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Is watchlingo reputable?

K
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I am looking for a 2222.80 for my son as a college graduation gift. This is the style he likes and he has really small wrists at 6" I would like to get him as new or nice of one as possible. I don't even mind sending it to Omega for cleaning. They did a fabulous job on my old constellation and it came back like new. In my search... It is amazing some of the things I have found that sound really non-reputable.
1. when I asked for more photos or the serial #.. watchlingo told me "...
The watch is in the safe and we are not allowed to pull out items for safety purposes. It can only be taken from the safe once the order has been placed. "
Does anyone have any experience with them as a valid seller?
2. Authenticwatches.com has the watch listed but says "usually ships in 3 months." When I asked them about this they said "... This item is not currently in stock; however it is indeed available through a special order. Once a special order is on file, we place an order with our supplier. The estimated lead time posted is accurate; this process usually takes 3 months and unfortunately we cannot guarantee an earlier shipment date. We recommend being prepared to wait the entire duration of the time frame provided before expecting the item to ship.

Once the item arrives, it will be shipped to you via FedEx overnight delivery and you will receive an email of the shipment that includes the tracking number.

All watches we sell are shipped with the manufacturer box, manual, and serial number with a certificate of authenticity and warranty card from AuthenticWatches. If a problem should arise with the watch, you must ship it back to us. We will then send it back to the supplier the item originated from, who will forward it to the service center. "
So are these real?
Thank you for taking the time to read and respond. robert
 
Dan S
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I don't know anything about watchlingo, but authenticwatches is a big grey seller like jomashop etc. If you do a search on the forum, you'll find dozens of threads discussing the pros and cons vs buying from an AD.
 
timjohn
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Don't know Watchlingo specifically, but I'm not sure I would trust a seller who says, in effect, "I'm not going to show you the watch properly until after you've bought it"....
 
K
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Thank you. I just looked up "authorized dealers" on the Omega site and found some. I will start calling around tomorrow. Appreciate it. I would rather go to an AD. My kid went to school on a full scholarship so I don't mind splurging a little on a watch for him 馃榾 ... almost feel bad buying him a pre-owned one, but he's pretty down to earth and it's the model he wants. I just want to get one in really good condition. Bests, robert
 
L
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As far as I know, when a grey mkt seller say "usually ship in xx weeks/months" means they don't have one in stock and once you paid, they will source one for you from mkt. Combined with they won't show you the # and pic, this scenario should be 99%+ confident.
 
Dan S
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K kendobob
Thank you. I just looked up "authorized dealers" on the Omega site and found some. I will start calling around tomorrow. Appreciate it. I would rather go to an AD. My kid went to school on a full scholarship so I don't mind splurging a little on a watch for him 馃榾 ... almost feel bad buying him a pre-owned one, but he's pretty down to earth and it's the model he wants. I just want to get one in really good condition. Bests, robert

Are you sure it's a pre-owned watch? These grey sellers usually sell new watches, not pre-owned. My apologies, but I'm not familiar with the particular model and I didn't google it. Are you looking at a discontinued model? Maybe you could explain a bit more. ADs don't usually sell pre-owned so that wouldn't be an option. I assumed you were buying a new watch.
 
Alfista88
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The 2222.80 isn't nearly as common as the full-size 2220.80. chono24 has only a single mid-size 2222 right now, compared to 8 listings for the 2220 (full size). That Casino Royale generation of Seamasters didn't have a long production run, lasting for only 6 years.

In comparison, the Goldeneye generation of Bond Seamasters (2531.80, 2551.80, 2541.80) were in production for over 12 years. Plus during that 1993-2006 production run, Omega didn't have nearly as many product lines... so production of the Bond Seamasters from 93 - 06 didn't have to contend with production of Planet Oceans.

If he's willing to go back 1 generation further, the mid-size 2551.80 is much more widely available from several resellers. However, your son might be too young to appreciate the older one. Plus, it's more utilitarian and not as "pretty" as the 2222 or 2220, as it's missing applied hour markers and red Seamaster text.

Gosh, with the freshman 15 window already years behind him, I suppose that 6" wrist is going to be his wrist size for quite some time now that he's settled into it, at the end of college. Has he tried on ~39 or 40mm dive watches? Dive watches wear smaller than their dimensions suggest on paper, because the bezel takes away from dial diameter.

For example: my 43.5mm Planet Ocean wears almost the same size as my 42mm Speedy (albeit much, much heavier). And my 40mm Sub wears smaller than my 39mm Globemaster. Unlike dress watches, dive watches & pilot watches are definitely meant to wear big in relation to one's wrist size, owing to their heritage as professional instruments. Maybe a 41mm 2220.80 won't look out of place on his wrist.
 
K
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Interesting idea. Thank you. I'll send him some pictures of the older version. Yes, he's almost 22y.o. and just inherited small wrists from his grandfather on wife's side. He tried on the newer Planet ocean and I liked it, but he didn't. He also tried some others at 41mm but still just looked big for his small wrist. I'm sure the styles will swing back to smaller watches over the next decade. By then he'll have a job and buying his own! lol
 
K
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Dan S Dan S
Are you sure it's a pre-owned watch? These grey sellers usually sell new watches, not pre-owned. My apologies, but I'm not familiar with the particular model and I didn't google it. Are you looking at a discontinued model? Maybe you could explain a bit more. ADs don't usually sell pre-owned so that wouldn't be an option. I assumed you were buying a new watch.
I would like a new watch for him. The advertisements said a lot of different things from "display model with some minor scuffs" but then said they would have to find one and it would take 3 months, so that didn't make any sense. I'll try to stay away from the grey market and just call a lot of AD's. The model is discontinued but not that old. I think it was 2019.
 
Alfista88
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K kendobob
Interesting idea. Thank you. I'll send him some pictures of the older version. Yes, he's almost 22y.o. and just inherited small wrists from his grandfather on wife's side. He tried on the newer Planet ocean and I liked it, but he didn't. He also tried some others at 41mm but still just looked big for his small wrist. I'm sure the styles will swing back to smaller watches over the next decade. By then he'll have a job and buying his own! lol

Haha, yes he'll be buying his own in 5-10 years from now. Whether he decides to pursue horology / watch collecting as a hobby or not, and regardless of how big his collection may grow one day, it's really cool that he'll always have this emotional attachment to this watch you're gifting him now. Something to cherish from time-to-time, as each glance at his wrist can bring to him memories of you gifting this watch to commemorate a milestone in his life.

I forgot to mention that the 3rd generation of Seamaster 300m (2012 - 2018) also had a mid-size variant. Do you think he would like this?

https://www.omegawatches.com/en-us/...-co-axial-chronometer-36-25-mm-21230362003001

Screen Shot 2021-01-09 at 8.53.11 PM.png


Some features to point out to him, in comparison to the 2222.80 he likes:
1) This 1 replaced the wave-pattern dial, with the shiny ceramic dial
2) The number font on the diving bezel was enlarged, and stretched wider. Also, the ceramic dial insert will be much shinier than the older aluminum bezels.
3) The date window has a black background color. But I suppose this is a non-issue if he opts for black-dialed one... which was a new color option for this generation.

Movement-wise, both this one and the Casino Royale generation of Seamasters use the 2500. So they share the same beat-rate. The older 2531 and 2551 use the 1120, which has a marginally faster beat-rate for a smoother seconds-hand sweep.

Can't go wrong either of these 3 generations! This product line got much more bloated (wider, thicker, heavier) in 2018, plus some of us still haven't warmed up to how Omega re-shaped the current Seamaster 300's helium escape valve to look like a Reese' Pieces cup.

So it's a good choice to pick one of these up, as they'll only get harder to find years from now.
 
T
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They can't pull a watch out of the safe for safety reasons? Why, is it dangerous? Sounds dubious to me, as does an estimate of 3 months delivery for a "new" watch that is discontinued.
I have asked several gray dealers for just such information when I was looking for a pre-owned 2254.50 and 2234.50, and while they told me they'd need to pull the watch out of the safe (or wherever it's kept) they always obliged with at least the first three or four number of the serial number. That at least gives me an idea of the age.
Edited:
 
K
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T toolr
They can't pull a watch out of the safe for safety reasons? Why, is it dangerous? Sounds dubious to me, as does an estimate of 3 months delivery for a "new" watch that is discontinued.
I have asked several gray dealers for just such information when I was looking for a pre-owned 2254.50 and 2234.50, and while they told me they'd need to pull the watch out of the safe (or wherever it's kept) they always obliged with at least the first three or four number of the serial number. That at least gives me an idea of the age.
yes. I know. They said for "safety purposes" they could not pull it out. I replied "for safety purposes I cannot buy one unitl... " and never heard back. lol
 
K
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Alfista88 Alfista88
Haha, yes he'll be buying his own in 5-10 years from now. Whether he decides to pursue horology / watch collecting as a hobby or not, and regardless of how big his collection may grow one day, it's really cool that he'll always have this emotional attachment to this watch you're gifting him now. Something to cherish from time-to-time, as each glance at his wrist can bring to him memories of you gifting this watch to commemorate a milestone in his life.

I forgot to mention that the 3rd generation of Seamaster 300m (2012 - 2018) also had a mid-size variant. Do you think he would like this?

https://www.omegawatches.com/en-us/...-co-axial-chronometer-36-25-mm-21230362003001

Screen Shot 2021-01-09 at 8.53.11 PM.png


Some features to point out to him, in comparison to the 2222.80 he likes:
1) This 1 replaced the wave-pattern dial, with the shiny ceramic dial
2) The number font on the diving bezel was enlarged, and stretched wider. Also, the ceramic dial insert will be much shinier than the older aluminum bezels.
3) The date window has a black background color. But I suppose this is a non-issue if he opts for black-dialed one... which was a new color option for this generation.

Movement-wise, both this one and the Casino Royale generation of Seamasters use the 2500. So they share the same beat-rate. The older 2531 and 2551 use the 1120, which has a marginally faster beat-rate for a smoother seconds-hand sweep.

Can't go wrong either of these 3 generations! This product line got much more bloated (wider, thicker, heavier) in 2018, plus some of us still haven't warmed up to how Omega re-shaped the current Seamaster 300's helium escape valve to look like a Reese' Pieces cup.

So it's a good choice to pick one of these up, as they'll only get harder to find years from now.
These are great ideas. I'll send him what your wrote today. Later today... he probable wen to bed at 1 to 2am and won't get up until 11am... college life lol (at least college life on the weekends... class and formations, etc make him get up early during the week. Thank you!
 
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