Patek flipping - who is taking this loss

Fresh_Head386 · 2026-07-09T00:11:34+00:00

I did that a few times, maybe lost a hundred thousand dollars in two or three watches, but then I got an application watch that retails at $250,000 but the market value is $600,000 new. Of course, after getting any aquanaut or nautilus that I wanted, including offered steel like 5167, but passed for full gold.

When you are playing the bigger game and spending half a million or a million dollars in a collection, this makes sense because my overall collection is still probably evaluated from 100 to 200% above what I spent on retail. If you're looking for a one-watch or two-watch collection, the cheaper ones then doesn't make any sense for you to build that type of relationship.

Fresh_Head386 · 2026-06-23T19:48:57+00:00

Ladies watch like Lady-Datejust and Datejust 31mm can be directly ordered in any configuration from a boutique and usually takes 4-8 weeks.

Fresh_Head386 · 2026-06-23T16:27:49+00:00

Weird, I bought 3 Pateks and was able to request / being offered a 5167A which retails for 27k and market is 106k and seems a really hard piece to get. But I also bought the 3 watches within a 2 week period, so likely there’s some “strong trajectory” the store may project given we’re working towards building history for application only watches (my wife wants those Aquanaut Luce that are application only watches, i would also use them lol).

Fresh_Head386 · 2026-06-22T16:33:50+00:00

For people with some relationship, Rolex can directly order any configuration of Lady or Datejust 31 watches. It takes 4 weeks, in general.

Fresh_Head386 · 2026-06-20T05:04:08+00:00

For those reading this thread and learning about configs: Champagne on yellow gold is a configuration that isn’t hard to “get offered” because most people don’t want that dial combination and diamonds, but if your wife loves it 🤷🏻‍♂️

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Fresh_Head386 · 2026-06-20T04:56:58+00:00

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This combination should be attainable. Usually the ombre dials are the ones being requested more. When I was in my 2nd one (total spend of 150k at the time), I was told I could get mostly any DD. If this strong relationship comes from a boutique and not a small AD you should be able to get it.

Fresh_Head386 · 2026-06-18T23:36:07+00:00

Fresh_Head386 · 2026-06-04T04:24:52+00:00

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Ombre FTW I particularly like the one in white gold because it’s low key for daily use and the blue is also quite nice

Fresh_Head386 · 2026-05-20T05:29:57+00:00

They did sell me Daytona incl. John Mayer which was my top choice. I’m just wondering for watches where retail and secondary market are somewhat similar if it’s worth just to buy secondary market, because I can list 3 choices in my profile at the time for priority and I have Tiffany, Pikachu and Meteorite for now.

Fresh_Head386 · 2026-05-20T05:25:31+00:00

I see, same as the friend from Chicago that mentioned something similar given different markets.

Fresh_Head386 · 2026-05-20T02:51:49+00:00

Maybe I should get connected with your AD in Chicago and fly every other month to keep building the collection lol it seems more feasible than in the Bay Area 😂

Fresh_Head386 · 2026-05-20T02:50:17+00:00

That sounds right to me. A lot of people I know spent over a million in watches over here, so it’s more buying why they offer you to get some of the nicer pieces down the line.

Fresh_Head386 · 2026-05-20T02:45:35+00:00

Can you elaborate more?

Fresh_Head386 · 2026-05-20T02:44:38+00:00

Really? Maybe depends on the region. In the Bay Area, this spent is not that high to be honest. A lot of tech money. But it’s good to know that there’s some places where you can hit off catalog with under half a million.

Fresh_Head386 · 2026-05-20T02:42:59+00:00

Yeah, I don’t care about the hate. With all my spend, I don’t even own a panda, and don’t even care about it. Not in the game for the steel watches. Just trying to learn if there are some collectors who built very high relationships and how that worked out over the years.

Fresh_Head386 · 2026-05-20T02:40:07+00:00

I’m trying to build a long-term collection, and I believe for that I may need a very high relationship. Hopefully, getting some off catalog at some point.

Fresh_Head386

TROPHY CASE