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Horationelson · 15 February 2016, 01:55 AM

It's very interesting reading this thread, as I am currently undecided whether to buy through Chronext. I would like to get my wife for her birthday a Rolex that retails at approx £5k.

I first made a visit the the Chronext store (having seen their website) a couple of weeks ago. I was in the area, but went slightly out of my way to go there. I told the person in the store exactly what watch I was looking for (dial, strap, bezel etc). He then went over to an iPad, spent a couple of minutes playing around and said: "go home, have a look on our internet site, you'll probably find it on there". Not the most effective way to sell a watch...

I was in the area again on Thursday afternoon, so went into the store. The salesman spent a bit more time on his iPad searching on the website. He couldn't immediately see the watch on there (although I found it on there 5 minutes after leaving the store), but assured me he would be able to locate the model and would contact me either that day or the next day. I still haven't heard anything.

There is definitely money behind these guys - they have taken out adverts all over the tube with £100 off (current code is Tube2016 I believe...) and a showroom on Piccadilly (albeit it the slightly deserted/derelict end) isn't exactly cheap.

If I order with Chronext, and use the voucher, I would make a saving of £620, about 11.8%, which isn't bad.

However, everything in this thread and my limited interaction with the Company to date is just telling me no.

I'm not saying that there's anything untoward/fraudulent about their business... it's just rather amateur. And when spending thousands of £/$ on a watch, even at a discount to RRP, nobody wants to deal with an amateur. The staff member on Thursday actually explained how their business works - he said that many authorised Rolex resellers have to place minimum orders from Rolex to keep their authorisation, and can't always shift their stock. So people like Chronext act as a middleman buying up the unsold stock. They said that there's nothing illegal about it, saying that it is called the "grey market". I guess an ambiguity here then is what stock they actually have/own and don't. So when they say they can get a watch within x weeks (rather than days), query whether it's something they even have in their inventory. As a start up, I can't see how they can have a huge inventory which they actually own or sits on their balance sheet. Any money from the VC investors is more likely to have gone on adverts, rent in Piccadilly, internet site building etc. Buying from someone who doesn't necessarily have the stock is something which spooks me a little bit - it just means that the watch has to pass through more people and potentially has a greater risk of getting lost etc.

If I do decide to take the gamble, I will let people know my experiences.

PS I don't have (m)any other posts to my name because I only joined this forum recently with my wife's birthday approaching, and decided to do a little bit of research etc. No affiliation with Chronext or any other watch dealers.

15 February 2016, 01:55 AM	#78
Horationelson "TRF" Member Join Date: Jan 2016 Location: London Posts: 260	It's very interesting reading this thread, as I am currently undecided whether to buy through Chronext. I would like to get my wife for her birthday a Rolex that retails at approx £5k. I first made a visit the the Chronext store (having seen their website) a couple of weeks ago. I was in the area, but went slightly out of my way to go there. I told the person in the store exactly what watch I was looking for (dial, strap, bezel etc). He then went over to an iPad, spent a couple of minutes playing around and said: "go home, have a look on our internet site, you'll probably find it on there". Not the most effective way to sell a watch... I was in the area again on Thursday afternoon, so went into the store. The salesman spent a bit more time on his iPad searching on the website. He couldn't immediately see the watch on there (although I found it on there 5 minutes after leaving the store), but assured me he would be able to locate the model and would contact me either that day or the next day. I still haven't heard anything. There is definitely money behind these guys - they have taken out adverts all over the tube with £100 off (current code is Tube2016 I believe...) and a showroom on Piccadilly (albeit it the slightly deserted/derelict end) isn't exactly cheap. If I order with Chronext, and use the voucher, I would make a saving of £620, about 11.8%, which isn't bad. However, everything in this thread and my limited interaction with the Company to date is just telling me no. I'm not saying that there's anything untoward/fraudulent about their business... it's just rather amateur. And when spending thousands of £/$ on a watch, even at a discount to RRP, nobody wants to deal with an amateur. The staff member on Thursday actually explained how their business works - he said that many authorised Rolex resellers have to place minimum orders from Rolex to keep their authorisation, and can't always shift their stock. So people like Chronext act as a middleman buying up the unsold stock. They said that there's nothing illegal about it, saying that it is called the "grey market". I guess an ambiguity here then is what stock they actually have/own and don't. So when they say they can get a watch within x weeks (rather than days), query whether it's something they even have in their inventory. As a start up, I can't see how they can have a huge inventory which they actually own or sits on their balance sheet. Any money from the VC investors is more likely to have gone on adverts, rent in Piccadilly, internet site building etc. Buying from someone who doesn't necessarily have the stock is something which spooks me a little bit - it just means that the watch has to pass through more people and potentially has a greater risk of getting lost etc. If I do decide to take the gamble, I will let people know my experiences. PS I don't have (m)any other posts to my name because I only joined this forum recently with my wife's birthday approaching, and decided to do a little bit of research etc. No affiliation with Chronext or any other watch dealers.