Rainy Afternoon = Visit to Rolex AD

[Star Ferry]

Chow Tai Fook. Queens Road Central, Hong Kong.

While I bought an OP 34 with/for my wife, there was plenty of activity nearby. A cornucopia of questions were asked & answered, and the hot tea flowed like diet coke.

Can speak Chinese? Yes, which dialect would you prefer?

Hot water? Yes, we will bring you a cup now.

Are all of the watch real Rolex? Yes, we are an authorized dealer, and all watches come directly from Rolex.

Do you take American Express? Yes, of course.

Do you have the steel Sky Dweller? Why don't you have a seat by the sport models and allow us to check (Spoiler Alert: they didn't have any)

Do you have the Hulk Submariner? No, sorry sir. (They still managed to sell him a green DD40. He apparently loves the color green, and I can't blame him for that.)

[Star Ferry]

Took home fully stickered. Will do the sizing at RSC later this week

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[HK Islandboy]

Originally Posted by Star Ferry

Took home fully stickered. Will do the sizing at RSC later this week

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Nice! Congratulations to your wife

If the reports from home about my FedEx delivery are accurate, I’ll be paying a visit to the RSC tomorrow morning - ping me if you’re coming in!

[Star Ferry]

Originally Posted by HK Islandboy

Not bad.

While I do get aggressively plied with tea at any HK AD, I find the responses I get to questions about availability of SS sports models are usually a bit more direct - and involve variations on “no stock”, to “those are very popular models, sir”, to the optimistic “we have the explorer and some two-tone pieces”

I had first stopped by oriental watch (the one on Queen's road by the escalator and The Center) and it was exactly as you described. I inquired about a few models, and they said "not in stock" and watched me walk out the door

Chow Tai Fook (the one across Pedder from the Central building AP boutique) appeared to be making a real effort to sell their inventory

Originally Posted by HK Islandboy

Nice! Congratulations to your wife

If the reports from home about my FedEx delivery are accurate, I’ll be paying a visit to the RSC tomorrow morning - ping me if you’re coming in!

I'll be working around her schedule If morning works for her then I'll shoot you a PM

[HK Islandboy]

Originally Posted by Star Ferry

I had first stopped by oriental watch (the one on Queen's road by the escalator and The Center) and it was exactly as you described. I inquired about a few models, and they said "not in stock" and watched me walk out the door

Chow Tai Fook (the one across Pedder from the Central building AP boutique) appeared to be making a real effort to sell their inventory



I'll be working around her schedule If morning works for her then I'll shoot you a PM

...that is a step up from one of the other allegedly high-end Central watch retailers (not a Rolex AD) I recently visited where I encountered one of the staff sitting behind the counter loudly clipping his nails - compared to that, the compete indifference of the other sales people didn’t seem quite so off putting!!

[HK Islandboy]

Originally Posted by Star Ferry

I had first stopped by oriental watch (the one on Queen's road by the escalator and The Center) and it was exactly as you described. I inquired about a few models, and they said "not in stock" and watched me walk out the door

For a enormous store, heavily staffed, with likely a USD1mm++ monthly rental bill, the service is astonishingly poor - with the approach either being to do the Hong Kong shuffle (following 18” behind the customer, as if the customer is about to try to steal something) or to sit behind the counter fiddling with their phone, oblivious to the fact that there’s someone there who might want to buy something

The Rolex selection there is terrible. 90% TT models, and even among PM pieces, the selection is uninspired.

[Star Ferry]

Originally Posted by HK Islandboy

For a enormous store, heavily staffed, with likely a USD1mm++ monthly rental bill, the service is astonishingly poor - with the approach either being to do the Hong Kong shuffle (following 18” behind the customer, as if the customer is about to try to steal something) or to sit behind the counter fiddling with their phone, oblivious to the fact that there’s someone there who might want to buy something

The Rolex selection there is terrible. 90% TT models, and even among PM pieces, the selection is uninspired.

Yeah, it seemed like total incompetence and a waste of my time, so I walked out within 30 seconds

But I could also imagine local managers creating compensation packages that barely reward sales (thinking they are money-saving business geniuses) and then wondering why sales are so low

[HK Islandboy]

Originally Posted by Star Ferry

Chow Tai Fook. Queens Road Central, Hong Kong.

While I bought an OP 34 with/for my wife, there was plenty of activity nearby. A cornucopia of questions were asked & answered, and the hot tea flowed like diet coke.

Can speak Chinese? Yes, which dialect would you prefer?

Hot water? Yes, we will bring you a cup now.

Are all of the watch real Rolex? Yes, we are an authorized dealer, and all watches come directly from Rolex.

Do you take American Express? Yes, of course.

Do you have the steel Sky Dweller? Why don't you have a seat by the sport models and allow us to check (Spoiler Alert: they didn't have any)

Do you have the Hulk Submariner? No, sorry sir. (They still managed to sell him a green DD40. He apparently loves the color green, and I can't blame him for that.)

Not bad.

While I do get aggressively plied with tea at any HK AD, I find the responses I get to questions about availability of SS sports models are usually a bit more direct - and involve variations on “no stock”, to “those are very popular models, sir”, to the optimistic “we have the explorer and some two-tone pieces”

[brandrea]

Congratulations to your wife!

[AK797]

Do they have Earl Grey?

Congrats, nice grape dial!

[Star Ferry]

Originally Posted by brandrea

Congratulations to your wife!

thank you

Originally Posted by AK797

Do they have Earl Grey?

Congrats, nice grape dial!

Not sure -- I'm still waiting for a diet coke to complete my "AD experience"

Thanks, the OP34 seems like a great little watch. She likes the sunburst effect

[Kostas]

Nice Grape ! Im sure she will love it ! congrats!

Id wear the 39 version no problem !

[Star Ferry]

Originally Posted by Kostas

Nice Grape ! Im sure she will love it ! congrats!

Id wear the 39 version no problem !

Thanks

I think the whole OP line is underrated. The OP36 in steel might be the most discreet Rolex I've seen

[THC]

No stock for you!!!

[stylinleems]

Originally Posted by THC

No stock for you!!!

^^ (As Elaine stated - NEXT)


OP - Congrats to your wife!!

[Totoro]

I remember shopping at Chow Tai Fook ages ago. The golden era of watch shopping in HK. Fluted Jubilee DJ for only 2800 USD in 2002. They asked if I wanted tea and I said actually I could use an espresso. So they sent someone to thr cafe nearby to get me one. Amazing service.

Was getting my watch sized. While I waited. The sales guy brought out 3 Day Dates in PM. That is when I fell in love with the ice blue platinum. Still my grail to this day. Hope to get in 9 years when I turn 50. Purchased 3 more watches for family members from them. Discounts were amazing then and selection and stock was plentiful.

[Star Ferry]

Definitive proof that wrist shots exaggerate watch size


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[moorery2001]

Originally Posted by Star Ferry

Definitive proof that wrist shots exaggerate watch size


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Love Love Love the dial on this watch!

[HK Islandboy]

Originally Posted by Star Ferry

Definitive proof that wrist shots exaggerate watch size


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Great looking watch. Looks even better on the wrist than in the box

[travisb]

I like that grape dial. Congrats to you and your wife!

[HogwldFLTR]

Congratulations to you and your wife!!! Great looking watch!!!

[yannis]

Congrats guys!

[faz]

Congrats!

For those who know, I have a question: Is there an advantage in buying at a Hong Kong AD for those of us in U.S. with access to trusted sellers here?

(My wife will have her first business trip to Hong Kong and then to China and back in a couple of weeks.)

[Star Ferry]

Originally Posted by faz

Congrats!

For those who know, I have a question: Is there an advantage in buying at a Hong Kong AD for those of us in U.S. with access to trusted sellers here?

(My wife will have her first business trip to Hong Kong and then to China and back in a couple of weeks.)

Price-wise, no. In my experience, ADs here typically offer no more than 5% discount

The upside is convenience. No sales tax or VAT, lots of ADs, and virtually every production Rolex will be on display somewhere, besides certain steel sport watches

[faz]

Originally Posted by Star Ferry

Price-wise, no. In my experience, ADs here typically offer no more than 5% discount



The upside is convenience. No sales tax or VAT, lots of ADs, and virtually every production Rolex will be on display somewhere, besides certain steel sport watches

Thank you for the info. I will see if she wants to drop in at some ADs in between her work. She has been talking about a RG Daytona on strap since trying one on at a local AD here. Who knows?


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[HK Islandboy]

Originally Posted by faz

Thank you for the info. I will see if she wants to drop in at some ADs in between her work. She has been talking about a RG Daytona on strap since trying one on at a local AD here. Who knows?


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This thread is a good reminder of the risks of importing high value items without declaring them - https://www.rolexforums.com/showthread.php?t=564739

...thought the US import duties should be less than the UK VAT referred to in the thread

I would not have thought that there would be any advantage to buy from an AD here vs the US. There are a couple of grey sellers it may be interesting to check out. PM me if you want details

[Star Ferry]

Originally Posted by HK Islandboy

This thread is a good reminder of the risks of importing high value items without declaring them - https://www.rolexforums.com/showthread.php?t=564739

...thought the US import duties should be less than the UK VAT referred to in the thread

I would not have thought that there would be any advantage to buy from an AD here vs the US. There are a couple of grey sellers it may be interesting to check out. PM me if you want details

If there's any advantage, it would be the lack of sales tax. In NYC it's almost 9% and in CA nearly 8%. Even for foreigners, it's non-refundable

But yes, I agree, everyone should keep customs rules in mind. US import duty for watches is officially 6%. Methods like wearing the watch and shipping box/papers are common but illegal

[faz]

Originally Posted by HK Islandboy

This thread is a good reminder of the risks of importing high value items without declaring them - https://www.rolexforums.com/showthread.php?t=564739



...thought the US import duties should be less than the UK VAT referred to in the thread



I would not have thought that there would be any advantage to buy from an AD here vs the US. There are a couple of grey sellers it may be interesting to check out. PM me if you want details

Thank you for the reminder. Yes we always claim the goods, most of the time they let us through with no added duties (extra bottle of whiskey for example). But I am sure a high priced item like watch would get a hit. Something to consider for sure.


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[Star Ferry]

Originally Posted by faz

Thank you for the info. I will see if she wants to drop in at some ADs in between her work. She has been talking about a RG Daytona on strap since trying one on at a local AD here. Who knows?


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That RG Daytona sounds like a great idea for your wife

and I forgot to mention my favorite HK AD convenience: no extra cost for using a credit card. Air miles FTW

[And1dre]

Congrats to your wife!