The Price of Vintage Watches: Rural Yorkshire versus Central London.

It is worth including a quick note about the prices on this site. One of the fundamental reasons for the online auction sessions from which this website is descended being so successful over the last decade was that they offered a much less expensive alternative to the central London dealers without any sacrifice being made in condition or authenticity. There are some very reputable, well established vintage wristwatch dealers in London which we wouldn’t hesitate to unreservedly recommend. These are solid businesses run along ethical lines that will supply extremely good original vintage watches in a state suitable for the serious collector.

However, having said this, the incontrovertible fact is that commercial property in central London is some of the most expensive, if not the most expensive, on earth. Even the smallest shop in Piccadilly or Burlington Arcade will have overheads associated with it of many thousands of pounds per week and inevitably, the prices charged for the watches sold there must cover these. Most of us are very impressed by delightful shops in Mayfair and the London Silver Vaults, but it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that these have to be paid for and the asking prices of the vintage watches offered there are, of necessity, extremely high. A significant percentage of the sale price paid by the buyer relates directly to the huge cost of maintaining premises in such an expensive location.

Based in a small market town in rural Yorkshire, where business expenses are some of the lowest in the UK, we can work on a much lower profit margin than our competitors in London. In real terms, when you buy a watch from us, the purchase price relates to the actual item itself, with only a very tiny percentage of the total paid being in relation to our overheads. The asking price of the vintage watches for sale on this site is approximately 50%, and in many cases even less, of what the exact same models cost when they are offered in Burlington Arcade or Bond Street.

It must be stressed emphatically that there is absolutely no difference at all in the quality of goods being offered. The vintage watches for sale here are in the best state of condition and originality that can be found anywhere in the world. They are not better than those sitting behind the polished plate glass windows of the central London dealers’ shops, but they are equal in every way, which, at a far more competitive price level, makes them exceedingly attractive as investments. While we are more than happy to ship anywhere in the world, we always encourage buyers to collect their watches in person from us if they can. Beverley, just outside Hull in East Yorkshire, is less than three hours by direct train or car from London, but the price difference created by the enormous gap in operating expenses is enormous.

For anyone wishing to see a graphic illustration of this, we would advise comparing the prices of the vintage watches for sale on this website with exactly the same models advertised on the sites of the central London dealers. The difference is, to say the least, very dramatic. We certainly can’t offer you views of glamorous Burlington Arcade or Mayfair streets full of designer boutiques and Ferrari cars when you come to collect your watch from us, but in many instances, particularly in the case of a lot of our more expensive items, we can certainly save you several thousand pounds over the cost of buying these in the capital, without any compromise being made on quality whatsoever.