visit to NYC diamond district...

[Potawatomi]

Originally Posted by FTX I

These diamond district posts on TRF get a lot of attention. This one is no different. Few posts but more than 2k views. I believe people are interested in knowing who's who there so I'd vote Element in Time (Alex and Nick) and Avi & Co (Roman Sionov). Great people. Cheers.

I have bought 2 APs from Avi & Co, I would buy more in an instant if I needed a piece and they had it. It was a nice experience and I got exactly what I expected from them.

[TempoKing]

Originally Posted by vesnyder

I've seen those and always assumed they were fake.

They are real with crazy prices ...negotiating skills a plus when interested to buy

[Frank McKay]

I was in town last week and took a stroll down 47th. You name it they have it. Just need the funds, hah. Here’s some photos I snapped.

D23B9F80-CDFC-4FE8-8490-EDE7DD6DF649.jpeg

[Frank McKay]

0FB24AAB-EBF4-4717-85C3-7D488EFAE930.jpeg

B2233223-0B88-4415-8409-1B94701A3F67.jpeg

3B6DAA9B-B771-44BA-81A7-B8892856206A.jpeg

AEE299E8-F739-4C1A-8E81-CB3602F5780C.jpeg

[Drpepper]

Originally Posted by Frank McKay

Attachment 1069637

Attachment 1069638

Attachment 1069639

Attachment 1069640

Man that pisses me off. I get it the AD makes money, the grey makes money but this pisses off the consumer(at least me) and it will never correct itself unless Rolex steps in. Screw this. And in conjunction of the other thread of needing to wine and dine the SA I am irritated

[pkincy]

The problem is that we, the buying public, are being taken as fools and we are guilty. Given these pictures and those from HKG, it is clear that their are plenty of SS Tool watches available. All we would have to do is get smart and refuse to pay over MSRP and the whole grey business would collapse. Instead, the fools among us, pay these inflated prices which support those prices and they continue. Clearly there is no shortage. The watches are plentiful and everywhere. Just insist on MSRP or don't buy.

[Galaga167]

I was there in June visiting from Sydney, Australia. It’s a zoo. The spruikers that listen in and take you to their sponsored stores is hilarious.

At the time I was looking for a Rolex Explorer mark 2 and there was not 1 in the whole district. Obviously because the markup isn’t worth their while.

I’d never go back again.

[maxymax]

Originally Posted by hambone1983

saw hundreds of Rolexes, anything hot they have. This case was no different than 30 or 40 others.

That pic reminds me of the Dollar Store!

[Gprotein]

Originally Posted by pkincy

The problem is that we, the buying public, are being taken as fools and we are guilty. Given these pictures and those from HKG, it is clear that their are plenty of SS Tool watches available. All we would have to do is get smart and refuse to pay over MSRP and the whole grey business would collapse. Instead, the fools among us, pay these inflated prices which support those prices and they continue. Clearly there is no shortage. The watches are plentiful and everywhere. Just insist on MSRP or don't buy.

Yep, well said. That’s why I wont buy from Grey unless it’s MSRP or less. Ppl should stop playing the impatient game of paying over MSRP if we want to see the SS sport models in the cases of AD again, cuz Rolex ain’t gonna do jack about this

[Dave_T26]

All completely legit on 47th Street, as stated, and the no-nonsense displays are just smart economics considering the cost of retail space. RSC NY is a few blocks away, so if you ever need to drop off or pick up your watch for servicing, it’s a good opportunity to check out 47th Street.

[Rolex.c6]

Walked through there when I was on holiday. Also had my doubts about the watches being real, mostly because they are displayed like that. But saw the security guys with armoured trucks picking up money there and that looked impressive!

[beshannon]

Originally Posted by brandrea

Is it just me or does it look strange to see all those watches displayed and bunched together randomly ...

Makes you realize that they are just objects.

When seen in this context the terms "shortage" or "rare" are nonsense.

As someone who worked in retail, the goal is to move product. Period.

[brandrea]

Originally Posted by beshannon

Makes you realize that they are just objects.

When seen in this context the terms "shortage" or "rare" are nonsense.

As someone who worked in retail, the goal is to move product. Period.

Agreed. Almost surreal seeing them on display this way.

Sent from my SM-G960W using Tapatalk

[beshannon]

Originally Posted by brandrea

Agreed. Almost surreal seeing them on display this way.

Sent from my SM-G960W using Tapatalk

Very much so and we have seen similar images from Japan and Hong Kong on this very forum. Millions of watches everywhere.

This really calls into question the "boutique" model where a customer is led to believe that there is something special going on.

Marketing at its finest

[Ballzzz]

Originally Posted by pkincy

The problem is that we, the buying public, are being taken as fools and we are guilty. Given these pictures and those from HKG, it is clear that their are plenty of SS Tool watches available. All we would have to do is get smart and refuse to pay over MSRP and the whole grey business would collapse. Instead, the fools among us, pay these inflated prices which support those prices and they continue. Clearly there is no shortage. The watches are plentiful and everywhere. Just insist on MSRP or don't buy.

I for one practice this sentiment, but until the vast majority does its helpless. Patience is a virtue I never needed anything NOW and hope that's always the case.

[Ssunnylee24]

Originally Posted by pkincy

The problem is that we, the buying public, are being taken as fools and we are guilty. Given these pictures and those from HKG, it is clear that their are plenty of SS Tool watches available. All we would have to do is get smart and refuse to pay over MSRP and the whole grey business would collapse. Instead, the fools among us, pay these inflated prices which support those prices and they continue. Clearly there is no shortage. The watches are plentiful and everywhere. Just insist on MSRP or don't buy.

True

[LndLord]

atleast they're not hiding it in the safe

[LndLord]

Originally Posted by beshannon

Makes you realize that they are just objects.

When seen in this context the terms "shortage" or "rare" are nonsense.

As someone who worked in retail, the goal is to move product. Period.

All of this is true. A lot of stuff is in people heads. Once you take a step back you realize it

[Fat_ninja]

Originally Posted by meyers

This is so true

Wife and I are on the tail end of an excellent holiday in NYC. Today we wandered into the diamond district and i've never seen so many luxury watches ever in my life. Hundreds (thousands?) of watches: Rolex, Patek, AP... you name it. One Rolex example that sticks out in my memory is seeing five BLNRs next to two BLROs in the same window display.

In western Canada, Rolex sightings are rare. You just don't see them too often. Maybe in Vancouver, but not so much in Calgary or Edmonton. So when you don't see them you start to get the sense that they're somewhat rare and maybe even special

And after what I experienced today, I had this personal revelation..

my Rolex is not special. AT ALL

Yeah there’s a lot of rolexes there as well as on lots of people walking around

[meyers]

Originally Posted by Fat_ninja

Yeah there’s a lot of rolexes there as well as on lots of people walking around

For sure

This morning on the subway I noticed three without trying: two DJs and a sub. It really feels like they are super common. With being from the prairies of western Canada, I'm not used to so many sightings!

[JParm]

Do they sell parts there (e.g. bezel inserts)? We're traveling to NYC in October and this has piqued my interest...though I'm fairly certain my wife will be less than amused.

[meyers]

Originally Posted by jpeezy14@hotmail.com

Do they sell parts there (e.g. bezel inserts)? We're traveling to NYC in October and this has piqued my interest...though I'm fairly certain my wife will be less than amused.

Hmm good question!

On the diamond district, I didn't inquire about parts/inserts (foolishly of me in retrospect, I could've looked into getting a jubilee for my 16710!). But if you ask around you might have luck

There's also the Rolex boutique about 6 blocks away from there, and they might sell you an insert? I'm sure others here could confirm if this is possible

[Robtayham]

Originally Posted by Drpepper

Man that pisses me off. I get it the AD makes money, the grey makes money but this pisses off the consumer(at least me) and it will never correct itself unless Rolex steps in. Screw this. And in conjunction of the other thread of needing to wine and dine the SA I am irritated

It will correct itself when the demand dries up. The resellers aren’t in the business to hold inventory. They don’t want to tie up their capital for a long time. They ultimately have to sell. It has nothing to do with Rolex.

It has everything to do with the consumer.

[Drpepper]

Originally Posted by Robtayham

It will correct itself when the demand dries up. The resellers aren’t in the business to hold inventory. They don’t want to tie up their capital for a long time. They ultimately have to sell. It has nothing to do with Rolex.

It has everything to do with the consumer.

Well yes it does have to do with Rolex in fact that they are well aware of the situation with the greys and empty displays at AD and customers on wait lists or being turned away. Rolex knows watches are being diverted from AD directly to the grey dealers. They can fix the situation overnight by telling their ADs that anyone caught selling to grey will have their franchise terminated.
This “shortage” is being prolonged by the lucrative secondary market which makes the AD bundle to extract more money from the customer for the privilege to buy a ss sport and by the diversion of ss sports to greys. Rolex tells AD they can’t sell to grays. Yes flippers will continue to buy and flip but as word gets out ss sports are avaible at AD the prices will fall and as you stated the greys will drop prices to get their capital back and won’t buy more ss sports at elevated prices thus negating the flipper market. So yes I do assign some blame to Rolex and it’s not just market forces... this is a manufactured shortage. Demand is partly driven by fomo and once fomo is gone things will settle more into normal..fomo accounts for a lot...Imho. Since AD can’t really
Raise prices above msrp it’s the greys sky high prices which creates a false sense of exclusivity and value. Greys have basically become another middle man between Rolex
And. The customer which I find unnecessary

[avilhena]

Took this shot in my last trip to NY in april.





Enviado do meu iPhone usando Tapatalk

[SubMarine]

The Diamond District isn’t for amateurs.