How are EUR prices of vintage pieces doing?

[jfmiii]

Given that it is not technically legal to import any Rolex into the US, have EUR prices outpaced USD prices on vintage pieces recently? I'll be heading to Europe for vacation this summer and, assuming the EUR/USD cross stays around parity, I am getting quite excited to visit vintage shops in Italy. It seems the prices on watches in Europe on sites like chrono24 are much more affordable in USD than they were a year ago. A 5k EUR watch this time last year was $7k; today a 5k EUR is $5,250. Theoretically, EUR prices should be rising faster than USD to eliminate an arbitrage, but the fact that you cant import Rolex into the US complicates matters. Im curious what our friends in the EU are seeing in terms of prices given the strong US dollar.....

[greekbum]

My experience is that they have raised prices in the EU

[cajuntiger]

doesn't the import ban exempt vintage pieces?

[adam78]

No. Not at all.

[Micha]

just put in on your wrist...

[jfmiii]

Originally Posted by cajuntiger

doesn't the import ban exempt vintage pieces?

as far as i know, no, it does not.

[jfmiii]

Originally Posted by greekbum

My experience is that they have raised prices in the EU

thank you Nikos! you certainly would know!

[steptoe]

Like for like second hand watches in europe are generally priced more expensive than in the USA.

[HolyCosmic]

i recently have been to zurich and was suprised how expensive everything is and not just watches... and i am not talking about after the swiss franc spike..

[sennheiserz]

It's illegal to import a rolex from a european seller? What's that about?

[jedly1]

Originally Posted by sennheiserz

It's illegal to import a rolex from a european seller? What's that about?

rolex USA ( a wholly separate company to rolex SA ( rest of world) has an import restriction on any Rolex coming into the country ( so much for the land of the free lol ) .....it is meant to stop parallel importing and is pure protectionism at its best, unfortunately it also gets applied to vintage technically , though tbh most of the application of the policy , especially regards to vintage is based on 'rumour' , old wives tales and scare tactics....i know lots of people who buy overseas on a weekly basis and ship back and forth , IMHO you are much more likely to have a watch stolen in transit than have it snatched by the US government.

[cajuntiger]

Originally Posted by sennheiserz

It's illegal to import a rolex from a european seller? What's that about?

According to UPS, if you are purchasing from an Authorized Dealer it is ok:

Rolex Watches
To protect their trademark, Rolex has registered their trademark with the Intellectual Property Rights Branch of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Customs tightly controls the importation of Rolex watches. To import a Rolex watch into the U.S., the importer must provide proof to Rolex’s attorney that the watch was purchased abroad from an authorized dealer. Customs holds all shipments until proper authorization has been obtained.
Allow at least 2 weeks for Customs clearance.
If the watch was not purchased from an authorized dealer, it will either be seized by U.S. Customs and Border Protection or be returned to the shipper at the discretion of Rolex.

[Mark020]

Originally Posted by greekbum

My experience is that they have raised prices in the EU

+1. IMHO market price of vintage rolex is more or less based priced in dollars so a USD 10k watch was EUR 7k is now EUR 9k or so. If you are long Rolex (like me) the EUR/USD drop is nice