My visit to the Vintage Concept in Hong Kong

[o u t a t i m e]

I am in Hong Kong for a few days and made an appointment to see Thomas at the Vintage Concept. It's a shop I've always wanted to visit, as they usually have some lovely watches on their website: http://www.thevintageconcept.com/

I wanted to see some vintage Rolexes, and in particular an Explorer II 1655 and a red submariner.

The shop is tiny and when I got there it was quite crowded. Since I had made a time to meet Thomas and exchanged a few emails with him and built a good rapport, I was hoping to get some personal service from him. Instead he palmed me off quickly to one of the girls.

They had some lovely pieces and are certainly knowledgeable, but the experience wasn't that great. They didn't really make an effort to put me in the mood to buy anything. Slightly reminiscent of the kind of service you get in the Burlington Arcade!

To make matters worse, their prices are on the high side.

I took a few photos. The no-date sub was about £5700, the metres first £5500, and the red sub £9000. The Explorers were around the £10000 mark. None of them were in what I would describe as great condition. I don't know if I could have haggled any further, but if so, it wouldn't have been by much

Has anybody else had any experiences with them?

Anyway, it was a fun trip. They had some lovely Paul Newmans too and other rarities. If anything, it was fun window shopping, as of course, I didn't buy anything.

[rgee]

Was it the one in Central or Mongkok? I went to the one at the latter last year, after stumbling across it, and had a look at a 5513. They got it out and left me to it. Didn't buy anything but great for window shopping. There were a number of other vintage shops in the same arcade and it just amazes me they have all these lovely pieces just stacked up.

[GrandS]

I think the price is subject to negotiation. Don't take those price tags too literally...

[gusmac]

Thanks for that! Having just moved here to HK I will be searching out some of the better watch shops for second hand stuff. Must try them.

[Chye]

I have visited their store near Lan Kwai Fong a few times, and nearly bought a watch from them.
From my limited experience, I have to agree that their service is rather cold. Maybe they are confident their watches will sell themselves?
I feel their prices are high, but maybe because you are expected to bargain?
In any case, if you are into vintage, especially rolex, definitely worth a visit if you are in Hong Kong.


Chye

[o u t a t i m e]

It was the central shop.

Prices quoted are already after haggling. The marked prices were a lot higher. Even assuming I could haggle a little more, any further discount would have been very small.

[Exiztence]

The selection seem diverse, if nothing great for window shopping.

[MMC]

Thanks for that! Having just moved here to HK I will be searching out some of the better watch shops for second hand stuff. Must try them.

There are a couple of cracking good little shops just off Nathan Road (on Kimberly Road) near the Mira hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui. Tiny arcades, but stacked with stuff. Some decent prices too. Always worth doing your research - couple of the Speedies I saw had been re-dialled/new hands. Can always nip into the Mira for some world-class cake afterwards too.

[ddm27]

Thanks for that! Having just moved here to HK I will be searching out some of the better watch shops for second hand stuff. Must try them.

Michael Young usually has a few nice watches in stock, and his prices are absolutely brilliant.

[gusmac]

All good tips! Thanks! Once work settles down I look forward to exploring:)

[kaiserphoenix]

Im going to Hong Kong in January! is anyone going to be there?