Services · South Florida · by appointment
Four ways to deal with one private dealer.
Sell a watch outright, trade it toward another, buy from the case, or commission a search for a piece I do not have. This page lays the four side by side so you pick the right door the first time. Each one ends at a form that reaches me, not a queue.
- Sell: photos in, a real number and the reasoning back within 1 business day
- Trade: your watch credited against the catalog or a sourced piece
- Buy: every watch in the case authenticated in person before it ships
- Source: a private network for the reference that is not in stock
Who this page is for
You know you want a private dealer. Which door?
Most people who reach this page already know what they do not want: a pawn counter, a marketplace full of strangers, or a consignment desk that pays when it pays. What they have not settled is the shape of the deal. Sell the watch and bank the money, or put it toward the next one? Buy what is in the case this week, or wait for the exact reference, dial, and year?
Those are different deals with different paperwork, and the pillar pages treat them one at a time. Here they sit side by side. For each one I explain what happens, what I need from you, and when the other option is the better call.
What does not change across the four: one person handles the whole thing, offers are priced against real dealer-to-dealer transaction data with the reasoning shown, and your name and your watch are never discussed with anyone.
The same dealer, whichever door
What stays the same across all four.
One person, start to finish
I take the photos, make the offer, inspect the watch, and pay you. There is no intake team and no grading department to call.
Priced against real transactions
Offers and trade credits are set against what dealers are paying each other for that reference this week, and I show the arithmetic.
A trade is a full appraisal
A trade is not a discounted sale. Your watch is appraised the same way, then credited against the catalog or a sourced piece.
Your county or my label
By appointment in Miami-Dade, Broward, or Palm Beach, or on a prepaid, fully insured FedEx label from anywhere in the USA.
Nothing is discussed
Client identities and transactions are never discussed, published, or shared, in either direction.
1 business day, every time
Sell, trade, or source: the first reply with a real number or a real answer comes within 1 business day.
The four services
What happens behind each door.
The short version of each pillar page, and the link to it.
Sell outright
You send photos and details. I reply with a specific number. You ship on my label or meet me, I inspect in person, and you are paid by wire within 24 hours of inspection or by certified check.
View →Trade toward another watch
Your watch is appraised exactly as a sale would be. The figure becomes credit against anything in the case or a piece I source, and the balance moves in whichever direction the numbers say.
View →Buy from the case
What is in stock, photographed by me and authenticated in person before it ships. Remote buyers get photos, video, and a call first. South Florida buyers get hand delivery.
View →Commission a search
For the reference that is not in the case. You name the model, dial, metal, and condition. I go to a private network of dealers and collectors and come back with the piece, inspected the same way.
View →The shared process
Six steps, whichever door you choose.
Buying and sourcing skip the appraisal. Everything else is the same.
01
Choose the door
Selling and trading start at the appraisal form. Buying starts in the catalog. Sourcing starts with a description of the watch you want. If you are unsure, start with the appraisal; a sale can become a trade once you see the number.
02
Send photos and details
Dial, case back, clasp, and papers in daylight, plus the reference and what you know of the history. For a search, send the reference and your must-haves instead.
03
A reply within 1 business day
A specific number for a sale or a trade credit, with the reasoning. For a search, an honest answer on whether the piece can be found and what to expect.
04
Ship or meet
A prepaid FedEx Priority Overnight label, fully insured, signature at both ends, USA only. Or an appointment in your county, Monday to Saturday.
05
Inspection in person
Case, movement, papers, and serials, the same day the watch arrives or across the table. The same standard applies to every watch I sell.
06
Payment or delivery
Sellers are paid by wire within 24 hours of inspection or by certified check. Buyers get hand delivery in South Florida or insured FedEx anywhere in the USA.
How to choose
Sell or trade, catalog or search, ship or meet.
Sell or trade: the question is what you want next
If you know the next watch, trade. The appraisal is identical, so you give up nothing on the number, and the credit moves straight into the new piece without the money passing through your account and back. If the next watch is in the case, the deal can close in one appointment. If it is not, the credit holds while I source it.
If you do not know the next watch, or there is no next watch, sell. A sale closes faster, the wire lands within 24 hours of inspection, and you are free to buy from anyone later. Trading toward a piece you are lukewarm about is the one move I talk clients out of.
Catalog or search: the question is how specific you are
The catalog is what I have, photographed and inspected, ready to hand over this week. If a piece there fits, that is the simplest purchase on this site. Sourcing is for the buyer who wants a particular reference, a particular dial, a particular year, or a full set in a condition that does not come up often. It takes longer because the watch has to be found and then inspected to the same standard before I will put my name on it.
A fair test: if you can describe the watch you want in one sentence with a reference number in it, source it. If you would be happy with any of three or four pieces, look in the case first.
Ship or meet: the question is distance, not trust
Both end in the same inspection and the same payment. Meeting is for sellers and buyers within reach of Miami-Dade, Broward, or Palm Beach who want to see the loupe come out. Shipping is for everyone else in the USA. The label is prepaid on my account, insured, signed for at both ends, and the box is opened on camera. The secure shipping page walks through the whole procedure. I do not ship internationally, in either direction.
What I need from you, service by service
- Selling: photos of the dial, case back, clasp, and papers in daylight; the reference; what you know of the service history; whether you prefer to ship or meet.
- Trading: everything above, plus the watch you want, or the three you are choosing between.
- Buying from the case: the reference you are looking at, whether you are in South Florida or remote, and a time for the call if remote.
- Sourcing: the reference, the dial and metal, the condition you will accept, whether a full set is required, and how patient you are prepared to be.
What I will not do
- Buy or trade smartwatches, fashion-brand watches, or projects without provenance.
- Pretend a fashion-brand chronograph is collectible.
- Quote a price by email without photos, or on a 5711 at all. Call me.
- Sell a watch with hairlines I have not photographed.
- Ship internationally. USA only, in and out.
- Discuss who sold me what, or who bought it.
When a private dealer is not the right call
If you have months and want the highest possible private-sale price, a patient sale to a collector may land above a dealer offer; the cost comparisons under resources are honest about that. If you want to browse hundreds of listings, a marketplace does that and I do not. If the watch is outside the brands I deal in, I will say so and will not invent a number. And if the piece is sentimental and you are undecided, keep it. A good watch does not lose value sitting in a safe while you make up your mind.
Where to go from here
Sellers and traders: the appraisal form. Buyers: the catalog, or the buy-by-brand pages if you want to know what to expect from a pre-owned Rolex, Patek Philippe, or Omega before you look. Searchers: the sourcing page. Anyone unsure: the phone number at the bottom of this page reaches me, not a desk.
Start here
Not sure which door? Start with the appraisal.
A sale can become a trade once you see the number. Photos and a few details in, a specific figure and the reasoning back within 1 business day. Or call and ask.