Tag Archive for: pre-owned watches

Used Watches: How to Shop for a Pre-Owned Watch in Orange County & Surrounding Areas

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Shopping for Used Watches or a Pre-Owned Luxury Watch in Orange County

Shopping for used watches can feel like a daunting task at first. With so many variables, knowing what to look for when searching for the perfect pre-owned watch can be tricky at first. But if executed properly, there are many benefits to buying used watches.

With over 35 years buying, selling and trading used watches in Southern California, we’ve been able to put together a list of do’s & don’ts to help you with your search. Let’s explore how to find the best used watches and watch stores in Orange County & surrounding areas.

How Does the Watch Store Acquire their Used Watches?

luxury used watches at Watch & Wares

Come shop the largest selection of used watches in Orange County

Most savvy watch buyers are elated to find a watch store that sells pre-owned watches. For many, buying a used watch is like buying a used car. Some pre-owned watches have been cared for so well you can’t tell they’re not new.

A good place to start is by finding out how the used watch store acquires their timepieces. Find out if they’ve got a long lasting reputation in the industry and community, and whether the watches come from reputable sources. The last thing you want is to buy a used watch and to find out it wasn’t taken care of.

Does the Watch Store Service & Restore their Used Watches?

pre owned rolex, pre-owned rolex, used rolex

Make sure your shop restores their timepieces the RIGHT way.

Because there are so many watch dealers in Orange County, you’ve got to make sure you’re doing your homework. Find out if the used watch store has an in-house watchmaker. Furthermore, find out if they service the used watches they sell. If you want to buy a vintage watch, find out their watchmaker restored it to OEM specs. Of course, some people don’t want them to get rid of the coveted patina or character, you simply want to make sure the movement is properly-tuned.

A good used watch store should have an in-house master watchmaker who knows the ins-and-outs of watch movement. Therefore, the watch store should service the used watches they sell and restore vintage watches to their manufacturer’s specs.

Does the Watch Store Offer a Warranty on Used Watches?

warranty, pre-owned watch, watch bench, watch repair

Make sure your pre-owned watch is backed by a warranty.

Find out if the watch store offers a warranty on their pre-owned watches. When buying a new watch, the manufacturer will usually provide the service warranty. Unfortunately, on some used watches, the manufacturer’s warranty may not still be active.

A warranty on your used watch will also ensure that the pre-owned watch store stands behind their product. Many used watch stores in Orange County don’t offer warranties or offer limited warranties on used watches. Therefore, a good rule of thumb is to ask about the pre-owned watch warranty before even trying a watch on.

Research Before Buying Used Watches: What is the Pre-Owned Watch Store’s Reputation?

In today’s world of online reviews and customer feedback, it goes without saying you should do your research before buying a used watch in Orange County. Websites like Yelp and search engines like Google offer a place where customers can leave reviews for businesses. Before buying a pre-owned watch from a watch store or jeweler, check out their online reviews.

Find out if the pre-owned watch dealer has a good reputation and upholds its promise to their customers. It’s important to read a few reviews before your used watch purchase because every watch store will have a different return policy. Furthermore, you’ll feel better about buying a used watch from a reputable watch store. Finally, ask a lot of questions. Find out if the store’s used watches come with a box & papers, certificate/card, original tools, etc.

Watch & Wares is the Best Place to Buy Used Watches in Orange County

Watch & Wares has been buying selling and trading used watches in Orange County for over 35 years. Because of our experience, we’ve been able to take the headache out of buying a used watch in Orange County. We’ve got a reputation as the best place to buy a pre-owned watch in Southern California for many reasons:

 

  • 2 year warranty on all contemporary used watches / 1 year on all vintage watches
  • Pre-Owned Watches are serviced & restored to OEM specs by an in-house master watchmaker
  • Our Master Watchmaker was a former Rolex Technician and knows his movements
  • We acquire our pre-owned watches from reputable sources and most are like-new
  • We provide a box & papers for most of our used watches for sale
  • Our reviews don’t lie – 5 stars on Yelp and 100% Feedback on eBay since the early 90’s
  • We have the largest selection of used watches in Southern California
  • Take advantage of our 12 month layaway – make monthly interest-free payments

Watch & Wares Carries All Major Brands of Used Watches & Pre-Owned Watches

Because we believe any used watch store worth their salt should have a large inventory, we’ve invested decades into collecting only the best used watches in Southern California. Our pre-owned watch collection spans many decades, and we work hard to ensure a great customer experience.

Our owner, William Houchin has spent his life collecting, buying and selling the finest pre-owned timepieces from all major watch brands. Watch & Wares has it all: from pre-owned Rolex watches to vintage Patek Philippe. Furthermore, every used watch we sell is secured with a warranty and pre-purchase service.

We carry pre-owned watches in Orange County from the following brands:

  • Rolex
  • Breitling
  • Cartier
  • Panerai
  • Omega
  • Tag Heuer
  • Patek Philippe
  • Bell & Ross
  • Audemars Piguet
  • Franc Vila
  • Ulysse Nardin
  • IWC
  • Roger Dubuis
  • Jaeger-LeCoultre
  • Breguet
  • Glashutte
  • Longines
  • Tudor
  • Corum
  • Hamilton and more!

Come see us at our new location in the Orange Circle and try on Southern California’s largest collection of used watches. Call us at 714-633-2030 or stop in and try on some watches today! Of course, if you’d like to send us a message, simply reach out using our handy contact form!

If you’d like to sell your used watch in Orange County, you can also visit our Tustin Location!

 *Watch & Wares is not affiliated with any of the watch brands or manufacturers mentioned in this article

Do I Need to Wind My Automatic Watch?

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Do I Need to Wind My Automatic Watch?

Part of what draws many people to purchasing a watch with automatic movement is the belief that they will never need to wind the watch in order to start its movement or charge its power reserve. Do I need to wind my Automatic Watch? At Watch & Wares, we get this question fairly often. The short answer is yes, you do need to wind your automatic watch. We understand that part of the reason most people purchase or wear an automatic watch is because they just want to set it and forget it. Let’s explore how the automatic movement in a watch works and

Why Do I Have to Wind My Automatic Watch?

While an automatic watch doesn’t require you to wind it while you are wearing it, it definitely helps to understand how the movement functions, and how a watch mainspring works. As you may or may not know, there is weighted rotor, which is sometimes also referred to as a pendulum, which spins inside most traditional automatic watch movements. If your watch features a skeleton case back, you can view the rotor spinning or if you put your ear to it, you can hear your watch’s rotor moving inside the watch. The watch rotor’s job is to help charge the automatic watch’s mainspring through energy, not all watch rotors are built to work the same way.

How Does the Rotor Inside Your Automatic Watch Work?

Some rotors will wind your watch only when spinning in a certain direction, others will charge your watch when spinning either way. Some rotors are weighted in order to enhance their spin or add some energy to it to keep it going with each move of your wrist. Other movements are extremely light so that they can spin around with even the least amount of movement as you wear them throughout the day. This proves useful for people who are not as active and might be sitting at a desk for a long time, but still want to keep their automatic watch ticking.

Some automatic watch rotors are connected to heavy gear trains (which can all vary) with different numbers of wheels depending on the type of watch movement as well as how many hours the watch can run between windings. As a result, each rotor will charge the respective watch’s mainspring with a different amount of energy.

Do I Have to Wind My Automatic Watch Even with Regular Wear?

No matter what type of rotor you have in your automatic watch, keep in mind that a rotor will never be as efficient at winding your watch using the crown. So while wearing your automatic watch should keep it wound and running while it’s being worn, you’re basically relying on the energy you stored throughout the day to keep it ticking throughout the evening and when you take it off periodically. What this means, is that if your timepiece did not start out with a full charge (meaning a mainspring that is wound with full tension), then it will often not end the day with a full charge, simply because you were wearing it and kept the rotor spinning… eventually your mainspring will completely unwind and you’ll need to wind your your automatic watch in order to get the mainspring ready to get those wheels moving again.

How Does the Mainspring in My Automatic Watch Affect the Watch’s Power Reserve?

Every automatic watch movement’s mainspring is a little different from one another. On some watches, the first three quarters of its mainspring’s charge will often be the most accurate, keeping the best time. The final quarter of tension on the mainspring (25% of power reserve) will often cause the movement and watch to speed up slightly but this differs from movement to movement.

Because of this small tendency to speed the watch up during the last quarter of the watch’s power reserve, it is also important for your to ensure that your watch is as close to fully-wound every time you wear it… that is of course unless your timekeeping isn’t too important to you, but we have yet to meet a watch fanatic where this is the case!

If you don’t manually wind your automatic watch every morning using the crown, you really won’t know if your watch is at the last 25 percent of its power reserve causing it to speed it up slightly. Some watches have a power reserve window with a gauge in the movement indicating how much power is left in the reserve.

Check out the Panerai Luminor Marina 8-Days Acciaio. It’s also known as the PAM00510 and it features an 8-day power reserve!

Contact Watch & Wares with Questions About Your Automatic Watch

Why won’t my rotor wind my automatic watch for me?

While the spinning rotor on your automatic watch will buy you a little time between wear, for best results, wind your automatic watch a little bit each morning or when you have a break throughout your day. Believe it or not, many horology fans and watch collectors enjoy winding their automatic watches each day. For some, it’s a connection with an amazing piece of our past. It brings to light hundreds of years of watchmaking that has made the small miracle of the contemporary watch or vintage watch on your wrist possible. For others, winding an automatic watch can be a break from an otherwise mundane work day or long commute.

We’ve been working with automatic watches for the last 3 decades Watch & Wares. We love getting questions about their specific movement and the characteristics of each timepiece we sell. We have the largest pre-owned watch selection in Orange County, California and sell more pre-owned watches than any watch store in the SoCal. If you have a question about a particular watch or have your eye on a specific timepiece in our eBay store or in our shop in The Orange Circle, please contact us or call us at 714-633-2030 and ask for our owner, William. He’d be happy to walk you through our biggest pre-owned watch inventory in OC as well as answer any questions you may have!

 

 

 

The Panerai PAM 00375 Luminor Composite 1950 3 Days (47mm)

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The Panerai PAM 00375 Luminor 1950 3-Days Composite (47mm)

The Panerai PAM 00375 Luminor 1950 3-Days Composite is part of a limited collection from Officine Panerai. Only 2,000 PAM 00375 timepieces were created, although the watch is Panerai at its best, plus a few added and more rare features. Also known as the Luminor 1950 3 Days Composite, the PAM 00375 has an a pure composite case which is rare, even for Panerai watches, who are always on the cutting edge of function and originality. The watch, which debuted publicly at the SIHH 2011 Luxury Watch Trade Fair in Geneva, Switzerland took 5 years before it was finally available for retail sale, primarily due to the development process for the new Panerai Composite case being perfected — offering watch lovers and horology fans  a true 1950 case Panerai, but one that is extremely light, strong and durable. Read more