Is Seattle down to 1 Rolex AD?

[EdwardC]

Dropped by Seattle this weekend and went to Alvin Goldfarb which was a smaller watch AD in the East side. They had rolex, and now they don't.

So people in Washington can only buy Rolex through Ben Bridge now?

[ZOOK]

Yes, I noticed that also.

At least BB has four locations in the Seattle area.

I'm sure all the used watch dealers will ship to Washington.

[928ktgold]

Ben bridge is slowly losing their status too. At least here in LA CA

[1William]

Interesting.

[SudiYunus]

Originally Posted by EdwardC

Dropped by Seattle this weekend and went to Alvin Goldfarb which was a smaller watch AD in the East side. They had rolex, and now they don't.

So people in Washington can only buy Rolex through Ben Bridge now?

.

[hutch300]

Goldfarb is an amazing family store and I am very sad to see this happen. I have been going and shopping there my whole life. I have my very first Rolex on my wrist right now, from them. BB is not the same and I'd rather shop elsewhere.

[Calatrava r]

IMO Rolex is realizing they cannot meet the current demand being spread so thin with so many ADs. They are un-able to supply product to the smaller ADs. Overtime, however, they will lose those one-time casual buyers as part of the allure to them was to see the watches on display at a local jewelry store. I doubt these buyers will seek out Rolex watches from AD outlets in the big urban areas.

[HippoDancer]

Originally Posted by hutch300

Goldfarb is an amazing family store and I am very sad to see this happen. I have been going and shopping there my whole life. I have my very first Rolex on my wrist right now, from them. BB is not the same and I'd rather shop elsewhere.

Oh dear. Was considering if I should put my name on a VTNR wait list with them but I guess it doesn't matter now.

There was a Swatch Group's Tourbillon Boutiques store located in downtown Seattle before, and then was shutting down during the COVID due to various reasons. I got my Blancpain from them and they carried interesting horology brands such as Breguet, Blancpain, Glashutte, etc., and of course Omega. It was a great place to see and try a variety of great pieces at one store and now they are gone. With Alvin Goldfarb losing their Rolex AD status, not exciting news for watch enthusiasts in PNW.

[TickTockChuck]

I bought a couple of watches at BB in the Seattle area many years ago and found it to be a good experience. Surprised that a big city like Seattle is running out of ADs now. Perhaps a Rolex boutique in the future (?). I really don't like this trend towards centralization. Oh well.

[Mastergreenhand]

Damn, I,ve purchased a few watches from them, 2 Rolex, one omega and one Tudor over the years. I was on their list the last few years for a couple options. Sad to hear they’re not an AD for Rolex. Great folks over there.

[hmad85]

That’s an unfortunate, this seems to be a common trend across the US. I wonder how prevalent this is globally with ADs losing their status and not selling Rolex anymore.


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[joli160]

Perhaps the area of the store location did not meet Rolex standards anymore or the owners did not want to follow policy regarding Rolex presentation.

[njlam]

Seems strange with all the tech money in Seattle.

[cleansocks]

Originally Posted by joli160

Perhaps the area of the store location did not meet Rolex standards anymore or the owners did not want to follow policy regarding Rolex presentation.

no, they had a very distinct and luxurious feeling section of the store dedicated to exclusively to Rolex and they are in a nice part of of Bellevue, WA:

Bellevue, Washington is a wealthy city with a high cost of living and a high median household income:
Median household income: In 2022, the median household income in Bellevue was $149,551.
Median property value: In 2022, the median property value in Bellevue was $1.14 million.
Cost of living: Bellevue has a high cost of living index compared to other Washington cities, including Seattle.

[AlyRba]

The Alvin Goldfarb boutique in bellevue was walking distance from Ben Bridge Bellevue. It was only a matter of time I feel as Ben Bridge is a bigger player in Seattle (and Washington). Ben Bridge has 4 Rolex locations in the greater Seattle area. It could be that there may be further consolidation and the Ben Bridge locations also decrease, who knows. At this time, only the Ben Bridge Seattle location has a standalone Rolex boutique that was renovated/reopened in 2023. It is also not in a shopping mall. The other 3 locations are operating Rolex next to other watch brands and jewelry counters in shopping malls. Maybe those 3 will also undergo changes or consolidate.

Alvin Goldfarb did renovate their location and had a standalone Rolex section within their shop. However, compared to Ben Bridge Seattle Rolex boutique, it was small in comparison and the experience was not the same. Also, with the Rolex focus on consolidation and preference for big corporate ownership instead of small family ADs, feel Alvin was in a losing battle with the Ben Bridge Bellevue location.

[Mtek]

I’ve never done business with A Goldfarb, but I don’t like the idea of BB having the monopoly on ADs in western Wa.

[brandrea]

Dang … this almost feels like a weekly occurrence.

[ZOOK]

Originally Posted by Mtek

I’ve never done business with A Goldfarb, but I don’t like the idea of BB having the monopoly on ADs in western Wa.

FYI. The four BBs in the Seattle area are the only Rolex ADs in Washington. The AD in Spokane lost Rolex several years ago.

[toolr]

Sorry to hear about Goldfarb losing Rolex. They're a great family owned Jeweler with a friendly staff. Steven Goldfarb is very personable and I've bought several watches and jewelry from them over the years.
I've also had mostly positive experiences at several of the Ben Bridge stores in the area. I feel the four current locations selling Rolex will eventually be trimmed to two, the Seattle location and the Bellevue location. They're both in high end areas.

[Duke Nukem]

Originally Posted by cleansocks

no, they had a very distinct and luxurious feeling section of the store dedicated to exclusively to Rolex and they are in a nice part of of Bellevue, WA:

Bellevue, Washington is a wealthy city with a high cost of living and a high median household income:
Median household income: In 2022, the median household income in Bellevue was $149,551.
Median property value: In 2022, the median property value in Bellevue was $1.14 million.
Cost of living: Bellevue has a high cost of living index compared to other Washington cities, including Seattle.

That's the problem. Rolex does not want a dedicated "section" of the store (shop within a shop). That design was compliant prior to the covid runup in watches but not anymore.

They want an entire store dedicated to the brand, AKA: standalone boutique.

[Mtek]

Originally Posted by ZOOK

FYI. The four BBs in the Seattle area are the only Rolex ADs in Washington. The AD in Spokane lost Rolex several years ago.

I wasn’t aware. I’m in Fed Way and use the BB in Southcenter.

[PNWBear]

This is unfortunate. Goldfarb was far more responsive than BB and provided a superior buying experience. After being on BB wait list for my DJ41 for close to a year (and after having prior spend history with BB), I stopped into Goldfarb and got the call from Goldfarb after only a month. I have still not received a call from BB on my DJ after more than a year. After I received my DJ, (my first Rolex) - the owner called me up a few weeks later to ask me what time it was! Hard not to think that Rolex made the wrong choice here.

[cblock406]

I've also been a customer with Steven for a few years, extremely nice guy. Really is a shame BB is now the only dealer now. Looks like they still carry Tudor.

[AlyRba]

I have heard the Rolex will be opening a standalone boutique operated directly by them in Bellevue. I am assuming Bucherer may be coming to Seattle then for this boutique as Rolex doesn’t own boutiques outright in the US. They are usually through Bucherer or some other big corporate.

Apparently Ben Bridge Bellevue may not be carrying Rolex for much longer. The Lynnwood location is also in danger of losing their Rolex franchise. This will leave us with Rolex operated Boutique in Bellevue, Ben Bridge operated boutique in Seattle, and Ben Bridge Rolex section in Tukwilla. Long term, it may only be Bellevue (Rolex) and Seattle (Ben Bridge) as two Rolex ADs in WA. This is the logical long term play as far as Rolex is concerned based on how they are doing things.

[EdwardC]

Originally Posted by AlyRba

I have heard the Rolex will be opening a standalone boutique operated directly by them in Bellevue. I am assuming Bucherer may be coming to Seattle then for this boutique as Rolex doesn’t own boutiques outright in the US. They are usually through Bucherer or some other big corporate.

Apparently Ben Bridge Bellevue may not be carrying Rolex for much longer. The Lynnwood location is also in danger of losing their Rolex franchise. This will leave us with Rolex operated Boutique in Bellevue, Ben Bridge operated boutique in Seattle, and Ben Bridge Rolex section in Tukwilla. Long term, it may only be Bellevue (Rolex) and Seattle (Ben Bridge) as two Rolex ADs in WA. This is the logical long term play as far as Rolex is concerned based on how they are doing things.

Interesting, curious where you heard the Bucherer news?

[Mtek]

I can’t see how a stand-alone would make sense business wise as no product to sell when times are good, and no drop products (Tudor) when times are difficult. Is a stand-alone mainly for marketing?

[AlyRba]

Originally Posted by Mtek

I can’t see how a stand-alone would make sense business wise as no product to sell when times are good, and no drop products (Tudor) when times are difficult. Is a stand-alone mainly for marketing?

Well, they are at least doing it in Bellevue. Also, when you close 3 locations (Alvin Goldfarb, Ben Bridge Bellevue, and Ben Bridge Lynnwood), you can have the supply for those 3 locations all to yourself to sell from one single Bellevue location. Plus, you keep 100% of the margin.

Well, it’s all based on rumors. Let’s see what happens. But it seems like Ben Bridge Bellevue is on the chopping block for sure after Alvin Goldfarb, may happen this year, maybe next.

[hutch300]

Ben Bridge in Bellevue is depressing. Its Rolex section is a hop over a counter from $500 mall watches. If that rumor is true we would expect to see them disappear and I'd love that. The Seattle store is at least nice. Goldfarb had a family feel because it is a family store. Many of the employees are 20+ years. We have to accept the decision but I don't agree with it. They represented the brand well.

[ChuckB]

This is unfortunate news as Mark and Steven at Alvin Goldfarb were my go-to’s the past seven years, along with several Rolex and Panerai purchases from them during that time - Not to mention a few jewelry purchases from there for the wife. I’ll continue to maintain relationships with them while I entertain other watch brands, as the staff and store experience really feels like a family environment.

[ggelison]

This is disappointing since I've been waiting 18 months with them for a GMT. I spent a bunch of money with my SA as well. Total kick in the cards.