You wanna see nuts... a few years ago I had the opportunity to be present at a wholesale dealer's apartment in Kowloon where he was handing over to a Japanese wholesale buyer shrink wrapped "bales" of Rolexes, each bale containing dozens of identical models. My jaw was on the floor. Hundreds of watches at a time are bought by these Japanese dealers in Kowloon. Even retailers like Bierne Horology will close his shop for an entire day when his Japanese buyers show up. My dealer friend who brought me along to his wholesaler friend's apartment told me those were just the Rolexes, and other brand models are sold to the Japanese dealers the same way. In Manila and Cebu city there are quite a few dealers that sell exclusively to the Japanese dealers as well. You guys didn't really think all these nifty second hand watches were born and raised in Japan did you?
When I visited Japan 2 years ago, my interest in watches hadn't reflamed yet - when this pandemic is over, I want to visit again and see this side too! Thanks a lot for sharing