Hey guys,

while browsing online I noticed that watches in Japan are very cheap, Constellations in particular. What is story behind that?

Best regards.

 

Did you consider import taxes? (if applicable)
Condition?
What kind of Constellations?
There are a lot of variables.
Where exactly did you see that? Would you mind showing us?

 

Depends on what you call cheap. Japan was a particularly strong Omega market in the 1960s, and they appear to have looked after their nice vintage watches better than most, so you find a lot of 60s Constellations and Seamasters on sale from Japanese dealers.

However the Constellations in greater supply are the later C case models. There are plenty to choose from, and if you search well nice examples can be found at reasonable prices.

If you want a pie-pan dogleg Constellation it is a different story - prices are considerably higher for good examples, although still cheaper than some of the lunatic prices you can see elsewhere.

Like anywhere on the web, Japanese offerings also need to be carefully examined for redials. I have bought very nice watches from very trustworthy dealers there, but have seen a few online that were not quite right.

The Japanese dealers also tend to offer watches that have been polished: but to me, if the edges are still sharp and the observatory and surrounding machining is still sharp, I can live with it on a watch I particularly want. On the other hand, if the observatory is glossy and the stars rubbed, I won't touch it.

Japan is still a good hunting ground, but the number of really nice examples that come up seems to have diminished a lot over the least year or so.

 

For example this one. Its much more expensive in Europe in this condition.

 

As mentioned, import tax to most countries is high. You might need to factor in 20% extra.

 

Japanese dealers for many years and still today (well not quite at the moment) made buying trips to just about everywhere hoovering up pieces. If you ship it with a simple description (used horology piece) and a nominal value you should avoid or keep any taxes to a minimum.

 

Only if the seller is happy to be fraudulent.

 

Given its 60 plus year life I dare say governments have collected their fair share multiple times over but each to their own...

 

$1,300 for a polished 14381 with a dome dial (albeit in nice condition) and a wrong crown is not cheap.

This should be at least $300 cheaper.

 

Another consideration is the fact that Japan Post is not delivering to most of the world due to the coronavirus crisis. I live in Tokyo and am unable to economically ship anything anywhere. I had to send a document to the US by regular airmail and three weeks later it still apparently has not arrived. Courier services can be really expensive and tend to be a lot less reliable than Japan Post's EMS service. I would not be enthusiastic about bidding on anything in Japan at the moment.

 

I wouldn't say that example is particularly cheap given the condition. This could be a matter of comparing asking prices instead of legitimate sales.