Patience & Research…

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There’s a list as long as your arm for watches you want to add to your collection next.

I have had a couple of times fallen foul of buying on impulse and not really knowing the details of what I’m looking for.

My first experience was a year or so ago when I was after a vintage Oris diver. I found one on Chrono24 and within a few messages to the seller, I agreed to buy. “I sent the money and was looking forward to making the purchase of the year.”It should have raised a few alarms as the price seemed much lower than others I’d seen. Also, I’d not seen that model before…

…anywhere!!

I joined a couple of Oris Facebook groups and posted a few pics of my amazing deal. Instead of lots of messages congratulating me on my find, I had quite a few stating that the case wasn’t correct, neither was the dial, hands or crown.
So I messaged the seller and he assured me not to worry as all was well and it was in fact a genuine piece.

“But now I had my doubts, so I called Chrono24, explained my concerns, and they told me to inspect the watch. If I wasn’t happy, I could return it without any issue.”

So the minute I received it, I sent it directly to Oris UK and paid for an appraisal, low and behold, they confirmed my worst fears. Nothing on this was genuine, it was a vintage piece, but not in line with anything Oris had produced. “They returned the watch with a copy of their report and forwarded it to Chrono24, then to the seller, who continues to vow that it was genuine.”

Eventually I got not only my money back, but the postage and the appraisal fees.

So what did I learn? Do your research, and know what your buying. Reach out to those who know much more than you before you pull the trigger.

You may not be as lucky as me in getting your money back. As some unscrupulous individuals are preying on the hope that we don’t know what we are buying.

Make sure you either buy from a reputable source and make sure your payment is protected.

Mark – Research, research, research. “Getting tied up in the emotion of ‘pulling the trigger’ is so easy.” If it looks too good to be true, it may well be. I got burnt last year on buying without doing enough research and learned the hard way. I guess it’s all a game of chance when buying vintage watches.