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Vintage Rolex Purchase in Japan

981 views 6 replies 5 participants last post by  NickIoa 
#1 ·
On a recent trip to Japan, I found myself in a unique situation. I found one of my grails, a Rolex Submariner ref. 1680 with red letters. It is being sold from a well-known vintage watch reseller in Japan.

I’m hesitating because I am afraid that if I return home and find that there is an issue with the watch, I will have no recourse because it is a foreign country.

I have no issues doing this for a $500 Seiko, but the stakes get higher when you’re in the thousands.

Anyone have any experience purchasing vintage watches in foreign countries? Any tips?
 
#2 ·
Expat from the US, 35 years in tech, & living in Japan. Like anything in life, you?re basically dealing with the person and taking their word.

I would say that small dealers in Japan are extremely conscious of their reputation and responsibility to their customers.

Make a short list of your concerns and respectfully present it to them and ask how they might handle each situation.

If you?re dealing at the pricepoints I?m imagining, the cost of EMS?ing a piece back to Japan for service is minimal.

I know for a fact that Rolex Japan will ?personally? pick up, service and return a piece at no additional charge (other than their service charges).

It?s a wonderful service based economy here.

Best of luck with your journey, hope to see photos of the grail.
 
#4 ·
Expat from the US, 35 years in tech, & living in Japan. Like anything in life, you?re basically dealing with the person and taking their word.

I would say that small dealers in Japan are extremely conscious of their reputation and responsibility to their customers.

Make a short list of your concerns and respectfully present it to them and ask how they might handle each situation.

If you?re dealing at the pricepoints I?m imagining, the cost of EMS?ing a piece back to Japan for service is minimal.

I know for a fact that Rolex Japan will ?personally? pick up, service and return a piece at no additional charge (other than their service charges).

It?s a wonderful service based economy here.

Best of luck with your journey, hope to see photos of the grail.
Thanks for the info! The store employee told me that all the watches there are on consignment and they never inspected the watch. It hurt a little, but I had to pass as I inspected the watch, there were some more obvious issues with the movement.

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#3 ·
tedinasia has sound advice. It is a give or take 50 year-old watch you are looking at, so no matter where you buy it you may be looking at potentially dealing with some issue down the road. Have them put it on a timer and check the amplitude and error rate. Should give you some indication of what you are looking at in the short term.
 
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