My AP Las Vegas “Journey” - A Cautionary Tale

[codecow]

Originally Posted by APJourneyFail

She actually suggested a ladies piece or a gold men’s piece as a first buy. I politely declined. “Fool me once ……”

I was gonna say, probably offered a round one.

[Pfang56]

Originally Posted by APJourneyFail

She actually suggested a ladies piece or a gold men’s piece as a first buy. I politely declined. “Fool me once ……”

RM even higher for entry, if you are completely new. You either get bejeweled ladies pieces, the RM65, or the RM74, all which have a much higher entry point than all highly complicated AP's (300k++). Also better to go grey here as well. Beautiful watches though!


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[thetahoess]

Originally Posted by APJourneyFail

My AP Las Vegas “Journey” - A Cautionary Tale

I have been collecting watches since 1987. I became interested in getting a nice AP so I reached out to some members on the forum here back in 2017/2018. I started communicating with a sales agent in Las Vegas on a referral from a fellow TRF patron. I expressed my long term goal of getting an openwork or ceramic piece. Of course I knew this was a process, or a “journey” as AP likes to call it.

The sales agent (SA) and I communicated back and forth for quite a while until ultimately I was offered a piece in April of 2021. At that time I was interested in a 38mm ROC 26315st with silver dial and blue subdials. I flew out to try one on that had come in for a client and was already sold. I liked it and agreed to proceed by placing a deposit for the next one. Not long after this visit a 26315st was offered to me , but it was the grey dial version. My sales agent
advised me not to be “picky” about dial color and that this would get my foot in the door with AP. I flew out and purchased that watch in April 2021.

Things moved rather quickly after that and I was always reminded by my SA that I “can’t be picky”, not to ask for certain pieces and to “trust” her (my sales agent). Whenever I would bring up a piece I would like to obtain, she would say things like “my Raider client learned the first time I had a 1-hour face to face.. (he) put his trust in me ...never questions me...doesn’t
tell me ‘I want this, I want that”. She told me that she had great success in the past for her clients and to trust her. So I eventually did place my trust in her hands.

Over the course of just under 2 years, my wife and I purchased 8 more AP timepieces:

1)April 2021- 38mm ROC 26315st purchased (grey dial) - (asked for silver/blue subdials)

2) Jul 2021- Code 11:59 ladies purchase - told by SA we needed ladies piece/ diversity in collection.

3) Dec 2021- Code 11:59 RG/ Ceramic Chrono purchased - asked for WG/ ceramic version (cool piece imo).

4) Mar 2022- Ladies gold ROO purchased - didn’t ask for - told us buying a ladies piece from each AP collection category is helpful to achieve my AP grail.

About this time we again discussed the grail - I gave her a list of dream watches (Royal oak PC, ceramic anything , gold jumbo) and we agreed that in April of 2023 we would try to get it as that would coincide with my 25th wedding anniversary.

5) Mar 2022 AP Diver purchased (grey dial) - (asked for blue dial)

6) Jun 2022- Code PC purchased (103k) - this was a call we received out of the blue. Hooray she said, we had been “approved” for this wonderful timepiece. My SA told us we had been approved by not only the boutique manager , but the North America CEO and Francois Bennahmias! This was a shock to us as we had already purchased 2 Codes and never asked for a 3rd one. She explained this was a HUGE step in the process as being approved by these people would make it easier to be approved when we asked for my grail. Also we needed to fly in and pick up the watch asap. After some debate with the wife we flew in and purchased it.

Again confirming with the SA that we would ask for my grail for 1st quarter or by April 2023.

7) Jul 2022 - 41mm RO 15500 purchased - I liked this piece. Yay- maybe we are getting somewhere?

8) Oct 2022 - 37mm RO purchased for wife.

9) Oct 2022- 37mm Music Ti purchased - I did ask for a men’s (43mm) ceramic or titanium music piece. This was the ladies size and she was offering it to me and advising me to buy it.

She told me how important it was to purchase a watch each quarter and we could try for my grail next. The 37mm arrived (they were ok shipping this one despite making us travel for the others). It comes with smaller colored straps in a mosaic style I consider feminine - needless to say I was disappointed. My wife didn’t care for it either. We later sold this piece after one year in Dec ’23 (only watch we sold).

Jan 31, 2023 - My sales associate texts me that “tomorrow is my last day at AP”. She was moving just across from the AP boutique to the RM boutique in the same mall.

Feb1 2023- Feb 2024 - ZERO watches offered to me after my sales agent left

So in summary, we purchased 3 Code 11:59’s , 3 ROO , a ROC and 2 Royal Oaks with a spend of approx $400,000. This isn’t counting last minute travel as well or things like straps or cufflinks she added to a Royal Oak purchase. At least 4 of the 9 pieces we purchased were lady pieces.

We flew out in February 2023 and my wife met with our new Sales Agent. She discussed our purchases and our goal to get the grail for me for our wedding anniversary. The SA seemed disinterested and told her we already had a lot of nice pieces and what we were asking for was hard. Overall, it was not a good meeting. We reached out to the boutique manager - he was of little help also. He was relatively new to AP but had been there for 6 of the 9 purchases. His
knowledge of horology wasn’t vast. He once told me a timepiece was stainless steel when I commented on the lightness of a Titanium ROO I was viewing. I believe he was in clothing sales prior.

My understanding is that when a sought after timepiece arrives, each sales agent vouches for their client and the manager decides who gets the allocation. With these two working for us, I was naturally hesitant but decided to trust them to follow through on our prior SA’s recommendation for our next piece (she told me she left our choices with the manager).

We waited patiently throughout the year hoping that the number of pieces purchased , the diversity of the collection as well as our overall spend would allow for a nice allocation. Well, 2023 came and went.
We were offered ZERO pieces in 2023 after buying nearly every quarter for 2 years!
After getting nowhere with the boutique manager I decided to email the North
America CEO. She didn’t reply to several emails nor did she return a phone call from my wife. Only after sending an email to her and the new AP CEO in Jan 2024 did she finally reply. I figured we would have one last chance at making things right.
The North America CEO cc’d the Las Vegas boutique manager and the “Client Care Manager” in Florida to address the matter. I felt like maybe we were getting some resolution. They scheduled a time for a conference call. It was myself, the Vegas manager and AP client care manager. Ultimately after explaining my case to them they called a week later and offered me a
choice between 2 pieces: a 15510OR (gold royal oak, black dial on strap) or a 26240st (a 41mm royal oak Chrono green dial). I was shocked. I told them I would decide and let them know. These are mid-tier at best in my opinion and not anything I was expecting. Also, I have a steel ROC and RO already.

I later emailed them that I would decline both of the pieces because neither one was very appealing to me and I was through buying pieces that I didn’t ask for. The client care manager again asked to set up a call. This time, she was very rude on the phone with continual interruptions and speaking over me. She told me my “journey” didn’t qualify for the pieces I wanted (any jumbo
-ss or gold, any ceramic even the chrono). I explained that I follow watch forums and IG, etc and I personally know people who have gotten these pieces with less spend. She didn’t care. They offered no other pieces besides the 2 initial offerings. I again declined. The hubris in this company is unreal.

I know some of you will say I’m an idiot for buying pieces I didn’t really want. My SA assured me she had been very successful for her clients over the years and I trusted her. Hindsight is 20/20 and I won’t ever do this again. My hope is that I have provided some direct insight to prevent this from happening to more clients in the future. At the very least, I would encourage anyone pursuing AP to try shopping at any boutique other than AP Las Vegas @ Crystals.

I realize the past few years the watch demand has been crazy and AP was able to cater to celebrities, athletes and Instagram “influencers”. Hopefully, they will realize that the common client may be the valued customer of the future once this crazy market returns to normal. If you made it this far, thanks for reading. I wish you all success on your future watch endeavors!

And what’s worse, is if/when you want to sell, you will be black listed. Similar situation happened to me.

B

[codecow]

Yeah, dealing directly with AP through a boutique is supposed to prevent these kinds of issues, especially with transferring purchase history between SA and even stores.

The reality seems to be highly dependent on the individual.

I found my last experience to be somewhat refreshing, which was to basically be laughed out of the store when I asked for what I wanted.

The OP did “everything right” in terms of what the brand was asking and got screwed.

[John Doyle]

Shame but lessons learned only buy what you like

[StellarisCollection]

All that time and money spent just to be treated like this is just sad.

[Notimetodie]

The journey nonsense will hopefully end soon. At which point making tons of watches no one wants as well. It’s a very bizarre concept to begin with.

[value.target]

Sorry you had to experience this!

[classicalthunder]

Just read this whole thing, what a shitty outcome.

It reminds me of a scene/story arc from The Wire, where one cop is going to catch the political fall out of a case and someone warns him that someone will come to him and ask him where he doesn't want to go when being transferred so they can look out for him in the meeting and that that person is not to be trusted...his mentor does that later in the season and that's exactly where he gets put. It was all a set up to send him someplace he would hate as punishment.

At this point, if I had enough disposable income, I'd play the same game and make sure not to tell them exactly what I really wanted the most, as that just pushes that allocation away as the ultimate (and quite likely relationship ending) purchase

[sj24k]

Quite the tale. But nonetheless predictable.

Helluva salesperson though. I’d hire her in a heartbeat.


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[Akacoke]

Originally Posted by sj24k

Quite the tale. But nonetheless predictable.

Helluva salesperson though. I’d hire her in a heartbeat.


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For flight by night type business in for quick hype dollars you might need these types of sales. But consumers always catch up to it.

[Goupax]

Originally Posted by sj24k

Quite the tale. But nonetheless predictable.

Helluva salesperson though. I’d hire her in a heartbeat.


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The logical step to RM to get even bigger commissions on much more expensive pieces. All about the least amount of effort to milk the most money possible.

[honuswagner13]

Unbelievable!! I feel bad for the OP.

I was there at that boutique back in 2018, way before the COVID hype.

I was looking at a few watches on display, but not 1 salesperson even bothered to talk or offer any help. I was the only one in the boutique at that time. A few minutes later some Russian looking gentleman walked in and they all fell over him. They knew him by his first name and everything. Left a bad taste in my mouth.

[Notimetodie]

I don’t think she is a helluva salesperson at all. Any idiot would have sold those watches at that time. Unethical behavioral and not delivering on promises. Things catch up with people / businesses like that eventually.

AP is becoming trash wrt sales practice and their colabs with garbage like Marvel and trash like that rapper who’s name I can’t recall.

[RRJ]

I'd really like a Jumbo. I went to the boutique a year or so ago and was told that it wouldn't be possible without building a "relationship" first. Since I only build relationships with people I like and not corporations or sales staff I politely declined and went home.

Instead of beding over and literally handing out 100s of thousands on stuff I neither like nor need, I'll just wait for the hype to blow over. Give it 4-5 years and you can just buy the watches you like from AP. Probably with a discount.

I really, genuinely want to feel bad for the OP but this is outright embarassing. Or maybe I'm just to poor to piss away 400k towards people that so obviously don't give a crap about me.

[dauster]

Originally Posted by RRJ

I'd really like a Jumbo. I went to the boutique a year or so ago and was told that it wouldn't be possible without building a "relationship" first. Since I only build relationships with people I like and not corporations or sales staff I politely declined and went home.

Instead of beding over and literally handing out 100s of thousands on stuff I neither like nor need, I'll just wait for the hype to blow over. Give it 4-5 years and you can just buy the watches you like from AP. Probably with a discount.

that's exactly my plan - only AP I want right now is a 16202 - it's really coming down - I'd be willing to spend somewhere in the low 40s over the next couple years going grey.

[Mr.GL]

I do feel for OP. It's really unfortunate that he has met a very bad SA. Every organisation has its black sheep.

Personally, I haven't gotten what my dream watches, but my personal experience with previous and current SAs has been really good, and my journey with AP has been great so far. However, I do regret that I should have gotten into the resale market much earlier to attain my dream timepieces.

Life is such....

Thanks for sharing your story here, and I do sincerely hope this brand will do you well soon.



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[taitun4life]

Originally Posted by APJourneyFail

My AP Las Vegas “Journey” - A Cautionary Tale

I have been collecting watches since 1987. I became interested in getting a nice AP so I reached out to some members on the forum here back in 2017/2018. I started communicating with a sales agent in Las Vegas on a referral from a fellow TRF patron. I expressed my long term goal of getting an openwork or ceramic piece. Of course I knew this was a process, or a “journey” as AP likes to call it.

The sales agent (SA) and I communicated back and forth for quite a while until ultimately I was offered a piece in April of 2021. At that time I was interested in a 38mm ROC 26315st with silver dial and blue subdials. I flew out to try one on that had come in for a client and was already sold. I liked it and agreed to proceed by placing a deposit for the next one. Not long after this visit a 26315st was offered to me , but it was the grey dial version. My sales agent
advised me not to be “picky” about dial color and that this would get my foot in the door with AP. I flew out and purchased that watch in April 2021.

Things moved rather quickly after that and I was always reminded by my SA that I “can’t be picky”, not to ask for certain pieces and to “trust” her (my sales agent). Whenever I would bring up a piece I would like to obtain, she would say things like “my Raider client learned the first time I had a 1-hour face to face.. (he) put his trust in me ...never questions me...doesn’t
tell me ‘I want this, I want that”. She told me that she had great success in the past for her clients and to trust her. So I eventually did place my trust in her hands.

Over the course of just under 2 years, my wife and I purchased 8 more AP timepieces:

1)April 2021- 38mm ROC 26315st purchased (grey dial) - (asked for silver/blue subdials)

2) Jul 2021- Code 11:59 ladies purchase - told by SA we needed ladies piece/ diversity in collection.

3) Dec 2021- Code 11:59 RG/ Ceramic Chrono purchased - asked for WG/ ceramic version (cool piece imo).

4) Mar 2022- Ladies gold ROO purchased - didn’t ask for - told us buying a ladies piece from each AP collection category is helpful to achieve my AP grail.

About this time we again discussed the grail - I gave her a list of dream watches (Royal oak PC, ceramic anything , gold jumbo) and we agreed that in April of 2023 we would try to get it as that would coincide with my 25th wedding anniversary.

5) Mar 2022 AP Diver purchased (grey dial) - (asked for blue dial)

6) Jun 2022- Code PC purchased (103k) - this was a call we received out of the blue. Hooray she said, we had been “approved” for this wonderful timepiece. My SA told us we had been approved by not only the boutique manager , but the North America CEO and Francois Bennahmias! This was a shock to us as we had already purchased 2 Codes and never asked for a 3rd one. She explained this was a HUGE step in the process as being approved by these people would make it easier to be approved when we asked for my grail. Also we needed to fly in and pick up the watch asap. After some debate with the wife we flew in and purchased it.

Again confirming with the SA that we would ask for my grail for 1st quarter or by April 2023.

7) Jul 2022 - 41mm RO 15500 purchased - I liked this piece. Yay- maybe we are getting somewhere?

8) Oct 2022 - 37mm RO purchased for wife.

9) Oct 2022- 37mm Music Ti purchased - I did ask for a men’s (43mm) ceramic or titanium music piece. This was the ladies size and she was offering it to me and advising me to buy it.

She told me how important it was to purchase a watch each quarter and we could try for my grail next. The 37mm arrived (they were ok shipping this one despite making us travel for the others). It comes with smaller colored straps in a mosaic style I consider feminine - needless to say I was disappointed. My wife didn’t care for it either. We later sold this piece after one year in Dec ’23 (only watch we sold).

Jan 31, 2023 - My sales associate texts me that “tomorrow is my last day at AP”. She was moving just across from the AP boutique to the RM boutique in the same mall.

Feb1 2023- Feb 2024 - ZERO watches offered to me after my sales agent left

So in summary, we purchased 3 Code 11:59’s , 3 ROO , a ROC and 2 Royal Oaks with a spend of approx $400,000. This isn’t counting last minute travel as well or things like straps or cufflinks she added to a Royal Oak purchase. At least 4 of the 9 pieces we purchased were lady pieces.

We flew out in February 2023 and my wife met with our new Sales Agent. She discussed our purchases and our goal to get the grail for me for our wedding anniversary. The SA seemed disinterested and told her we already had a lot of nice pieces and what we were asking for was hard. Overall, it was not a good meeting. We reached out to the boutique manager - he was of little help also. He was relatively new to AP but had been there for 6 of the 9 purchases. His
knowledge of horology wasn’t vast. He once told me a timepiece was stainless steel when I commented on the lightness of a Titanium ROO I was viewing. I believe he was in clothing sales prior.

My understanding is that when a sought after timepiece arrives, each sales agent vouches for their client and the manager decides who gets the allocation. With these two working for us, I was naturally hesitant but decided to trust them to follow through on our prior SA’s recommendation for our next piece (she told me she left our choices with the manager).

We waited patiently throughout the year hoping that the number of pieces purchased , the diversity of the collection as well as our overall spend would allow for a nice allocation. Well, 2023 came and went.
We were offered ZERO pieces in 2023 after buying nearly every quarter for 2 years!
After getting nowhere with the boutique manager I decided to email the North
America CEO. She didn’t reply to several emails nor did she return a phone call from my wife. Only after sending an email to her and the new AP CEO in Jan 2024 did she finally reply. I figured we would have one last chance at making things right.
The North America CEO cc’d the Las Vegas boutique manager and the “Client Care Manager” in Florida to address the matter. I felt like maybe we were getting some resolution. They scheduled a time for a conference call. It was myself, the Vegas manager and AP client care manager. Ultimately after explaining my case to them they called a week later and offered me a
choice between 2 pieces: a 15510OR (gold royal oak, black dial on strap) or a 26240st (a 41mm royal oak Chrono green dial). I was shocked. I told them I would decide and let them know. These are mid-tier at best in my opinion and not anything I was expecting. Also, I have a steel ROC and RO already.

I later emailed them that I would decline both of the pieces because neither one was very appealing to me and I was through buying pieces that I didn’t ask for. The client care manager again asked to set up a call. This time, she was very rude on the phone with continual interruptions and speaking over me. She told me my “journey” didn’t qualify for the pieces I wanted (any jumbo
-ss or gold, any ceramic even the chrono). I explained that I follow watch forums and IG, etc and I personally know people who have gotten these pieces with less spend. She didn’t care. They offered no other pieces besides the 2 initial offerings. I again declined. The hubris in this company is unreal.

I know some of you will say I’m an idiot for buying pieces I didn’t really want. My SA assured me she had been very successful for her clients over the years and I trusted her. Hindsight is 20/20 and I won’t ever do this again. My hope is that I have provided some direct insight to prevent this from happening to more clients in the future. At the very least, I would encourage anyone pursuing AP to try shopping at any boutique other than AP Las Vegas @ Crystals.

I realize the past few years the watch demand has been crazy and AP was able to cater to celebrities, athletes and Instagram “influencers”. Hopefully, they will realize that the common client may be the valued customer of the future once this crazy market returns to normal. If you made it this far, thanks for reading. I wish you all success on your future watch endeavors!

Definitely a cautionary tale. Thanks for sharing 🙏🏽

[WatchingAustin]

I think AP has let their celebrity status go to their head. Also - it sounds like AP recognized you were wealthy and decided to see how far along they could drag you. I'm sorry that this has happened and I hope you can find a brand to make it right! With your spend you should be capable of getting in good with anyone you want.

[TheHolyLuck]

It is a really sad story. If you would have said that earlyer here, plenty of members would have told you to back off from this Dealer.
Yes you need to contact the organisation at a higher echelon to explain the situation.
Most of the AP journey’s from other members here have been really enjoyable.

[edo]

If sales ladie moved to RM waiting for a thread where guy spent 4 million $ on ladies and round case RMs and still waiting for his 67-02...

[VogelPhoenix]

Originally Posted by edo

If sales ladie moved to RM waiting for a thread where guy spent 4 million $ on ladies and round case RMs and still waiting for his 67-02...

"RMJourneyFail" is still up for grabs.

[messikens]

Originally Posted by VogelPhoenix

"RMJourneyFail" is still up for grabs.

The more I reread the entire thread the more I am in Vogel's camp....

Was he strung along a bit? Sure. Did his SA maybe try hard and didn't get there? Perhaps? Should he have put a stop throwing good money after bad (esp after $150k)? Definitely!

That said, he did get A TON of pieces at the literal height of the market craze (21/22).

ALL AP watches at that time were trading at a premium, including codes - let's not pretend anyone could walk into a boutique and leave with a code. The 15500 and the music edition were trading 2x or 3x above retail!!

So does it suck for OP especially in hindsight? Yes, but in the moment you cannot fault AP for giving him 7-9 watches where they could have allocated it to anyone and sold it immediately

[gretch6364]

Originally Posted by messikens

The more I reread the entire thread the more I am in Vogel's camp....

Was he strung along a bit? Sure. Did his SA maybe try hard and didn't get there? Perhaps? Should he have put a stop throwing good money after bad (esp after $150k)? Definitely!

That said, he did get A TON of pieces at the literal height of the market craze (21/22).

ALL AP watches at that time were trading at a premium, including codes - let's not pretend anyone could walk into a boutique and leave with a code. The 15500 and the music edition were trading 2x or 3x above retail!!

So does it suck for OP especially in hindsight? Yes, but in the moment you cannot fault AP for giving him 7-9 watches where they could have allocated it to anyone and sold it immediately

I completely agree. He was allocated some wonderful pieces. I get the vibe he is mad at himself for timing the market wrong and not selling everything at its height and buying a Jumbo grey. My SA has told me from the beginning not to buy anything I don’t want. I have turned down a couple pieces. One later that same day turned into my wife’s 50th blue dial 37 RO after I turned down a ROO because I wanted one with a ceramic bezel.

[dauster]

Originally Posted by gretch6364

I completely agree. He was allocated some wonderful pieces. I get the vibe he is mad at himself for timing the market wrong and not selling everything at its height and buying a Jumbo grey. My SA has told me from the beginning not to buy anything I don’t want. I have turned down a couple pieces. One later that same day turned into my wife’s 50th blue dial 37 RO after I turned down a ROO because I wanted one with a ceramic bezel.

lol this is what you got from OPs post ?!?!? What are you smoking ?????


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[goog53]

Originally Posted by messikens

The more I reread the entire thread the more I am in Vogel's camp....

ALL AP watches at that time were trading at a premium, including codes - let's not pretend anyone could walk into a boutique and leave with a code. The 15500 and the music edition were trading 2x or 3x above retail!!

So does it suck for OP especially in hindsight? Yes, but in the moment you cannot fault AP for giving him 7-9 watches where they could have allocated it to anyone and sold it immediately

Of course you are in Vogel’s camp… 2 AP Clients who fortunately for you guys dont own any junk Vogel is comparing Code Starwheel and Black Onyx Code Tourb to the trash they sold the OP making it seem like the overall code line to be some amazing collection. (I will say the Code PC is very nice but at $106K and tax not for 90-95% of AP owners). Congrats on owning 2 Royal Oaks in Steel 41mm and 34mm, a very attractive Ceramic ROO, and a 38mm RG ROC. By my account, 3 very nice men’s watches and you threw the boutique a bone and bought a lady 34mm RO which is still a nice watch but we can all agree the 34mm lady pieces dont fly off the shelf. You also admitted on your own thread that you dont want to go the Code Route but would like a CE ROC for your next watch. I’m certainly pulling for you but let’s not exaggerate here…None of his Code’s bought ever sold over retail. All were losers one would take major hits on if you sold today and you wouldnt make 5¢ if you sold at the height of the market so let’s not make it like the boutique did him some favor in offering these. If we are being objective the only sought after pieces he received were the 7th and 8th watches by his timeline a 41mm and 37mm RO. People are flaming the guy for selling a 37mm Music Edition once again that is not a watch that sells over list and many people seem to forget he mentioned just turning down a 41mm Green Dial ROC that he could have easily taken and sold for a profit. AP was in the wrong and should've made this right IMO.

[Pfang56]

Originally Posted by messikens

The more I reread the entire thread the more I am in Vogel's camp....

Was he strung along a bit? Sure. Did his SA maybe try hard and didn't get there? Perhaps? Should he have put a stop throwing good money after bad (esp after $150k)? Definitely!

That said, he did get A TON of pieces at the literal height of the market craze (21/22).

ALL AP watches at that time were trading at a premium, including codes - let's not pretend anyone could walk into a boutique and leave with a code. The 15500 and the music edition were trading 2x or 3x above retail!!

So does it suck for OP especially in hindsight? Yes, but in the moment you cannot fault AP for giving him 7-9 watches where they could have allocated it to anyone and sold it immediately

Good points. Felt the same way with Rolex and Patek during the same period - and whether it's precious metal Rolex (Meteorite GMTs) or practically any Patek released in the last few years (6119, 6007, 5236, 5990) - getting access to these pieces felt *special* because they were not immediately available and in some cases (if it matters to you, the value out the door was higher). And, promises were made - in my case, I was "approved" to get a 5231G, but somebody else grabbed my allocation, and I pulled back on future Patek purchases because of the experience. It happens to everybody, and in the end, my learning is only buy what you love and what you will wear every day.

There's definitely a lot of CODE hate here, but as an owner of a WG Burgundy three-hander and a Perpetual in RG (and now a Starwheel), I couldn't care less because I really smile when wearing my OG CODEs. My wife has 5 RO's in 33/34 - and she loves every one of them (and puts aside her Cartiers and PP's). Maybe my FA is pissed with my asset allocation, but you can't value emotion properly. This entire world of "value" was never a concern for those collecting longer than 5 years ago - as my first AP purchase was nearly 25 years ago (the OG Beast), and as an early collector of RM, you left the store knowingly losing money on jewelry :) It's a freaking upside that we have this secondary market situation.

So ultimately - all first world, new world concerns - I do think the SA was overpromising and overselling - and AP does need to do more to rebuild the OP's trust of the brand - but enjoy and love what you have, and maybe, with the right SA / AP House and patience, I'm certain there will be new options coming.

One near term suggestion - request a visit to Le Brassus and the factory tour. It makes a difference for a lot of people to get desirable pieces and would be a nice demonstration of appreciation by AP.


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[Palex]

Originally Posted by Pfang56

Good points. Felt the same way with Rolex and Patek during the same period - and whether it's precious metal Rolex (Meteorite GMTs) or practically any Patek released in the last few years (6119, 6007, 5236, 5990) - getting access to these pieces felt *special* because they were not immediately available and in some cases (if it matters to you, the value out the door was higher). And, promises were made - in my case, I was "approved" to get a 5231G, but somebody else grabbed my allocation, and I pulled back on future Patek purchases because of the experience. It happens to everybody, and in the end, my learning is only buy what you love and what you will wear every day.

There's definitely a lot of CODE hate here, but as an owner of a WG Burgundy three-hander and a Perpetual in RG (and now a Starwheel), I couldn't care less because I really smile when wearing my OG CODEs. My wife has 5 RO's in 33/34 - and she loves every one of them (and puts aside her Cartiers and PP's). Maybe my FA is pissed with my asset allocation, but you can't value emotion properly. This entire world of "value" was never a concern for those collecting longer than 5 years ago - as my first AP purchase was nearly 25 years ago (the OG Beast), and as an early collector of RM, you left the store knowingly losing money on jewelry :) It's a freaking upside that we have this secondary market situation.

So ultimately - all first world, new world concerns - I do think the SA was overpromising and overselling - and AP does need to do more to rebuild the OP's trust of the brand - but enjoy and love what you have, and maybe, with the right SA / AP House and patience, I'm certain there will be new options coming.

One near term suggestion - request a visit to Le Brassus and the factory tour. It makes a difference for a lot of people to get desirable pieces and would be a nice demonstration of appreciation by AP.


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Couldn't have said it better!

[Gandor]

corporate would have probably allocated him anything he asked for if he didn't sell a corporate approval piece prior

[Akacoke]

Some people only sees sun shine and rainbows. I can't agree with a lot of these comments