Thank you for your comment and email. This is a strong topic of conversation and I am all for purchasing certified, pre-owned watches from the right sources. By buying pre-owned, you can often find a good price on a good watch that you may otherwise not have the means to purchase. However, do your homework before buying a pre-owned watch. If you are buying for investment purposes, keep in mind that just because it is a good brand – it does not ensure that it will go up in value. Many aspects come into play, including genre, rarity, original components (including movement parts, hands, dials, etc). These are the things you need to investigate. If you are buying a pre-owned watch just for its looks- go for it. But based on what you are saying herein, you want more than just good looks. There are many reputable places to buy a certified pre-owned watch where they will have inspected it for originality and where they can advise you along the purchasing path.

I am a new email subscriber to A Timely Perspective. I first found about it just last month when I was in NYC on vacation. I love the daily emails I get and I am slowly working my way through the tons of articles written by Roberta Naas — all of which are fascinating and very well written.

This is not really a reply or comment, but I have a somewhat general question for Ms. Naas. I am slowly building on my watch collection — it’s been a passion of mine for many years, but only in the past couple of years have I really started acquiring “good” timepieces and have done lots of research into the vast selection of new and notable timepieces.

My question is: What are your thoughts on buying “certified pre-owned” watches from places like Tourneau, Hodinkee, etc.? I know that watches, like cars, drop significantly in value once a watch moves from the store display case window to the wrist. I have seen many tempting pieces well priced offerings in the “certified pre-owned” distribution network but am a little leary. I know that Tourneau offers servicing and a warranty etc. on all their watches, so that gives me some comfort, but I am still not sure if the pre-owned watch is the way to go for someone like me — a new (but pasionate) watch collector. I love buying new watches and always buy them directly from the brand boutiques because I get a sense of security buying a watch directly out of the box in a boutique branded store. My newest addition is the Bvlgari Octo Finissimo which I bought last week and which has been my “watch of the day” since I bought it.

Do you have any thoughts/comments about the “certified pre-owned” market? Is it a good idea, a bad idea, or does it depend entirely on the brand or the seller or something else I have not even thought about? Any thoughts/comments you can share with me would be greatly appreciated.

I look forward to a response.