I think we here always appreciate people who make their inquiries before purchasing! 😀
Many of the big preowned guys don’t often get into these less expensive pieces. (I doubt that WatchBox or DavidSW or EuropeanWatch would, for example.) But…
Crown and Caliber/Hodinkee
Swiss Watch Expo
Bob’s Watches
Jomashop
Tourneau
Maybe OCWatch or Nashville?—less sure about them.
Pretty sure I’ve left off some biggies. Check frequently. You can even contact them and let them know you’re looking—they’ll give you first dibs.
Waiting sucks, but you won’t regret it.
Also, obviously, monitor the sales listings here—even the “non-Rolex” sales section at the Rolex Forum. I would avoid eBay and Craigslist and the like. Lot of shenanigans.
I suspect the second watch there is actually using SL lume but the white balance of pics can make it hard to judge. Any hint of beige usually suggest tritium as SL varies in colour from white in bright sunshine to toothpaste green in dimmer conditions. Some shades of yellow are seen also but not on the Bonds so much.
Well, during my initial looking through the websites you (@Annapolis ) listed, I found this one on Jomashop:
https://www.jomashop.com/preowned-1...nal-300m-blue-dial-unisex-watch-168-1622.html
I'm a little confused - It has a reference number of: 168.1622... but looks pretty much like the 2551.80. What is the difference?
And does anyone know if Jomashop watches are serviced? I can't figure it out on their website...
Thank you again.
The watch looks good to me. I’m not sure about whether Joma services and pressure tests watches prior to shipping, but I know they provide a warranty. Can’t hurt to ask!
I have a generally favorable view of them, but definitely do your diligence and read about others’ experiences. I know shipping can be slow and some have had customer service concerns.
The eBay one is a very different watch—no wave dial, white gold surround on the lume, ceramic bezel—and 1/3rd more cost. No question a coaxial movement will be better, but it will also be more expensive to service. There are tradeoffs.
The seller doesn’t provide pictures of the clasp or caseback, and what pictures there are are mostly rather distant ones of the dial. I’m not suggesting there’s anything wrong with the watch—only with the seller’s photography and listing skills. But I’d insist on seeing a lot more before buying.
On the positive side, this person has enrolled in eBay’s authentication service, which suggests that they are confident it is a legit watch that will pass inspection. It means shipping to you will take a little bit longer (when I bought a watch via this service it only added one day), but you’ll have that added peace of mind. Note that eBay will open the watch and then reseal it, and that they do (claim to include a ) pressure test, so water resistance should be fine—that’s good. But while they will confirm that the watch is authentic and appears to be the same one shown in the listing, they will not service it in any way, so any timekeeping or cosmetic issues won’t be assessed or corrected. Again, I’d want more and better pictures, as well as some detail about how it’s performing, if possible.
Honestly, you’re inching into the price point where preowned versions of the newest SMPs become possible. Substantially bigger watches, but if that doesn’t bother you, and if you can scrape together another 1-1.5k, you’ll be into a lot more watch… Unless you really want ceramic and coaxial, and if you prefer 36mm, the older ones might actually be a better value proposition than this.
While the latest SMP is indeed 42mm and quite a chunky beast, the earlier full size models are actually 41mm and wear smaller still because they are so thin and have the sloping top bezel which blends seamlessly into the crystal. Try a 2531.80 before you decide to go with the middy to make sure you aren't working off assumptions. The 36mm models have their fans and both sizes are great watches, but many, myself included who have owned both much prefer the full size for a number of reasons. Unless your wrist is truly tiny, I suspect a full size SMP will work fine. It wears no bigger than other 39-40mm watches.
One comment I have about ebay authentication mentioned above. In the UK and a few other jurisdictions, you don't enrol for it, it is compulsory when you sell a watch above a certain value, £1K from memory, so don't think too highly of a seller that offers it, they have no choice.
Thanks so much again. All very good points. I’m mostly interested in the 36 because I find the 42mm to wear too big on my 6.75-7 inch wrist. All my watches are vintage 34mm and they wear fantastically. I have one dress watch at 40mm which is the absolute max I can handle.
Taste is a personal thing but if you compare to the current 42 mm, you would be mistaken. A 41 mm 2531.80 is nothing to compared in sizing. The current Diver 300 is way bigger.
The 36mm was design for children and women, despite "all gender" designation you can find sometimes. Very, very, small looking due to the large bezel. Beware.
Alright with all the concerns about size I ducked out from work and tried on a 41mm today… You were all the right. The 41 is awesome. Thank you very much - this forum is honestly incredible.
I’m looking at some 2531.80 online… what is a fair price for one in excellent condition? I see $3,150 for one I like on swiss watch expo. Just trying to get a sense of what’s reasonable.
Thanks again everyone.
There are several ways to approach this question, but one is to look at completed sales on eBay---when I do that (and limit it to US sales only?--I gather you're also here in the states) I get the sense that SWE's price is on the high side. I'm seeing $2,400 to $2,800 as the more typical range. There are, though, a lot of variables: condition, service history, whether it's a "complete set" (if that matters---I'm of the mind that it doesn't, for older references like this, but many will disagree), etc. And buying from a large dealer like SWE comes with other advantages that might be worth a few hundred extra. You can pay with credit card (which offers some amount of protection), you know you're going to get your watch---no funny business, as can happen with a rando on the internet---they will make sure the watch is keeping good time and will pressure test it, and it comes with their in-house warranty and a return policy (just read the fine-print on that--I think the return option is voided once you remove the stickers). I still think $3,150 is a bit high, but if it's a full set, in great condition, and if this added peace of mind is worth a premium to you, then it's not wildly out of line, I'd say.
I'm not finding the listing myself---are you sure it's not an already-sold piece? They don't remove sold listings on their site---which I actually like, from a research standpoint. I'm seeing two of them for $2,990. Even better. In the fine print, you'll see that one will fit a 7.5" wrist and has the (long expired) Omega warranty card, and the other will fit an 8" wrist but has no card. Neither has a box. Tough call, but if I were choosing, I'd get the one that presumably comes with an extra bracelet link or two, rather than the useless piece of warranty card plastic. I'd say hang on to the extra links---if you ever go to sell the watch, they'll be good to have. But if you choose to sell them instead, they can be worth $50-100 apiece, depending on condition, so if you're selling several of them to get it down to your wrist size, you'll recoup considerable money.
I've only had good experiences with SWE, and I know most others have too. But in the interest of full disclosure, you should be aware of this now-infamous story, as explained on the Rolex Forum. The issue was resolved, as I understand it, but it remains a blemish in their history that anyone buying from them should know about.
Hmm... hard to say: the dials looks to be very different shades too, so it's possible the one that looks "whiter" was just photographed at a higher brightness level across the board. Both look pretty good to me.
