Baco Noir
WWF Advisor 
WWF Admin
Posts: 31,331 
Name: Roger
|
Post by Baco Noir on Mar 11, 2018 21:49:05 GMT -6
So today at the GTG in Denver, a guy brought his 40mm Polar Explorer II and we started chatting. He had smaller wrists and was afraid that the 42mm would be too big for him but had never tried one on, so he just bought the 40. He was surprised how well the 42 fit him.
Now to the point of thread. Some of you who’ve know me for a long time may recall my trip to the Denver AD to check out the 40mm version, which had been one I loved in photos and thought it would be a keeper for me. So when the AD called me, I went straight down to check it out. Loved the look and was really thrilled at first. Then I started playing with the movement and when I adjusted the jump hour hand, each time it indexed an hour, it shook back and forth and then stopped - it wasn’t a solid switch from hour to hour, more of a wobble each time it jumped. I said something to the AD and they said, oh that’s normal, they all do that and told me to screw down the crown and showed me that the hour hand stayed firm after that. I believed them but walked away knowing I couldn’t live with that at that price point - made it feel cheap to me.
I believed what they said and hadn’t handled another 40mm version until today. And guess what, that jump hour hand was rock solid in it’s change over just like my 42mm version. I was just shocked and upset. I guess in the end, I’m fine with it all because I ended up with the 42mm version which I do prefer.
Ok rant off, return to your normally scheduled program.
|
|
|
|
Post by carl on Mar 11, 2018 23:48:37 GMT -6
Yeah, I never know whether some of them are just ignorant and actually believe what they say is true, or if they are just downright lying. It's a really tough call trying to find the right AD. And it has, many times, prevented me from taking a look at a particular make or model which I would like to see. It has, in fact, been a major factor in what to many must seem like a very limited scope in my selection of watch types. Fortunately, in the past few years, my favorite AD - apart from the Omega Boutique - has started to carry a few new items. Especially Time & Gold which now carries Eterna and Zenith. The Rolex Boutique in downtown Vancouver is terrible. They downright lied to me about the updated Explorer 1 about a year ago. They had both variations, the one with the metal arabics like Mark has, and the new version with the white/lumed arabics at 3, 6, 9. Only when I insisted, after seeing the older version, did they go about finding the newer one. Obviously, they were trying to unload older inventory. I have also had situations similar to the one you describe. A couple of occasions with crown mechanisms that behaved in peculiar ways, which I won't elaborate on, and was just told the performance is "normal". You can't tell me that using brute force to get a crown to move is "normal".  End of rant for me also! |
|
|
|
Post by aerome on Mar 12, 2018 6:15:39 GMT -6
In the end they're just salespeople trying to move product. That is exactly why I prefer the family-owned independent AD's over the others where there are layers of people, all with different views and ideas.
|
|
Baco Noir
WWF Advisor
WWF Admin
Posts: 31,331
Name: Roger
|
Post by Baco Noir on Mar 12, 2018 8:08:15 GMT -6
It was a chain store that sold a lot of brands as well as jewelry. Come to think of it, when I mentioned how cheap it felt they showed me the GMT Master II as well and tried to sell me on it. I played with that and the movement was solid but it never hit me at the time that they shared the same movement. The lightning in the store was bad and I wasn’t able to tell how nice the green looks IRL, so I just walked away disappointed.
|
|
|
|
Post by dba on Mar 15, 2018 9:52:59 GMT -6
In the end they're just salespeople trying to move product. That is exactly why I prefer the family-owned independent AD's over the others where there are layers of people, all with different views and ideas. This. ^^^^ Just because someone works at the store, doesn’t mean they’re knowledgeable about Rolexes. I refer you back to the salesman sitting in the back seat as my wife is test driving a new F-350 to haul her horse trailer. Poor schmuck is sitting there with his mobile phone tuned to the Ford website trying to answer her questions. She’s a cop, she always has questions; lots of them. |
|
|
|
Post by rockmastermike on Mar 16, 2018 17:09:21 GMT -6
I think many are selling a lifestyle rather than a watch. buy this and you can live like a pilot, or a diver or F1 driver.....with this mindset, product knowledge takes a backset to lifestyle.
|
|
|
|
Post by carl on Mar 16, 2018 20:53:55 GMT -6
I think many are selling a lifestyle rather than a watch. buy this and you can live like a pilot, or a diver or F1 driver.....with this mindset, product knowledge takes a backset to lifestyle. You are right. It's like a sales person who sells clothing as well. I looked at a Schott New York leather jacket the other day at Nordstrom. And I was explaining to the sales girl about the brand, it's history, and the high quality and relatively great value their goods are. And how impressed I was that Nordstrom in Vancouver has the brand, otherwise I would likely never have been able to even see one of their jackets here in Canada. She didn't have a clue about Schott, and I said that $925CAD was a very reasonable price for such quality. She really didn't seem interested in all that. And they didn't have my size. Instead, she told me how well a suede coat from another brand would look on me. Price: $2500CAD. All she could relate to was how she thought it would look on me, not realizing that the suede coat was not at all in keeping with my lifestyle! Regardless of what product I purchase, whether it's a watch, clothing or anything else, I always like to know something about the brand. Maybe I should be in retail!  |
|
Baco Noir
WWF Advisor
WWF Admin
Posts: 31,331
Name: Roger
|
Post by Baco Noir on Mar 16, 2018 21:15:28 GMT -6
carl - we could run one hell of a watch shop!
|
|
|
|
Post by carl on Mar 16, 2018 21:53:03 GMT -6
carl - we could run one hell of a watch shop!  |
|
|
|
Post by dba on Mar 18, 2018 20:42:52 GMT -6
I think many are selling a lifestyle rather than a watch. buy this and you can live like a pilot, or a diver or F1 driver.....with this mindset, product knowledge takes a backset to lifestyle. Not unlike Harley dealerships. |
|
Baco Noir
WWF Advisor
WWF Admin
Posts: 31,331
Name: Roger
|
Post by Baco Noir on Mar 18, 2018 21:57:55 GMT -6
I think many are selling a lifestyle rather than a watch. buy this and you can live like a pilot, or a diver or F1 driver.....with this mindset, product knowledge takes a backset to lifestyle. Not unlike Harley dealerships. As a former Harley owner, I agree. The sales people at multiple dealerships in Denver were clueless and only out to sell the lifestyle at full price. |
|
