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I'm curious if any of my counterpart Collective members have experienced wanting to like and own a "coveted" or esteemed brand but never warming up to it.

I have tried on more Cartier than I can recall and even gifted my daughter one (she is pleased). Try as I might, I realize they are not for me. Any Santos, Ballon Bleu, Pasha, Roadster... damn. Historic brand, stellar engineering, craftsmanship, classic designs, handsome, two-tone, rectangular, vintage looks ... doesn't matter. I know Fed worked for them and has great things to say and I suspect many enjoy their Cartier pieces.

Just for kicks, has anyone experienced similar "Meh, me no like," feelings about a premium brand? I suspect the Crown engenders similar feelings too, although that I kinda get with the hype, "scarcity," AD games, etc.

Hey FTW community! Very excited to be here. I'm pretty new to the "lifestyle" but am really getting addicted to learning as much as I can about watches and horology in general. I inherited an 80's sub from my father and it set me on the path. I'm partial to watches that are tough daily drivers (I always forget to check my wrist before getting in the shower) and have added a couple of beautiful but fairly inexpensive watches to my my drawer (Oris, Rado) and am really happy with them. I drool over the daily listings in the dealer market and feel like I need to expand my horizons a bit from dive/tool watches. Any recommendations on something a bit dressier/less divey that will be a good next addition? Ideally my budget would be $5k-$6k. I've been browsing German traditional houses and love the aesthetic but am totally open to suggestions. Thanks so much!

A major advantage of this group is involvement of professional dealer in helping members.

I wonder if there could ever be a paid service for a professional dealer such as Fed to review members' watches to help facilitate trade so as to avoid the risk of doing so on our own and also to avoid the detrimental 30-50% haircut we have to endure to trade our watch safely to a dealer. It would probably involve sending the watches in the proposed trade to the dealer for evaluation of the pieces. The dealer could recommend a cash difference for the trade after verifying their providence. If it turns out the trade is no good for one of the members after hearing the recommended trade value, then at least both would end up with an appraisal.

Maybe stupid or far fetched or too much work but I thought it could be an interesting and unique option for the community.

I really enjoy the watch shopping experience and prefer trying a piece on before pulling the trigger. The problem is that "trying before buying" is nearly impossible in the grey market. For example, I recently tried the Vacheron Constantin 222; I absolutely love the aesthetic, but I hated how it actually fit my wrist.

Does anyone have suggestions for reputable grey market dealers that have physical showrooms? Also, could we start a "hall of fame" list for dealers with solid reputations?

Fed, I know you’re on that list, and I’d value your take on this. I’m sure I’m not the only one struggling with the "buy-and-hope" nature of online secondary market deals. (Also, I’d love a "blacklist" of dealers to avoid, though I know calling people out can be tricky!)

Over at my friend's house who's wearing this - had to take a picture to share with the gang.