Thoughts on Torneau?

[AJMarcus]

Originally Posted by Wcdhtwn

Just say no, to Tourneau...

Exactly

[HJZS2K]

My experiences have been so-so. It's inconsistent until you make a purchase. I bought my YM from a Tourneau and it felt it they were testing me, having played the "oh we don't have what you're looking for" and then calling me the next day saying they did. Compared to a few weeks later where I visited a local London Jewelers and literally had the nicest chat for 2 hours, feeling like I was speaking with a friend who was showing me a collection than trying to upsell.

[M45]

Bought 4 watches from them, 114060, CHNR, 29mm DJ and 31mm DJ. Seem to be okay when they have something on hand, less enthusiastic when it comes to hard to find pieces and you're not a Tech Bro.

Told them I wanted a "Panda" Daytona for the old man and was told to piss off.

[leooooo]

They good. Better than ADs with long standing employees imo

[Seaswirl]

I’ve purchased a few watches from them over the past several years, and I can confirm that they are fairly awful. They don’t seem to value repeat customers and only seem to be interested in making a quick sale. The sales person I used to work with was great, but given their high turnover, my contact is now gone. They’re good for being able to see a lot of watches in one location and the resulting convenience, but there is no point in trying to establish a relationship with them, they simply don’t care.

[RFBHD]

The store in King of Prussia Mall outside of Philly is a joke. Always under staffed and it shows they just don't care....I visit the store in Naples FL when I am down there snow-birding and get treated like a king. Helen is the best and got me one of my grail watches. I also had a great experience at the store in Caesars in Las Vegas where I got my GMT.

[BillA]

The good news about Tourneau is that they will replace the battery free of charge for the life of your Rolex!

[pbubsy]

Didn't care for the one they used to have in San Diego but I had excellent help from a fellow watch geek in the Las Vegas location. The guy was great and their selection was fantastic. I told him I was just browsing but he actually wanted to show me anything I wished to see and held a long conversation about watches even though he knew he wasn't chasing a sale. Was in there over an hour chatting and had a great time. One of the best visits to any watch store I've had. Only experience to rival that was in the Breguet AD in the Bellagio. Again, great knowledge base, great conversion and very much enjoyed the double tourbillon watches and other marvels of watchmaking greatness they hold in their displays.

[getting started]

I bought my Tudor from DC Tourneau. They are ok. Like most of them said in this thread, preowned do not come with box and papers. There are no discounts given for new watches. You need to develop a relationship in order to get your grail watches.. overall not a bad experience..

[bezler]

Originally Posted by pj1369

Hi. Wondering about people's experiences with Torneau? I'm assuming because of there size they can probably help get hard to find models for re-occurring customers.

Experiences/thoughts?

Thanks!


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I really enjoy visiting the Torneau in Caesar's Palace in Vegas. They have very friendly sales people, and a wonderful selection of interesting watches. But the preowned pieces are really, really high.

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[Jster]

I’ve been to their stores in New York, San Francisco, and Boston. Every visit has been amateur hour. Little or wrong knowledge, poor engagement with the customer, just an overall negative feel.

[hambone1983]

I would describe their pricing philosophy as rapacious. I think someone must have told them that Govberg's was greedier and they just couldn't live with that.

[javert34]

I have visited and just browsed at the shops in DC and in NYC, and have been treated well. At the DC location the SA and I had a nice conversation even though I mentioned that I was just looking that particular day. I have purchased from both the Vegas location and the Palm Beach locations and both were very good experiences.

Back to the Vegas location, I was last there a couple of years ago and wasn’t a buyer that time, but my teenage son was. With his budget, he was not browsing at the Rolex counter, but rather had his eye on the Citizens at the back of the store. The SA treated him as well as I would have expected if he had been shopping for a Patek and took a great deal of time with him.

I know a lot of people aren’t impressed with them, but I have always had a good experience whether buying or just looking.

[calebb90]

A few thoughts on Tourneau:

-usually in cities and get a decent amount of tourist dollars and so not as dependent on repeat business
-the repeat business they do have is focused on the whales that buy multiple brands. They love to sell you a few Breguet, Breitling, or Cartier before they offer your Submariner...
-employee turnover seems high. Good sellers can make much more money elsewhere, so you’re mostly left with the crappy ones coasting to retirement or younger SA who are great with service but don’t have the pull to get you any in-demand watches.

So overall, if you meet someone you like working with and they have a product you want, go for it! But I wouldn’t hedge bets on a “relationship”.


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[csaltphoto]

I've only been to a few but have always had nice chats with the staff. We joke about the lack of SS professional models, I try a few on, yada.

Folks are right about the pricing though on used models. Seems to range from about 30% higher than market to double on popular models. Last one I was at had a 6 digit SS non C Daytona for 31K. Of course the pricing reflects the overhead of a brick and mortar store and some folks are unaware of or uncomfortable with online buying for expensive used watches.

But the PM pricing is pretty off too (At AD's in general). I was looking at a WG DD and it would be over 40K with tax. David SW has the same watch for 32K, brand new.

[Droolex]

YMMV. Like any AD the right salesperson makes a big difference. Made a strong connection with a salesperson and made several purchases over the years.

[beshannon]

Originally Posted by pj1369

Hi. Wondering about people's experiences with Torneau? I'm assuming because of there size they can probably help get hard to find models for re-occurring customers.

Experiences/thoughts?

Thanks!


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Visited twice, poor service, high prices, generally a very poor experience. I would not revisit that store again.

[jltait]

Tourneau is a great place to shop JLC, IWC, and Breitling. They will move mountains to move one of those.

[nick_s_g]

IMO Tourneau in NYC has treated me well and others I know as well. Mainly the uptown/flagship location.

[Seafox0814]

Tourneau wanted $16k for a used Hulk with no boxes, no papers, and no negotiation possible!

I told them thanks but no thanks.

[jlovda]

Originally Posted by BillA

The good news about Tourneau is that they will replace the battery free of charge for the life of your Rolex!

Did they tell you this when you bought a GMT?

[ap1]

Not a great retailer I’d say

[Dr. Robert]

The Tourneau/Rolex staff in San Francisco seem better now that Bucherer took over.

[NLM]

No box / no papers = no sale.

[Dr.Stu]

I have been a long time customer of Tourneau, have been in many locations & purchased a number of watches over the years in NY at the main Time Machine, at the much smaller, but excellently staffed Bryant Park store & from their preowned location on Madison (w/a Rolex Boutique attached), have purchased watches at the Vegas location (where my old SA recently left (Arggghhh!), at Bryant Park, and several this year at the King-of-Prussia location outside of Philadelphia as well, which, unlike the poster above, I have never found under-staffed. (BTW, it's at the main entrance of the second largest mall in America & if they get crushed on a Saturday I just have a little patience.)

I have met & spoken with many very nice associates, (some very knowledgeable, some newer ones less so -I like to tell them something about a watch they didn't know), whether buying or not, whether they knew me or not, and have always had a positive experience there browsing loads of watches, which is why it is where I prefer to shop (and browse.)

Sure, as anywhere (& with anything) YMMV and "the right salesperson makes a big difference", and I have walked out of some big name watch stores/boutiques b/c of the way I was being treated, or pressured, (or ignored), but never at a Tourneau. I think Bucherer made a good call when they bought them.

[GCarSF]

TL;DR - I've purchased two Rolex pieces from the Tourneau in San Francisco and I have had mixed reviews. The SF location has a separate Rolex boutique and another shop that sells other brands as well as pre owned. They are right next to each other at the mall down town. Once I found a SA that I liked and worked well with, my experience has been great.

Backstory (sorry kind of long):

At the main location (sans Rolex), I've had good conversations with the SAs there and have browsed the different brands and generally had a good experience. I have not bought anything form that shop however.

The two watches I bought were both Rolexes. The first few times I stopped at the Rolex boutique I felt like they weren't super friendly and didn't really want to chat. I was getting married in November 2019 and was planning to get a Rolex as my wedding watch.

I was primarily looking at Datejusts but I also put my name on the waitlist for a SubC Date in March 2019, with no expectations. I figured the waitlist was so long that by the time I came to the top I'd be ready for it.

Here's where it gets kind of weird: Fast forward to May 2019, I get an email saying that I was number 1 on the SubDate waitlist. To date i have no purchase history with them so I'm a little shocked that it only took 2 months to get to the top of the list.

I continue emailing the SA and I wasn't immediately able to pick up the watch and they got kind of rude in the email commenting about how maybe I wasn't serious about getting the watch. When I was able to come in, the SA was off so she told me to ask for her manager. When I show up and ask for my Sub, some other SA tells me that no watches have come in today. Surprised, I reply that no I received an email from XXX that my Sub was here. After a little wait, i get the manager working for that day and he helped me get my Sub and from then on it was a good experience. But up until then I felt like the employees were pretty rude.

I still wanted my Datejust for my wedding, so after July when the new 126234's were orderable I walked into the Rolex Boutique and asked the first SA that I saw to place and order for a White Dial Roman 36mm. I didn't use the SA that got me the Sub because I felt like they weren't very helpful even when I was about to buy the first watch.

This SA was great from the beginning and I feel like I'm actually getting good service now. For any future purchases I will definitely use her.

I think it comes down to the rep who is helping you. If you can find someone that you like at an AD i think that is all that matters.

[Watchflair]

It's retail - you deal with some great and some not so great. Turnover can be high like any retail employer.



I've had a few great experiences with Tourneau recently. I normally wouldn't name names but a great experience is worth public recognition.

Westchester Mall location in White Plains I've purchased a DD 36, 116500 Black Daytona C, and GMT CHNR 126711 from Ignacio and he was fantastic. He was knowledgeable, accommodating, and rolled out the red carpet with a great experience.

Roosevelt Field location in Garden City I've purchased a Omega SMP in Blue from Nick - I did everything via text message after meeting him at a Rolex Forums GTG a few months ago - super easy and great experience.



Really like anything it just depends on who you deal with - so far I've been happy and I'm sure I'll be doing more business with them (hopefully in the near future lol) just waiting on the call






I've said it before and I'll say it again - retail is tough. It's not easy to be an SA right now when inventory is non existent and EVERYONE wants the same pieces. Give em' a brake.

[ma.st.]

TLDR: they're people too and its hit or miss for any AD, really. I recently had a very positive experience with a NY location. Also, hard "no" on B&P's due to personal info

While in NY over the holidays I bought my wife a PM piece as a Christmas surprise. My SA was very accommodating knowing I was flying in from the west coast to see family, and would have a small 2 hour window to sneak away to pick up the watch. The day I went was downright insanely busy and I was unimpressed by the entire operation. It seemed no one knew anything and understaffed would be an understatement. If I wasn't waiting for someone and something specific I would have left and begrudged the same sentiment as others have.

As an aside while waiting to be helped, a gentleman waltzed in with his wife, asked to see the WG sub in the case and within 5 seconds of it coming out said "I'll take it." I was so happy for him because he unexpectedly got his grail that day. He also was written off a little in the beginning so it was great to see him pull the trigger without hesitation and perhaps show everyone there to not judge a book by its cover.

So fast forward and we were returning from Philly to NYC on the 27th and again had a tight window to get it sized before our flight out. I called and explained we were on our way but dependent on traffic if we'd make it there before closing. They offered to stay late to make sure we got it taken care of before flying back to the west coast. So we went back in on the 27th, my wife and 8 month old daughter with me, and had the place to ourselves. The whole staff team knew us and said they were expecting us. We spent over an hour with the same SA, who stayed an hour and a half later than her shift. The same SA that felt rushed 6 days earlier got to know us, recognized from afar and was genuinely interested in my Aquanaut (as an enthusiast not a salesperson) and my wife was thrilled with her first real AD experience.

The SAs and managers are people and people, not transactions, make the difference, both as the seller and the buyer. I don't need to give anyone the privilege of parting me from my money or kiss ass for the opportunity. But when an individual takes the time to make something happen in a crunch especially at the holidays then they deserve my disposable income and will get my loyalty. I could have written them off that first interaction, but I'm glad I didn't. I'd happily buy from them again.

As for used prices, they run periodic promos of 15% off that bring them back to reality and in some cases under other dealers prices. It's all about monitoring the references you want and pouncing.

Also, I inquired about the B&P thing on preowned and the policy is a hard "no" because the papers have previous owner personal info on them. I get it, but agree it is disappointing for those that value the market's reward for a complete set. I'm a minimalist and I guess not a box and papers die hard as I tend to value condition/unpolished more than accessories that will clutter up the shelf in my closet, but I completely get it and respect the desire to own a full set : )

[MikeyTX]

Only been in one. Chicago. That was years ago. Wasn't overly impressed. Otoh, I wasn't in the market at the time. I'm more comfortable buying from https://davidsw.com/ He is one of the best re sellers on the board

[bezler]

Originally Posted by jltait

Tourneau is a great place to shop JLC, IWC, and Breitling. They will move mountains to move one of those.

Does that include serious discounting?

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