IWC - Price and Dealer Question

[GJOB]

I'm in the market for one of these 371701

Having searched around I've noticed quite a spread on prices so I looking for either a recommendation to an AD or website that is trustworthy - I notice there are some cheap watches advertised but the sellers have a less than brilliant reputation.

So my questions are:

1. Is a trusted seller on Chronos24 a safe and reliable option?
2. In the states the discussions are along the lines of 20% discount on RRP - is that achievable here?
3. If I buy in the States and pay local taxes will I need to declare on return to the UK?

TIA
GJOB

PS Is it possible to buy the Black Case without "top-gun" plastered all over it?

[rotorheadcase]

Only issue I can think of in buying from the States, is make sure it is an authorized dealer otherwise the warranty will not be honoured by the manufacturer. A lot of the US sellers have their own warranty program that necessitates you sending the wathc back to them for repair.

I looked at the US when buying my son's Aquarace and in the end bought local for the peace of mind.

Regards,

Neil

[GJOB]

Thank Neil, I'd prefer to buy UK for convenience, good to know about the shortfalls of US.

[Spice_Weasel]

My suggestion would be to buy a used model from somewhere like Blowers or Watches.co.uk

The 371701 is now a discontinued model as it has been replaced by the new IWC Pilot and Miramar ranges. List price on the 371701 is £4100 (on leather; a few hundred quid more on the bracelet) but you can pick up a good condition model for about £2400-2800. I did this for the 371702 (Spitfire Chrono with a silver dial but basically the same watch) that I bought in Jan last year.

Buy well and you should be able to recoup most of the outlay should you need to sell it on. Buy new and you will take a bath on the residual as quite a lot of the IWC models depreciate pretty heavily, at least in the first few years. If watch rrp's carry on rising, then a clever used buy may appreciate a little over the coming years.

I do believe that there was an early ceramic Pilot without the Top Gun logo case but I think they are fairly rare.

[GJOB]

Thanks Chap, I've seen new for 3100 in the UK and 2800 (US dollar equiv.) so that's my target price. Most used are at or above that price point currently but I'm expecting April to see some realistic repricing - fingers crossed.

[Maxf]

I've been offered one of these, worn but with box and papers (on leather) for 2200. I'm pretty keen but also conscious that I will be buying a house later in the year, so might well need to liquidate it. Do we think I'll get burned at that price?

[Matt172]

would be worth dropping dominicH a line to see if it's something he can source for you, he's got a very good reputation on here

Nice watch btw chap

[GJOB]

Matt172 said:

would be worth dropping dominicH a line to see if it's something he can source for you, he's got a very good reputation on here

Nice watch btw chap

Thanks mate, recovered after the weekend??

I've spoken to Dom over the weekend, he's looking in to it for me.

[Matt172]

GJOB said:

Thanks mate, recovered after the weekend??

I've spoken to Dom over the weekend, he's looking in to it for me.

Yeah just about recoved from the Guinness prices was a cracking day, good result too

[Jimmckay67]

GJOB
Did u get sorted with the IWC 371701?
I am also on lookout for one.
Not sure whether to get on phone to AD's or go down the pre worn route
Any advice on real life achievable discounts ?

[Adam B]

I got 25% off on a new aquatimer from an AD in holland, would not buy from US as likely to get whacked on imoort duty and vat

[Jimmckay67]

That's a pretty good bit of business in anyone's book.
Could be an excuse for boys weekend in Amsterdam!
Did you get any decent quotes in old blighty?
Also did I not see in a previous thread that you were thinking of a chrono pilot?

[Adam B]

I should add I bought from uk sight unseen so was a little nervous when I transferred the Euros in cash and had to wait 2 weeks when the shop closed for holidays. All good in the end. No import duty issues from EU.
I shopped around with a few uk people but best was about 15% off iiirc.

I have bought and sold to Dom H and would also give hima thumbs up

And yes well recalled, I was originallys after a pilot, tried it on with a spitfire chrono and the aquatimer chrono and preferred the aquatimer, as it was a nice contrast with my Daytona and Panerai with its rubber strap and bright yellow touches? Both pilots were lovely though.

Edited by Adam B on Sunday 29th April 10:21

[Jimmckay67]

Thanks for the link.
That wait would certainly have cost me a few hours sleep
There is a website called iconic watches uk which seem to be the Internet arm of ancient& modern jewellers in Blackburn who have pretty good reviews on trust pilot-don't know if anyone on PH have used them at all.
Have sent the Dom H dude a message to contact so will probably see what he has to say.
You here a lot of people talking about not settling for less than 20% discount from ADs but in my experience 10% is about as good as it gets .

[matc]

IWC are culling a few of their smaller dealers at the moment so if you can find one there are some great deals to be had.

A colleague of mine paid £2850 for the watch linked and I picked up my aquatimer for £2300! Brand new with warranty etc. think that worked out about 40% discount; so there are definitely deals out there if you phone around.

[Jimmckay67]

Interesting
What dealer did u go with?
Occasionally get great deals popping up but inevitably seem to miss
A couple of months ago a high end local jewellers put a flyer round to customers that due to bringing in some high end Chopard watches they were clearing there Jaeger Le Coultre stock at half price(on all watches)
Needless to say every men's watch was away within the hour and by the time I got round only ladies remaining!

[matc]

It was a dealer in Guildford, can't remember the name at the moment. We bought 6 between us all, another colleague bought a rose gold Portuguese perpetual calendar, from £22k to a touch under £14k! Massive money but a relative bargain!

[GJOB]

Jimmckay67 said:

GJOB
Did u get sorted with the IWC 371701?
I am also on lookout for one.
Not sure whether to get on phone to AD's or go down the pre worn route
Any advice on real life achievable discounts ?

Yes, I got sorted, couldn't get one in the UK so used Chrono 24 to get one from Europe. Very happy with it too. Mine's pre worn but you'd never know.

HTH

[Jimmckay67]

matc said:

It was a dealer in Guildford, can't remember the name at the moment. We bought 6 between us all, another colleague bought a rose gold Portuguese perpetual calendar, from £22k to a touch under £14k! Massive money but a relative bargain!

That's a cool way of doing it.
Go in mob handed and purchase the whole store!
Nice one.

[shunt]

Jimmckay67 said:

There is a website called iconic watches uk which seem to be the Internet arm of ancient& modern jewellers in Blackburn who have pretty good reviews on trust pilot-don't know if anyone on PH have used them at all.

They are not an AD for IWC, I bought a 7 day Port from them for a significant saving. They were economical with the watch history, thankfully had no problems though.