainly won't save it. They also do not guarantee that the watch is authentic, since they are arguably even easier to fake than the watch itself.
One of the other big questions is the return policy. Sometimes, since we so often buy online these days, a watch gets to our door and after a little while with it, it just isn't the piece that would connect with us the way we expected. Therefore, knowing how to address that with the seller is incredibly important and often, for the right reasons, these policies can be amended to suit special circumstances.
Then, of course, we have the warranty. Watches can be expensive to upkeep, so knowing that the seller will stand behind their product for a pre-determined amount of time is incredibly important. Knowing how long the seller is willing to stand behind their product is important, and in many cases this can be a deal breaker.