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Old 26 January 2022, 04:34 PM   #1
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Patek Philippe Salon in Paris

Hi all,

Anyone familiar with the Patek Salon? Being the only sellers of PP in Paris (in the whole of France apparently), how are their stocks, relationship with people, overall experience, behavior for popular pieces, approach towards non-French people?

I am considering purchasing a piece from the Salon soon, and wanted to know if it was the right place to start a relationship with the brand for the long term (not necessarily for purchasing sports watches).

Thanks!
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Old 27 January 2022, 12:08 AM   #2
jon_jon
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There are some differences between the 3 Salons (Geneva, Paris and London). If you can speak French, I think the experience at the Paris and Geneva Salons will be fine. For non-French speakers, the London Salon is definitely a better experience.

If really depends on what watches you are interested in and what the Salons have in stock.

I have had mixed experience at the Paris Salon as a non-French speaker. Many years ago (5+ years), they were more friendly. Within the past few years, it has not been a good experience visiting the Paris Salon.
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Old 27 January 2022, 04:58 AM   #3
starship33
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They are operating by appointment only now. Please take that into consideration and book an appointment. You have the phone number or email address on the Patek website.
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Old 27 January 2022, 05:44 AM   #4
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Thank you����
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Old 27 January 2022, 02:32 PM   #5
santiago
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Paris

I do not speak French but had a great experience a few years ago and would go again. I visited the Salon one day, spent a few minutes talking to the staff and told them I would return the next which I did, and subsequently purchased two watches. This was pre-Covid so I cannot opine on today. My one bit of advice; dress well, not like a typical tourist! I have always felt that high end European boutiques will always treat you better, and more seriously if you look respectable. A rich man that dresses like a "hick" gets rightfully treated poorly. Have fun.
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Old 27 January 2022, 05:29 PM   #6
Pateklvr
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I live in the US and I have a very good experience at the Paris Salon.. I have got several pieces and two of them were application pieces (5207G & 6301P). I exclusively meet with appointment with Shafan Prouchandy..

I truly enjoy my visits at the Salon…
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Old 27 January 2022, 06:24 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by santiago View Post
I do not speak French but had a great experience a few years ago and would go again. I visited the Salon one day, spent a few minutes talking to the staff and told them I would return the next which I did, and subsequently purchased two watches. This was pre-Covid so I cannot opine on today. My one bit of advice; dress well, not like a typical tourist! I have always felt that high end European boutiques will always treat you better, and more seriously if you look respectable. A rich man that dresses like a "hick" gets rightfully treated poorly. Have fun.
Advice on clothes always makes me smile. In my experience you can show up in shorts and T shirt and get treated just as well at a Patek AD, an Hermes store, or a Prada boutique. Part of the beauty of high-end shopping is that most SAs don't jump to rash assumptions. If the SA judges you on your clothes he doesn't do his job. Just to add, being a tourist is more of an issue than how you dress as Patek ADs tend to prefer locals depending on what you are after.
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Old 27 January 2022, 06:31 PM   #8
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Originally Posted by Amateur View Post
Hi all,

Anyone familiar with the Patek Salon? Being the only sellers of PP in Paris (in the whole of France apparently), how are their stocks, relationship with people, overall experience, behavior for popular pieces, approach towards non-French people?

I am considering purchasing a piece from the Salon soon, and wanted to know if it was the right place to start a relationship with the brand for the long term (not necessarily for purchasing sports watches).

Thanks!
At the Salons the ratio between big fish in terms of customers and available watches may well be worse than at your typical AD. Unless you are planning to become a big fish yourself you may be better off at a local AD near you.

I can't speak for Paris but Geneva said they'd rather have me continue to shop at my AD as they were struggling to take care of their own local clientele plus the super-wealthy flying in from around the world. Still a great visit as I got to play with every piece I wanted and got a tour of the building.
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Old 27 January 2022, 07:05 PM   #9
Patekaholik
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Salons are mainly focused to serve the locals/citizens of their "own", so you would be better off giving a regular AD the try in terms of availability/relationship.
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Old 28 January 2022, 12:26 AM   #10
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Salon staff are employees of Patek and supposed to represent the company. Yet the sales staff are human and they make judgements based on a customer's appearance, how they speak and other cues. Also the Geneva and Paris Salons employees are native French speakers and their English is not as good when communicating with native English speakers. Besides the language barrier, there are cultural differences, so your interaction can depend on several factors. As with visiting any watch store, the particular salesperson you interact with can give you a good or bad impression of the visit.

I definitely think it is a nice Salon to visit. But some of the salespeople can come off a bit cold and stand-off'ish. That is where the cultural difference may play a role and it may be a French or Parisian phenomena.
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Old 28 January 2022, 05:14 AM   #11
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Originally Posted by Pateklvr View Post
I live in the US and I have a very good experience at the Paris Salon.. I have got several pieces and two of them were application pieces (5207G & 6301P). I exclusively meet with appointment with Shafan Prouchandy..

I truly enjoy my visits at the Salon…
Oh, you are dealing directly with the top people ;-)
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Old 28 January 2022, 05:07 PM   #12
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Oh, you are dealing directly with the top people ;-)
With great pleasure 😊
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