Town of Palm Beach · the island · by appointment
Sell your watch in Palm Beach, the town on the island.
For Palm Beach proper, I schedule appointments around the season. If you would rather not wait on a date or a bridge, a prepaid, fully insured FedEx label brings the watch to me overnight.
- Appointments on the island, scheduled around the season
- Prepaid FedEx Priority Overnight label, fully insured
- A personal reply within 1 business day
Who this page is for
Palm Beach, not West Palm Beach.
This page is for someone in the Town of Palm Beach, the barrier island across Lake Worth Lagoon from West Palm Beach, with a watch to sell or trade. The two places share a name and three bridges and not much else, and the site treats them separately. West Palm Beach has its own page.
The first step is the same as anywhere: the appraisal form, with photos and what you know about the watch. I reply personally within 1 business day with a number and the reasons for it.
Then the choice. For Palm Beach proper, I schedule appointments around the season, which means a date on the island is planned rather than next-day. The label has no season: prepaid, insured to the declared value, signature at both ends, and the watch reaches me overnight. Payment, wire or check, follows within 24 hours of inspection.
What holds on the island
Four things you can rely on from Palm Beach.
Scheduled around the season
I meet clients in their county, not mine, and on the island I plan appointments around the season. Say when you are in residence and we work from there.
The label, when a date is too far off
Prepaid FedEx Priority Overnight on my account, insured to the declared value, signature required at both ends. No bridge, no waiting.
One dealer, quietly
I read the photos, inspect the watch, make the offer, and pay. No listing, no middleman, no one else in the chain.
Wire or check within 24 hours of inspection
Your choice. If we do not make a deal, the watch goes back insured, at my cost.
Before you write
What I buy, what I decline, and what to have at hand.
Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet, Vacheron Constantin, Rolex
Nautilus and Calatrava, Royal Oak, Overseas, Day-Date and Daytona. Extracts, certificates, sealed sets, and service history set the number.
Cartier, Omega, Breitling, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Tudor, Panerai, IWC, Zenith
Tanks and Santos, Speedmasters, Navitimers, Reversos, Black Bays, Luminors, Portugiesers, El Primeros. Each is priced on its own comparables.
Declined
Smartwatches, fashion-brand watches, and projects without provenance. I will tell you in the reply.
The photos
Dial straight on in daylight, case back, clasp open, the serial, and the papers beside the watch. For a dress watch on a strap, the buckle and the strap edges too.
For an appointment
The watch, its box, the certificate or warranty card, spare links or straps, and service receipts. If an estate is involved, bring what paperwork exists.
How it works
Four steps, on or off the island.
01
Get an offer
Submit the form with photos and the reference. I reply within 1 business day with a number you can hold me to once the watch matches the photos.
02
Ship or meet
I'm in Boca twice a month and schedule Palm Beach proper around the season. Tell me when you are on the island, or take the prepaid insured label and skip the calendar.
03
Inspect and confirm
On the island, I inspect in front of you. By label, I open the box on camera. Case, movement, papers, serials, the same list either way.
04
Get paid
Wire within 24 hours of inspection, or a certified check. No deal, and the watch returns insured at no charge.
Meet or ship
A date on the island, or a box off it.
The inspection and the payout are identical. What differs is the calendar and who crosses the bridge.
| Criteria | Meet in Palm Beach | Ship on the label |
|---|---|---|
| Who arranges it | We set a date around the season; I come to the island | I send a prepaid FedEx Priority Overnight label |
| Insurance | Nothing in transit, nothing to insure | Insured to the declared value, signature at both ends |
| Inspection | In front of you, at the appointment | On camera, as the box is opened |
| Timing | Planned around when you are in residence and my schedule | Overnight from the FedEx counter |
| Your part | Have the watch, papers, box, and extras ready | Pack it, print the label, hand it to FedEx |
| Choose it when | You want to watch the inspection and discuss the number across a table | You are leaving the island soon, or would rather settle it this week |
Both routes pay by wire or certified check within 24 hours of inspection.
The detail
Selling a watch from the island, plainly.
How an appointment works from Palm Beach
The site says it in one line: for Palm Beach proper, I schedule appointments around the season. The island is busiest in the winter months, and some owners are here only part of the year. So the first thing I ask is when you are in residence. We fix a date inside that window, and I come to the island; you do not come to Brickell.
The three bridges from West Palm Beach are the only way on and off by car, and in season they are slower. That is worth knowing if you are weighing a meeting against a box, not because it changes the offer, but because it changes the afternoon.
Or ship it: the label, the insurance, the camera
If the calendar does not line up, the label does. It is prepaid on my FedEx account, Priority Overnight, insured to the declared value, with a signature required at both ends. You pack the watch, print the label, and hand the box to FedEx. USA only.
I open the box on camera, so the state of the watch on arrival is recorded before it is handled. If we do not make a deal, it goes back by the same service, same insurance, at no cost to you.
What I buy, and what I do not
Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet, Vacheron Constantin, Rolex, Cartier, Omega, Breitling, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Tudor, Panerai, IWC, and Zenith. Not smartwatches, not fashion-brand watches, not projects without provenance. Each brand page under Sell explains what moves its offer: extracts and certificates on a Patek, serial eras and papers on a Rolex, metal and case size on a Cartier.
What to prepare before you write
Photograph the dial straight on in daylight, the case back, the clasp or buckle, the serial, and the papers beside the watch. Say what you know about service and replaced parts. If the watch came to you through an estate and you know little, say that; I would rather work from an honest blank than a guess.
Trade instead of sell
The same inspection can produce credit instead of a wire. Put the watch against a piece in the catalog or one I source to order. The trade page explains how both sides of the number are set, and the credit holds whether we meet on the island or the watch comes by label.
When selling to a dealer is not the right call
If you have time and patience, an auction house or a private sale may bring more than a dealer's offer, and I will say so when I see the piece. If the watch is one you are not ready to part with, an appraisal still costs nothing and asks nothing of you. If it is a replica, I will tell you, and I will not buy it.
How to prepare your submission
- Dial straight on in daylight, no flash.
- Case back, clasp or buckle, and the serial.
- Certificate, card, or papers beside the watch, or say they are missing.
- Service history and replaced parts, as far as you know.
- When you are on the island, or that you would prefer the label.
Palm Beach
Tell me when you are on the island. Or send the box.
Photos first; I reply within 1 business day. Then an appointment scheduled around the season, or the prepaid insured label, and payment within 24 hours of inspection.