Hi there,
I have been looking at A Lange & Söhne (ALS) vs F. P. Journe (FPJ) pieces for a while. For ALS, the piece I am interested in the most is the Zeitwerk. In the FPJ current collection, the Souverain or Automatique are really cool!
Now, the reality is, I prefer to go grey for either of those options, for various reasons. For the Zeitwerk, it’s because ALS Zeitwerk can be found at a discount, and for FPJ, because I don’t want to wait. However, I was talking to a ALS rep and they said this about buying grey:
I never recommend gray market retailers because you do not get a factory warranty, and a brand like Lange can be pricey to service. Even if you can get a better price, it’s still a lot of money to buy from someone unauthorized. And, should you choose to sell or trade the watch later on, you won’t get as much with it being sold to you on the gray market originally.
Is there truth to the aforesaid? Also, as I will be buying from Chrono24, is there a way to double check with those brands if the watch I end up getting is legit? Since, I will have 14 days as per Chrono policy to return / flag something.
You must log in or register to comment.
What are the statistical odds that you will actually need to use the warranty? I would imagine that the odds of a high end watch breaking down spontaneously in the first 3-5 years after production is less than 1% ? I am assuming that the warranty period is not more than 5 years and the warranty only covers manufacturing defects and not normal service which the watch would not need in the warranty period anyway. What am I not understanding?
I agree with you! I think the rep was saying like oh you better watch out in case something goes wrong, we won’t cover you bc no warranty
The Zeitwerk servicing is something like 2,500 euros. If you can save much more than that, then it makes sense to go gray.
The only reason to buy from an AD is if you want the more desirable pieces down the road. Regardless of what they tell you, Lange has a list. You’re just not on the list, and the Zeitwerk isn’t that hot, that’s all.
Could you please elaborate on the following:
Regardless of what they tell you, Lange has a list. You’re just not on the list, and the Zeitwerk isn’t that hot, that’s all.
We know that for Odysseus, they definitely have a list because if limited production numbers and lots of demand. But I want to know if you were referring to some other kind of list? Thanks!
The factory warranty bit is true. The resale of a watch bought on grey market is entirely up to the market forces at the time. Also, if you can get a Zeitwerk at an ALS AD without having any buy history or anything else, then that would be pretty impressive…I think the AD left that part out. Granted, availabilities at the AD may be a bit different nowadays what with market conditions and all that…
Not always. I bought an ALS gray and got a valid international warranty and full set of papers. The gray dealer acted as a middleman and had a German AD drop ship to me through a freight forwarder. The deal was really good compared to what I could get locally, in part due to the exchange rate at the time and in part because the gray dealer and AD were no doubt exchanging the piece at close to dealer cost. The warranty was activated at the AD right before they shipped it.
It’s somewhat true what the als rep said. But what he didn’t mention was some other interesting parts that come with a purchase from a boutique or AD.
You’ll get invited to events, get presents and you’ll be one of the first to get some high demand or new release watches. You’ll be integrated in a circle full of people who share the same passion with the same taste for some things.
I personally enjoy and value those things a lot. Ap events are awesome and VC is probably the best I’ve ever been to.
Up to you. If you just want one watch from the brand go gray or if you want more then one go ad
Is there no way to be a part of that circle without buying the whole timepiece from the AD? For example, I was thinking of buying a piece at a discount, and going to ALS and having them do a overhaul of the piece, thereby making it new for me at a fraction of the cost of the actually new piece, and also registering me into the ALS system. Does that make sense? What am I missing here?