Where do watch dealers obtain rare vintage pieces?

[hellofromthebay]

Where do all the watch dealers who specialize in vintage pieces source their watches?

From what I can surmise:
- watch enthusiasts who sell directly
- buy/sell ads off craigslist
- estate sales
- auctions with items that are misunderstood

Any other sources? I'm mainly curious where these magical $100k pieces appear from.

Thanks

[Dan S]

People who know nothing about watches and inherit amazing pieces.

[Kingsking]

Originally Posted by Dan S

People who know nothing about watches and inherit amazing pieces.

Boom, this is probably the case 90% of the time.

[Dr.Smellody]

They take it into a local jewelry shop who buy it and flip it to a specialty shop who flip it to outfits like you have in California.

My other theory is an underground mortician network.

[springer]

Originally Posted by hellofromthebay

Where do all the watch dealers who specialize in vintage pieces source their watches?

From what I can surmise:
- watch enthusiasts who sell directly
- buy/sell ads off craigslist
- estate sales
- auctions with items that are misunderstood

Any other sources? I'm mainly curious where these magical $100k pieces appear from.

Thanks

Where do watch dealers that specialize in high quality vintage pieces get them from - they source the greatest majority of their fine vintage pieces offered for sale.....from watch collectors who sell directly to the dealers.

If you notice, their aren't many nice vintage watches being offered up for sale lately - not like ten years ago. Ten years ago, nice GMT 1675s, red Subs, red Sea Dwellers, later 1680 Submariners, Daytonas and 5513s cost about two to three times less than what they do now. If a collector purchased a nice GMT 1675 back during 2011 for $4,000 and was now offered a substantial profit from a dealer, most collectors would forego an internet listing on their own and sell direct to the dealer. I can't say that I blame them - no hassles, no haggling, just a quick sale to a dealer with over 200% to 300% profit for ten years of enjoyment.

[alwayshere]

Agree with Springer.

The reality is now its much easier to gauge value with a few good google searches if one can be bothered. You still see the odd rarity where people pick up a major bargain but its far less now with the internet. The decision then is does the owner of the piece want to deal with ebay / classifieds with its inherent risk or go to a dealer with a no fuss cash in hand option.

I think we all have our stories of wins and losses over time. I have only bought once from a dealer and frankly it was a mixed experience and much prefer buying from private individuals.

[harry in montreal]

I tell myself each day that I have enough watches. I don’t needing more. I have bills to pay and I also would like to buy another old sports car.
With that in mind, I go on eBay for a few mins a day and make offers. Months go by and I get nothing. You would be very surprised with what I have bought. Some are a little beat, but some are pretty choice. I don’t have the patience to deal with local pro sellers in person

[ILuvSubs]

I will let two of the best vintage Rolex dealers in the business, Jacek Kozubek and Jed McCormack, answer this question (given they've answered this previously on this sub-forum).

https://www.rolexforums.com/showpost...3&postcount=30

https://www.rolexforums.com/showpost...&postcount=102

[Mendota]

My AD has an extensive preowned selection and currently sitting in the case are the following, among many others:

1) Late 1960s 1665 double red seadweller. Complete set with all original boxes, tags, manuals, papers, receipts, etc. $145K.

2) 1958 6536 small crown sub. No boxes or tags or anything. $50K.

3) 4x 1675 GMT Masters including 2 from the 1960s and one is the rootbeer with nipple dial.

4) 1960s 5513

They said everything was either purchased from local customers or taken in on local trade. They do make it known that they will purchase pieces from you even if you don't buy anything from the store and they have been in the area for decades, so their reputation in the city is very good.

I was in there chatting watches and life a couple of weeks ago and my SA pulled everything out while we were chatting. It was fun because as we were talking he would just pull out another rare piece for me to try on.

[Oyster Perp]

One 'source' appears to be the busy 'general' auction house. They get house and estate clearance sales and if they don't have a specialist watch person on staff frankly, their appraisers become too busy to fully research a watches value and its nuances. As they turn over so much variety of stock some bargains can creep through.

[Juhuatai]

Where's your AD Mendota? That's an impressive selection for an AD.

[jlovda]

Originally Posted by Mendota

My AD has an extensive preowned selection and currently sitting in the case are the following, among many others:

1) Late 1960s 1665 double red seadweller. Complete set with all original boxes, tags, manuals, papers, receipts, etc. $145K.

2) 1958 6536 small crown sub. No boxes or tags or anything. $50K.

3) 4x 1675 GMT Masters including 2 from the 1960s and one is the rootbeer with nipple dial.

4) 1960s 5513

They said everything was either purchased from local customers or taken in on local trade. They do make it known that they will purchase pieces from you even if you don't buy anything from the store and they have been in the area for decades, so their reputation in the city is very good.

I was in there chatting watches and life a couple of weeks ago and my SA pulled everything out while we were chatting. It was fun because as we were talking he would just pull out another rare piece for me to try on.

I'd love to know what they paid for #1; $5K?

[snakeeyes]

My watch maker buys watches right off peoples wrists and flips them.