Hello,
I've been looking around to buy a decent wrist watch at a non-inflated price.
I'm looking at entry to mid Swiss brands like Oris, Tissot etc.
Problem is many online shops are selling either:
Does anyone know any good, trusted and TESTED sites they've purchased from? someone recommended Jomashop but the USD conversion and Shipping costs throw out any savings you may make.
OK, sorry for having to ask, are they legit?
I'm very worried about all these sites stating:
100% authentic! Legit! 100% Australian, etc etc which usually rings alarm bells
Yes definately legitimate. Well regarded on watchuseek etc.
Authentic, but they aren't an authorised dealer for all the brands they sell. For watches not covered by the manufacturer warranty, Creation Watches provide their own 2-year warranty, but you have to ship the watch back to Singapore at your own cost.
Not Australian - they are in Singapore. They do have a good reputation.
Always negotiate with your local AD for medium-high end watches, their price + discount usually beats any online grey market dealers.
Low end watches are usually cheaper online, and the best results for high end watches are often traveling to another country like Singapore or Japan, and talking down a price.
3 examples off the bat, the RRP might be off by a tiny bit, sometimes you don't even have to try before the salesperson gives you a discount
Oris Depth Gauge
RRP AU $2600-2700AUD
Grey price $2175USD (authenticwatches.com)
I walked into Gregorys Sydney CBD, they offered the watch for $2000AUD, between 25-30% off
Omega Speedmaster
RRP AU $5600
Grey price $4400USD (authenticwatches.com)
Swiss concept sold me this watch for $5000 flat, 8-10% off
Omega PO liquid metal
RRP AU $6500
Grey price $5000USD (authenticwatches.com)
Gregorys Bondi Junction sold this for $5600, roughly 15% off
Depending on what you mean by "decent wrist watch", you might want to have a look at Seiko's automatic range.
For entry level automatic watches, the Seiko Sarb series is fantastic bang-for-buck. Their workhorse 6R15 movement is excellent. If you've never owned an automatic watch before, this isn't a bad place to start. They re-sell quite easily too, in the event you want to upgrade to something snazzier.
The Sarb 033 is a popular model, which appears to be on sale at present.
And remember, a true watch enthusiast will place emphasis on "Manufacture d'horlogerie". Seiko is one of few brands that make their entire watches in-house. Oris and Tissot are simply brand labels pasted onto someone else's movements (invariably some subsidiary of Swatch).
Just a suggestion!
via the link you have it Tissot on the list of "Manufacture d'horlogerie"
Tissot use movements manufactured by ETA - both companies are now owned by Swatch. ETA provides movements to a lot of "prestige" Swiss brands too. If you're looking at a Tissot, find out the name of the movement and put it into Google - it will generally come up as something coming out of ETA.
(this isn't to say there's anything wrong with an ETA movement, of course)
I wouldn't know. I was just commenting that the link you had says tissot and Seiko both are listed as Manufacture d'horlogerie.
@Thrift, thanks for pointing that out about CreationWatches. This probably explains why they only stock 1-2 entry-level swiss watches like Luminox and Tissot.
@meeprawr so you're saying negotiating with a local store in AU is cheaper than online? I do't find Gregory's to really negotiate much
@Pacolito Decent wrist watch for me is a Swiss watch in between an Entry-level to Mid.
Oris, Rado, Tissot, etc
A rough guideline, for brands like oris and tag, you can usually get 25-30% off without trying, breitling 10-15%, omega 8-10%, rolex don't discount as a general rule. I'm not sure about tissot as I have never tried buying one, but I'm sure they will offer you a discount of some sort.
Are you looking for quartz or automatic?
Auto
Reccomend CreationWatches. Very fast shipping, I ordered a watch on Friday evening and received it monday.