Far from helpful suggestion to start you off: Wempe, in London.
I continue to covet glashutte original watches. It appears to be rather difficult to view & purchase GO watches (my location is glasgow) where there are no stockists that I am aware of.
My question is, where is the best place to purchase new & pre owned GO watches?
Far from helpful suggestion to start you off: Wempe, in London.
I bought mine new (but grey import) from http://www.thewatchsource.co.uk and had no problems.
A little nearer to you than Wempe. Ogdens of Harrogate stock GO
Tim
All very helpful guys. Thanks.
With regards to "gray import" how does this affect the value? Are there issues with regards to warranty? Are there any downsides to gray imports? Perhaps selling on in the future or residual values.
I also assume by "gray import" it is simply a watch that is sourced or supplied outwith the EU.
Surprised there is no Scottish AD, there was a while where Ernest & Jones at silverburn bizarely stocked them!
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That's a big topic! In the UK a grey import usually refers to watches bought elsewhere in the EU (thus no VAT/duty to pay cross border, for now at least!). Warranty is often preserved, but not always (it depends on the manufacturer). Resale value will be lower typically if the warranty isn't valid (although it's often expired by the time you come to sell anyway), but that's usually offset by the cheaper price initially. For me personally it's a no-brainer to "go grey", as I don't relish the "AD experience" (same watch but a very very expensive cup of tea or bottle of mineral water served by a nice lady in a suit).
(I wish Paul Thorpe's YouTube videos were still around - he made several excellent videos covering this area.)
The nearest stockist is Harrods, which is around 5km closer than Wempe...
OP
Just to clarify I nearly bought one from them as they offered 12 month IFC. You DON'T get a GO warranty card, you only get a 2 year watch source guarantee. The guy I communicated was quite rude (haughty) as well -- words to the effect this is how we've been doing it for 10 + years, if "that piece of paper" is so important go somewhere else..
Try IconicWatches, I bought my senator moon phase from them. Good service and 20% cheaper (at least it was in 2014) and you get GO guarantee card. Ogden's and Wempes refused to budge on the price.
Last edited by 72bpm; 19th January 2017 at 20:01.
Very surprised that E&J stocked them. Wish I had known.
It looks like that provided the warranty card etc is provided and valid, a gray import makes good sense as it is likely supplied by an AD to a reseller then to the purchasing customer so in essence the watch is an AD supplied watch that is discounted. Thus there is no trace of it being a gray import as such.
Chrono24 seems to have some good deals as does watch source.
It looks like I am going to have to buy a watch without wearing or viewing due to no AD locally.
Perhaps Chronext could be an option....just email them and see what they say...
I have a similar situation - I'm in Edinburgh and much as the GO 70s chrono is on my shortlist for the next purchase, I think it's going to lose out purely as (with a small wrist) buying without trying it on is a no go.
I think I am going to take a leap of faith and purchase without viewing/wearing.
A bit risky but I am confident that the GO panomatic lunar and inverse xl are going to be perfect.
Have you looked at Watchfinder? If they have the model you are looking for you can get it shipped up, try it on and then send it back.
Even if you have no intention of buying from them in the end it is a cheaper way of trying one for size.
Go and see them! Cheap flight to Germany and an overnight and train/car hire. Change from £300 if you go at the right time with Easyjet and they are delightful. I met with them when I was involved in work on the customer side of the VW Phaeton project. They'd genuinely be happy you were considering a purchase.
I have a GO panomatic lunar XL (the ruthenium dialled version) and it's a beauty. I did have the benefit of trying one on before I bought though (albeit in Las Vegas). I didn't buy that one at the time, but fell in love with it and had to have one. Easy, thinks I, bound to pick one up second hand.
No chance. Took me over 12 months to find one for sale in Europe, when one did come up it was in France. However, undeterred I was on the plane at the first opportunity..
http://forum.tz-uk.com/showthread.php?263142
Go for it!
Cheers,
Plug
Jocke thinks it's a good idea, too.
http://forums.timezone.com/index.php...89#msg_7072709
And the factory will welcome you:
http://www.glashuette-original.com/m...ufactory-tour/
I'm a big fan, and having a browse on C24 there's a wonderful blue PanoMaticLunar for sale privately in the UK for £5k. Never seen a blue one before, even got the wifes seal of approval, until she found out the price.
http://www.chrono24.co.uk/glashuette...-id5581841.htm
This is my PanoReserve - I personally preferred it over the moonphase because it's a fair bit thinner (and I like manual wind pieces). It cost me just over 5k brand new, a relative bargain in my opinion (poor man's Lange 1? Yes!):
Decided that the panoinverse xl & panomatic lunar are the watches i am going for. Now its just a case of deciding where to buy from and hopefully securing the best deal.
I did spot the blue pano on chrono24. Lovely watch just not the biggest fan of the blue. Much prefer the white with black leather.
Are there any places that offer good deals/discounts on GO watches?
Seen a number of traders on chrono24. I cant find any RRP's for the GO watches so it is difficult to know if the watches on chrono24 represent a good deal or are simply RRP.
Harrods offer a great selection of Glasshutte Original but you will struggle to get a discount.
Wempe on Bond Street also have a good selection but again a discount will be a problem.
To get a good discount you need to either buy from a grey dealer in the UK or take a weekend trip to Europe.
I took the Europe trip option and came back with this
This was last year prior to the Brexit referendum when 52% of the UK population voted to make themselves and their children poorer so the exchange rate was around 1.38 Euros to GBP plus I got a large discount. You would still be able to get the large discount but naturally the exchange rate is much worse now.
Beautiful watch. GO really do make some of the most beautiful watches in my opinion.
I have found a trader in italy. They offer ok discounts and appear to be offering the watch with the GO warranty which suggests it is not going to be a "grey" watch. I was hoping for a discount around 20%+ and may even buy 2 watches should the discount be large enough to encourage me to do so.
Which one did you go for? I am really nosy!
Out of curiosity, which dealer, they all seem to be from or around Turin. Did you try Iconic Watches? My (very limited) experience is their discount is comparable to most European dealers. The advantage is they are based in Britain.
If i get a good enough discount i will buy both. If not i think i will go for the lunar.
Not tried iconic. I will have a look and see what they offer. If i can get the lunar for around £6k i will be fairly happy.
Iconic do very limited GO now, in fact very limited in stock watches full stop, compared to what they used to do. A shame as they do offer excellent service and decent (if not exceptional) prices.
Iconic do not offer the inverse or lunar.
Ogdens in York had 2 in before xmas ,not sure what model though
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I went for an interview recently and the chap interviewing me was German and wearing the black version of the Panomatic and it looked stunning.
Spent some time in their Vienna store last week, lusting after the seventies panorama range. In fact Vienna is one of the best watch shopping places I have ever been to, although I am sure there are better in the UAE or Asia...
Thanks yokel.
Absolutely wonderful watch.
May I ask in which country you were dealing?
Many years ago I bought an AP from Wempe in Hamburg, and managed to get a discount of 17% off list (but it took me a week!). I get the impression that the same store in London will negotiate a bit for repeat custom (excuse?), but it probably won't be much.
Harrods in Terminal 2 have good prices, which they assure me are "duty paid", but I've never been quite sure.
They are all duty paid. There is no real duty free anymore.
It's just a matter of time...
Love the GO Panomatic Lunar range.
If the residuals weren't so poor and grey market options more readily available i'd have taken the plunge long ago