Oris Aquis Fake

LOL yeah like you have your Invicta watches cracked open to see if they scammed you. I've purchased a Hamilton automatic chronograph and others from Ashford and have no doubt in my mind they are real. We are not talking some guy on the street selling watches from a raincoat or on E-bay and his name is not Eyal Laylow.
 
Don’t confuse Grey Market dealers with Shady dealers!

https://medium.com/@luxurybazaar/wha...e-6cc09dfedb65

To surf one of the many unauthorized watch “dealer” sites, better known as the “gray market,” is to find a horological bounty at bargain prices. Are you in the market for a Breguet “Classique Hora Mundi Automatic”? Jomashop.com is offering one for $54,995, 30% off the listed retail price of $78,900. Interested in a Rolex Cosmograph Daytona in platinum? Prestigetime.com is selling one for 15% off at $70,125.

“Yes, the gray market has exploded,” says one large east coast retailer who deals in both contemporary and pre-owned certified vintage timepieces. (Like most interviewed for this article, he didn’t want his name used.) “It’s crazy what’s out there.” Not only online. “Walk down 47th Street in New York,” he says, “you used to find just vintage watches for sale, and it was rare to find contemporary watches. Now you’re seeing brand new pieces, sealed and ready to go.”

These are turbulent times for luxury Swiss watches, those wonders of 15th century technology now prized as 21st century status symbols. After years of intense growth and record sales, several signs indicate that the industry’s tick has slackened to a slow tock. In January, the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry reported exports fell 3.3% in 2015 to $21.2 billion (21.5 billion Francs) – the first such decline since 2009.

By most accounts, last month, the halls of the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie, the posh Geneva watch fair showcasing such brands as Cartier and IWC was a decidedly somber affair, with watchmakers — who regularly offer timepieces with price tags on par with a Hamptons summer rental – introducing (gasp!), a range of timepieces at lower price points. For instance, Piaget whose watches usually start at around 10,000 euros ($11,147), presented a new women’s line at around 7,000 euros ($7,800).

https://fortune.com/2016/02/11/swiss-watches-gray-market/


https://www.ablogtowatch.com/study-c...ess-inventory/

What is happening is that the traditional channels for selling watches aren’t able to compete with the culture of discounting which has stemmed from the proliferation of gray market (channels outside the officially authorized retailers) sales. The gray market survives because of their ability to sell timepieces at a discount below retail prices. This is because they are still able to make a profit. These mostly internet-based retailers do not have traditional overhead costs of retail locations or other expenses and are able to make money by selling watches at a lower margin. Moreover, they are often able to purchase stock at lower than wholesale amounts in many instances.

The gray market is thus able to sell new timepieces at significant discounts. We all like discounts, but here is where the consumer typically does not understand the bigger picture. Because the watch industry itself is able to “dump” unsold inventory directly to the gray market (traditionally, the gray market only survived through the sale of small amounts of unsold goods obtained from retailers), it is able to sell off massive amounts of unsold watches and maintain a “blind-eye” approach to what happens to it. Now, this causes other problems. Consider that a watch company that was once used to demanding $5,000 for a watch in a retail environment is now seeing their watches sold for $3,000 on the gray market. The new “street price” of that product becomes the de facto price consumers are now willing to spend. In order to combat this, the watch brand raises retail prices based on the notion that the street price will incrementally rise along with it. So using this example, if the $5,000 watch that sells for $3,000 wants to make more money, the brand simply raises the retail price (which is rarely actually realized) to $7,000. Now, the street price (which is often a fixed percentage lower than the retail price) increase as well. The brand hopes that consumer will now be happy with the “discounted price” of $5,000.

https://blog.redpoints.com/en/gray-market-watches

Today's luxury watch collectors have struck luck; luxury watches are now more affordable and easily purchased online. With online discounts of up to 40% on original Swiss-made watches, it's no surprise that the gray market watch business is booming.

Consequently, luxury watchmakers are shifting in their seats. The products sold are legitimate, but the seller is often not. And in many cases, legitimate partners are breaking their distribution agreements. Brands are spending big money and time into looking for who's responsible and what can be done, because it’s not illegal.

It’s not a watch dealer on a street corner flashing watches from the inside of his trenchcoat. It's sleek websites with original luxury watches for sale, at an asking price that’s up to 40% less than what luxury watch brands are offering.
[h=1]The online gray market watch landscape[/h]
Buying the same luxury watch for 40% less than the brand’s official asking price is attractive to any pocket, even to the most luxurious one. The crafting of these high-quality watches is of such minute precision that the final piece is extremely reliable. The manufacturer’s warranty may no longer be a top priority to buyers.

However, if having a warranty is still important, luxury watch buyers turn to websites such as joomashop.com and others that offer their own warranty. The aforementioned: joomashop.com openly state that they don’t provide a manufacturer’s guarantee for their gray market watches. Instead, they provide their own, with a full explanation of what it covers.

Download our free product guide

Gray market watch websites offer to rebuy your older models, offer student discounts and a decent delivery service. There are even some websites offering price-matches and financing options. So it’s not only about the deep discounts they offer to their customers. They have touched on many points that give these websites a luxury feel, to ensure their customers feel safe in buying from them.

Many luxury watch brands prefer to not advertise their prices online, which may leave their potential customers with too much mystery when searching online. Today’s luxury watch shopper values the time-saving aspect of online shopping like any other. Gray market watch websites offer many advantages to luxury watch buyers, and brands are suffering as a result.
[h=2]Luxury Brands’ response to the gray market watch industry[/h]
Many brands have built their brand identity on luxurious exclusivity. When ordering some particular Swiss timepieces, there is still a lengthy waiting list before finally receiving the watch of their dreams. The anticipation of obtaining this meticulously crafted item, the care that is provided by the highly trained salespeople and the sheer luxury of all the stages leading up to placing it onto your wrist -the luxury build up- was what drove the luxury watch industry into such success.

Today, as much as 20% of luxury watches sold are issued from the gray market. And although losing revenue to the gray market is a major issue to brands, the biggest is the risk of losing the reputation that these brands have built around prestige and social stature.

A luxury item bought at a discount price no longer creates the same emotion to a consumer. The reward transforms into getting more value for your money. The gray market puts all the hard work that brands have invested in their brand identity at stake.

At Baselworld watch fair, Jean-Claude Biver, head of LVMH’s watch division was quoted saying: “In luxury goods, when you break the illusion of prestige, the dream, the prices, it takes away the confidence. It means slow death for luxury goods,” when describing the gray market watch industry. The illusory effects of luxury purchases are changing. Consumers have changed and the gray market seems to be paying close attention.

Although losing revenue is a major issue, the biggest risk is of losing the reputation that these brands have successfully built around prestige and social stature.

To counteract the effects of the gray market, some luxury watchmakers have drastically reduced their stock inventory. Tracking their products more easily and avoid authorized resellers selling these to the gray market.

Omega’s strategy was to buy out one of the most popular online gray market reseller platforms (Watchfinder) to avoid seeing their products on the gray watch market. Other brands are now offering their own in-house resale services to make sure their customer base stays faithful to them.

Brands are even going as far as rebuying their brand’s gray market stocks to try and save their brand identity. The capital invested in trying to counteract this booming industry has been colossal, but still deemed worthwhile by the brands themselves.






[h=3]SUMMARY:[/h]
  • Gray market watches are legal
  • Gray market watch websites provide consumers with big discounts and benefits
  • How brands are affected by gray market watch websites
  • Tech-based solutions to counteract the gray market
 
Not again Mike...off to the bar...LOL...my attention span cannot deal with this Shizz!!
 
Bye Bye .. I can drink and read at the same tyme Whitey. Don't drink N drive, be safe.
 
I kind of doubt it, but time will tell. These grey market dealers are not idiots and don't buy watches from just anyone. We agree to disagree. Let's face it. These have been around a lot longer than I have been collecting. A person needs to have a little common sense. That includes everything in life, not just this hobby. So far, I've been really lucky or my common sense and judgment has served me well.
 
Don’t confuse Grey Market dealers with Shady dealers!

https://medium.com/@luxurybazaar/wha...e-6cc09dfedb65

To surf one of the many unauthorized watch “dealer” sites, better known as the “gray market,” is to find a horological bounty at bargain prices. Are you in the market for a Breguet “Classique Hora Mundi Automatic”? Jomashop.com is offering one for $54,995, 30% off the listed retail price of $78,900. Interested in a Rolex Cosmograph Daytona in platinum? Prestigetime.com is selling one for 15% off at $70,125.

“Yes, the gray market has exploded,” says one large east coast retailer who deals in both contemporary and pre-owned certified vintage timepieces. (Like most interviewed for this article, he didn’t want his name used.) “It’s crazy what’s out there.” Not only online. “Walk down 47th Street in New York,” he says, “you used to find just vintage watches for sale, and it was rare to find contemporary watches. Now you’re seeing brand new pieces, sealed and ready to go.”

These are turbulent times for luxury Swiss watches, those wonders of 15th century technology now prized as 21st century status symbols. After years of intense growth and record sales, several signs indicate that the industry’s tick has slackened to a slow tock. In January, the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry reported exports fell 3.3% in 2015 to $21.2 billion (21.5 billion Francs) – the first such decline since 2009.

By most accounts, last month, the halls of the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie, the posh Geneva watch fair showcasing such brands as Cartier and IWC was a decidedly somber affair, with watchmakers — who regularly offer timepieces with price tags on par with a Hamptons summer rental – introducing (gasp!), a range of timepieces at lower price points. For instance, Piaget whose watches usually start at around 10,000 euros ($11,147), presented a new women’s line at around 7,000 euros ($7,800).

https://fortune.com/2016/02/11/swiss-watches-gray-market/


https://www.ablogtowatch.com/study-c...ess-inventory/

What is happening is that the traditional channels for selling watches aren’t able to compete with the culture of discounting which has stemmed from the proliferation of gray market (channels outside the officially authorized retailers) sales. The gray market survives because of their ability to sell timepieces at a discount below retail prices. This is because they are still able to make a profit. These mostly internet-based retailers do not have traditional overhead costs of retail locations or other expenses and are able to make money by selling watches at a lower margin. Moreover, they are often able to purchase stock at lower than wholesale amounts in many instances.

The gray market is thus able to sell new timepieces at significant discounts. We all like discounts, but here is where the consumer typically does not understand the bigger picture. Because the watch industry itself is able to “dump” unsold inventory directly to the gray market (traditionally, the gray market only survived through the sale of small amounts of unsold goods obtained from retailers), it is able to sell off massive amounts of unsold watches and maintain a “blind-eye” approach to what happens to it. Now, this causes other problems. Consider that a watch company that was once used to demanding $5,000 for a watch in a retail environment is now seeing their watches sold for $3,000 on the gray market. The new “street price” of that product becomes the de facto price consumers are now willing to spend. In order to combat this, the watch brand raises retail prices based on the notion that the street price will incrementally rise along with it. So using this example, if the $5,000 watch that sells for $3,000 wants to make more money, the brand simply raises the retail price (which is rarely actually realized) to $7,000. Now, the street price (which is often a fixed percentage lower than the retail price) increase as well. The brand hopes that consumer will now be happy with the “discounted price” of $5,000.

https://blog.redpoints.com/en/gray-market-watches

Today's luxury watch collectors have struck luck; luxury watches are now more affordable and easily purchased online. With online discounts of up to 40% on original Swiss-made watches, it's no surprise that the gray market watch business is booming.

Consequently, luxury watchmakers are shifting in their seats. The products sold are legitimate, but the seller is often not. And in many cases, legitimate partners are breaking their distribution agreements. Brands are spending big money and time into looking for who's responsible and what can be done, because it’s not illegal.

It’s not a watch dealer on a street corner flashing watches from the inside of his trenchcoat. It's sleek websites with original luxury watches for sale, at an asking price that’s up to 40% less than what luxury watch brands are offering.
[h=1]The online gray market watch landscape[/h]
Buying the same luxury watch for 40% less than the brand’s official asking price is attractive to any pocket, even to the most luxurious one. The crafting of these high-quality watches is of such minute precision that the final piece is extremely reliable. The manufacturer’s warranty may no longer be a top priority to buyers.

However, if having a warranty is still important, luxury watch buyers turn to websites such as joomashop.com and others that offer their own warranty. The aforementioned: joomashop.com openly state that they don’t provide a manufacturer’s guarantee for their gray market watches. Instead, they provide their own, with a full explanation of what it covers.

Download our free product guide

Gray market watch websites offer to rebuy your older models, offer student discounts and a decent delivery service. There are even some websites offering price-matches and financing options. So it’s not only about the deep discounts they offer to their customers. They have touched on many points that give these websites a luxury feel, to ensure their customers feel safe in buying from them.

Many luxury watch brands prefer to not advertise their prices online, which may leave their potential customers with too much mystery when searching online. Today’s luxury watch shopper values the time-saving aspect of online shopping like any other. Gray market watch websites offer many advantages to luxury watch buyers, and brands are suffering as a result.
[h=2]Luxury Brands’ response to the gray market watch industry[/h]
Many brands have built their brand identity on luxurious exclusivity. When ordering some particular Swiss timepieces, there is still a lengthy waiting list before finally receiving the watch of their dreams. The anticipation of obtaining this meticulously crafted item, the care that is provided by the highly trained salespeople and the sheer luxury of all the stages leading up to placing it onto your wrist -the luxury build up- was what drove the luxury watch industry into such success.

Today, as much as 20% of luxury watches sold are issued from the gray market. And although losing revenue to the gray market is a major issue to brands, the biggest is the risk of losing the reputation that these brands have built around prestige and social stature.

A luxury item bought at a discount price no longer creates the same emotion to a consumer. The reward transforms into getting more value for your money. The gray market puts all the hard work that brands have invested in their brand identity at stake.

At Baselworld watch fair, Jean-Claude Biver, head of LVMH’s watch division was quoted saying: “In luxury goods, when you break the illusion of prestige, the dream, the prices, it takes away the confidence. It means slow death for luxury goods,” when describing the gray market watch industry. The illusory effects of luxury purchases are changing. Consumers have changed and the gray market seems to be paying close attention.

Although losing revenue is a major issue, the biggest risk is of losing the reputation that these brands have successfully built around prestige and social stature.

To counteract the effects of the gray market, some luxury watchmakers have drastically reduced their stock inventory. Tracking their products more easily and avoid authorized resellers selling these to the gray market.

Omega’s strategy was to buy out one of the most popular online gray market reseller platforms (Watchfinder) to avoid seeing their products on the gray watch market. Other brands are now offering their own in-house resale services to make sure their customer base stays faithful to them.

Brands are even going as far as rebuying their brand’s gray market stocks to try and save their brand identity. The capital invested in trying to counteract this booming industry has been colossal, but still deemed worthwhile by the brands themselves.






[h=3]SUMMARY:[/h]
  • Gray market watches are legal
  • Gray market watch websites provide consumers with big discounts and benefits
  • How brands are affected by gray market watch websites
  • Tech-based solutions to counteract the gray market

My buddy 'claimed' that a watch from Jomashop, I think a Tag, had an issue 3 or 4 yrs after he bought it, and he sent it to Tag to get repaired, and he claimed that they told him that the movement had been replaced with a cheap one. He's not a true horologist, but a pretty smart guy.
 
My buddy 'claimed' that a watch from Jomashop, I think a Tag, had an issue 3 or 4 yrs after he bought it, and he sent it to Tag to get repaired, and he claimed that they told him that the movement had been replaced with a cheap one. He's not a true horologist, but a pretty smart guy.

I'm not an expert either. I would have hired a good lawyer and owned Jomashop with a case like that. At the very least they would have paid for my watch collection and legal fees. There will always be rare exceptions to the rule. I'll say it one more time. I must be really lucky. I've yet to get burnt from Ashford and other companies. It's not like I have ten watches either. I've thrown my money on the horological crap table many times. If you include some shady stuff by Invicta selling a watch and saying it was a Valjoux 7750 and receiving a Sellita Sw500, I guess you can say they screwed me. That one would be hard to win in any court. Eyal is no slouch with this stuff and knows what he can get away with.
 
#4.3
bundamania commented
Today, 06:59 PM
Grey Market is Cool. The difference is, I won't spend thousands for an Invicta

Regardless of what anyone spends they should not have to worry about being duped. Several Invicta watches can easily add up to the price of one nice Oris or other brands. I'm sure my wallet, Scantor's and many others could attest to that.
 
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