Getting an old LE pre-owned piece checked out

[cdnyc]

I'll looking at getting a hard to find, decade old LE RO. I'm told by an established, non-AD, seller of pre-owned watches that they have one that's in excellent condition -- but in this world, I need more reassurance than that. There’s a 10-day return policy on the watch. Is there a way to have the watch fully inspected by AP for authenticity and internal condition in a 10-day window? I’d imagine there’s no chance at getting it to-and-from Clearwater from NY in a 10-day window. Do you know if they do this at the AP boutique here in NY?

[Dickson Lim]

You could bring it in to a boutique. Or even better, ask for a longer return policy, clarifying that you need it to be authenticated by APSC.

[cdnyc]

Good point. I just found out that the seller recently serviced the watch in house, polishing the watch "as needed". Got to look into this, but an in-house polishing may be a deal-killer. Or at least it makes it more likely that the watch needs a real APSC servicing ($$).

[Tony-GB]

Originally Posted by cdnyc81

Good point. I just found out that the seller recently serviced the watch in house, polishing the watch "as needed". Got to look into this, but an in-house polishing may be a deal-killer. Or at least it makes it more likely that the watch needs a real APSC servicing ($$).

Be very careful. You should read Hal's account on when he took his watch in for service with AP. Very interesting reading.

Anything that's been polished is a big turn off. I know a guy that disagreed with AP's North American CEO Francois-Henry Bennahmias on polishing an Offshore bezel. Francois went and checked with his staff and discovered he was wrong and my friend was right!! So even the best placed people can be misinformed.

I'm not 100% sure but am under the impression only AP have the necessary tooling to polish.

[cdnyc]

Originally Posted by Tony-GB

I know a guy that disagreed with AP's North American CEO Francois-Henry Bennahmias on polishing an Offshore bezel. Francois went and checked with his staff and discovered he was wrong and my friend was right!! So even the best placed people can be misinformed.

Thanks for this input! To make sure I understand, what did the guy disagree with Benniahmias on? Whether the bezel HAD been polished or whether the bezel SHOULD be polished? And I assume it's only a big turn off if a non-AP entity does the polishing, right? APSC is ok though?

[TSW]

PM sent

[Tony-GB]

Originally Posted by cdnyc81

Thanks for this input! To make sure I understand, what did the guy disagree with Benniahmias on? Whether the bezel HAD been polished or whether the bezel SHOULD be polished? And I assume it's only a big turn off if a non-AP entity does the polishing, right? APSC is ok though?

Bennahmias stated the Offshore bezel could be refinished more than once. My guy stated once is the limit to maintain the bezel edges. Needless to say Bennahmias was very generous in his apology...!

[TSW]

Originally Posted by Tony-GB

Bennahmias stated the Offshore bezel could be refinished more than once. My guy stated once is the limit to maintain the bezel edges. Needless to say Bennahmias was very generous in his apology...!

That is not correct ,
AP will only polish it 3-5 times all depending the condition of it.
Otherwise they put a replacement as optional on the estimate.

[FremStar]

Originally Posted by Tony-GB

Bennahmias stated the Offshore bezel could be refinished more than once. My guy stated once is the limit to maintain the bezel edges. Needless to say Bennahmias was very generous in his apology...!

Are you 100% sure about Francois saying this and then recanting? We would not want to be mixing things up here.

Originally Posted by TSW

That is not correct ,
AP will only polish it 3-5 times all depending the condition of it.
Otherwise they put a replacement as optional on the estimate.

Exactly!

[Tony-GB]

Originally Posted by FremStar

Are you 100% sure about Francois saying this and then recanting? We would not want to be mixing things up here.



Exactly!

My guy is well connected and I have no reason to disbelieve him and I can't say what Francois gave as an apology (I gave my word I would not say) but it was very generous.

[Tony-GB]

Originally Posted by Tony-GB

Bennahmias stated the Offshore bezel could be refinished more than once. My guy stated once is the limit to maintain the bezel edges. Needless to say Bennahmias was very generous in his apology...!

Originally Posted by TSW

That is not correct ,
AP will only polish it 3-5 times all depending the condition of it.
Otherwise they put a replacement as optional on the estimate.

I also think people get confused with "polishing" and "refinishing". AP don't polish the Octagon bezel, unless it's platinum. As I have stated, they refinish it.