Lange Bundle Prepay

[Gotwire]

As has been noted by others the Zeitwerk Lumen requires the prior purchase of a “high complication” piece from boutique. The lowest priced piece is the 1815 Tourbillon in pink gold at $180900. To order that piece the boutique wants a full price deposit with at least a 12 month wait for the 1815 Tourbillon.

I’m not convinced it’s reasonable to full pay that amount and wait at least 12 months?

BTW the Lumen would take up to 3 years.

[edhahn44]

Seriously? This is ridiculous. Heard of crazy bundling stories but a fully paid Tourbillion and 3 years wait on top is close to unethical…I really hope Lange is not overstretching it.
Heard of very serious collectors who didn’t even watch their booth at W+W cause of all this practices…


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[enjoythemusic]

That's OK you're not convinced, totally cool.

[GB-man]

If you want to find a mismanaged brand look to richemont. They excel at this sort of thing. Maybe Cartier is the exception.

[raclaims]

Maybe they are trying to shield you from the big price increase by paying in full now?

[vitalsigns]

I don't want any watch bad enough to accept those terms. Sheesh.

[Gotwire]

Originally Posted by raclaims

Maybe they are trying to shield you from the big price increase by paying in full now?

Unfortunately it has nothing to do with price increase. This is the bundle criteria for Lumen.

[ChetBaker]

No chance in hell I’d risk nearly 200k in an AD bankruptcy scenario.

[Pw92676]

IMHO the lumen is not worth losing the time or time value of money here.

[ButtButt]

So a full deposit on a watch you don’t want that will take 1 year in order to get a watch you do want while waiting 3 years? That would be a big fat nope from me, I don’t want any watch that badly.

[mongrelnomoad]

That’s some bullshit right there.

[ap1]

So 4 years you’d have both or 3. Either way, nope

[rag5178]

Lange seems have a bizarre confidence in their ability to sell their watches. It was not too long ago that Lange models were routinely selling for 40% below retail on the grey market and ADs were offering 25-30%. And yet, they seem to be so emboldened by the state of the market that they find it appropriate to significantly raise prices and require outrageous bundles.

Charging almost twice the price for the Titanium Odysseus vs. the Stainless Steel model is another example. To me, that kind of 'cash grabbing' cheapens the brand and makes them seem somewhat desperate to exploit the current market.

There are already some signs of the watch market softening and if it continues to do so, I think Lange will regret many of the choices they have made over the past year and a half.

[mongrelnomoad]

Shreds goodwill and loses existing customers too.

[raclaims]

I’m sorry to hear that. I have to say I’ve had pretty stellar experiences with Lange

Yes I waited a long time for the SS Odysseus and I didn’t love that but I did get it and it’s awesome

I’ve had several other pieces where the wait was not long at all if not actually incredibly swift

I guess all situations are some what different and ADs and boutiques may provide differing experiences but man they’ve crushed it for me

[raclaims]

And also FWIW I was not required to bundle to get the lumen allocation

They vehemently denied any bundle requirement

AFTER I was already approved for the lumen I did order another piece but it was totally at my request not theirs

[dchang81]

Originally Posted by rag5178

Lange seems have a bizarre confidence in their ability to sell their watches. It was not too long ago that Lange models were routinely selling for 40% below retail on the grey market and ADs were offering 25-30%. And yet, they seem to be so emboldened by the state of the market that they find it appropriate to significantly raise prices and require outrageous bundles.

Charging almost twice the price for the Titanium Odysseus vs. the Stainless Steel model is another example. To me, that kind of 'cash grabbing' cheapens the brand and makes them seem somewhat desperate to exploit the current market.

There are already some signs of the watch market softening and if it continues to do so, I think Lange will regret many of the choices they have made over the past year and a half.

Can say that about many brands and dealers. No one seems to care as long as they're making money.

[JonaG]

They’re having a laugh

[Nachum]

Originally Posted by raclaims

And also FWIW I was not required to bundle to get the lumen allocation

They vehemently denied any bundle requirement

AFTER I was already approved for the lumen I did order another piece but it was totally at my request not theirs

Yeah, but you probably spent a veritable fortune with your AL&S boutique, so...

[Gotwire]

Originally Posted by raclaims

And also FWIW I was not required to bundle to get the lumen allocation

They vehemently denied any bundle requirement

AFTER I was already approved for the lumen I did order another piece but it was totally at my request not theirs

What was also odd is that it didn’t matter on a dollar amount for the bundle. Just had to be one of the “high complications“ on a short list that would secure the Lumen allocation. I offered to purchase both a Triple Split and Lange 1 QP but was told not qualified models for the Lumen.

No bundle allocation means you have one of the models on their list?

[raclaims]

I was honestly never shown a list or had any list mentioned

I’m unsure of what your other lange pieces are but if you have other quality pieces and they still demand a bundle tell them I wasn’t required so why are you !?

[Gotwire]

Originally Posted by raclaims

I was honestly never shown a list or had any list mentioned

I’m unsure of what your other lange pieces are but if you have other quality pieces and they still demand a bundle tell them I wasn’t required so why are you !?

Since 2019 from boutique have purchased Zeitwerk, Zeitwerk Date, Lange 1 platinum, Lange 1 TZ YG, SS Odysseus and WG Odysseus with order for Lange 1 QP.

[BrunoMalik]

What an awful strategy. When a brand offers bundling, they are admitting that some of their watches absolutely suck, and noone really wants them unless they offer a piece that does not suck with it.

Whoever is employing bundling at a brand level, is committing brand suicide. The market wont stay hot forever and this will not be looked upon fondly. Not to mention the flooding of the market by the said less desirable pieces.


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[enjoythemusic]

How many points is Richemont giving on the 'loan'? Going rate is 25% a month, and that's a friend rate.

[RoscoPico]

Sounds about as stupid, or actually not as stupid as some of the other stories I've heard from other brands. Like needing to spend 7 figures for a Patek.

[key]

Such a sad state of affairs.

[Spartan2009]

Originally Posted by Gotwire

As has been noted by others the Zeitwerk Lumen requires the prior purchase of a “high complication” piece from boutique. The lowest priced piece is the 1815 Tourbillon in pink gold at $180900. To order that piece the boutique wants a full price deposit with at least a 12 month wait for the 1815 Tourbillon.

I’m not convinced it’s reasonable to full pay that amount and wait at least 12 months?

BTW the Lumen would take up to 3 years.

Was this at a Lange Boutique or AD? Boutique would never ask you to spend money on watches you don’t want. I almost cost an AD their partnership with Richmont because they asked me to spend a certain amount of money before I could get the watches I want.

[Gotwire]

Originally Posted by Spartan2009

Was this at a Lange Boutique or AD? Boutique would never ask you to spend money on watches you don’t want. I almost cost an AD their partnership with Richmont because they asked me to spend a certain amount of money before I could get the watches I want.

Boutique. Never purchased Lange from an AD.

[rag5178]

Originally Posted by Spartan2009

Was this at a Lange Boutique or AD? Boutique would never ask you to spend money on watches you don’t want. I almost cost an AD their partnership with Richmont because they asked me to spend a certain amount of money before I could get the watches I want.

Lange boutiques, in my opinion are very open and obvious about purchase requirements for desirable models. I don’t think it’s a big secret that the spend requirement for a titanium odysseus is 4-500k.

[Spartan2009]

Originally Posted by Gotwire

Boutique. Never purchased Lange from an AD.

I am shocked. Some of these watch makers forget how bad the bad times were. I have had tremendous luck dealing with VC and Panerai. Sorry to hear about your experience. Long term relationship are not built this way.