A Rolex watch gets sold and bought by the same rule: papers on the counter, checked in front of you, and no rush.
A watch gets bought with your head, not your heart.
A Rolex watch is one of the few things you buy to wear and, when you need to, also sell. It gets inherited and it gets gifted. Which is why the question never changes: how do I know that what’s in front of me is what it says it is?
The answer is in the papers and in the inspection, not in the shine. At 88 Nagle Avenue we buy and sell name-brand watches, and the rule is the same in both directions: everything gets looked at in front of you.
If you’re here to sell: what to bring
The watch, with whatever you still have of it: box, card and purchase papers. They help, but they aren’t required. A watch with no box gets appraised too.
If it’s ever been serviced, bring the record. It helps.
Don’t send it out to be fixed or cleaned before you bring it in. It gets appraised as it is.
A photo ID. New York requires it for this kind of transaction, and it gets recorded.
What gets checked at the counter
It goes under the loupe and the condition gets checked, in front of you. Raffi walks you through what he sees, without the jargon.
Then you get the full number. If it works for you, you get paid the same day: cash, Zelle or card. If it doesn’t, you take your watch home and nothing happened.
The appraisal is free, whether you sell or not. Plenty of people come in just to find out what they have, and that’s fine.
If you’re here to buy: look, try it on, ask
Rolex watches, Cartier watches and other name brands. Every watch gets checked before it goes in the case.
You see it, you try it on your wrist and you ask whatever you want. Nobody leaves without understanding what they bought.
Ask what papers come with the watch you’re interested in, and ask to see them before you decide.
Three questions worth asking, and one you don’t need to
What papers come with this watch, and when was it last serviced. Whether the bracelet is complete and closes properly. Whether the box and the card come with it.
These are normal questions, and here they get answered with the watch in your hand. Somebody who sells calmly doesn’t mind one more question.
The one you don’t need to ask is why there’s no price list on the site. Every watch is different: brand, year, condition and papers, and two watches that look the same on the outside can be worth very different amounts on the inside.
You get the number with the watch in your hand and with you watching.
Where and when
88 Nagle Avenue, Inwood, Manhattan. Every day from 9:00 AM to 7:30 PM, no appointment, in order of arrival.
If you want to get ahead of it, send a photo of the watch and the papers on WhatsApp. We’ll tell you what to bring.
