[Avi]

Folks,

Any recommendations on a Rolex AD in the Bay Area, or who ships out of state. I'm looking at purchasing a Rolex Sea Dweller (not the new Deep Sea).

Thanks!

- Avi

 

[bullandvodka]

In SF, there are only 2: Shreve & Co. and Tourneau. Both will ship out of state, but sadly don't discount. There are a couple others in the South and East Bay. I don't know about Marin, but I expect someone is up there too.

Good Luck!

 

[BlueHawaii]

Hi Avi,

East Bay here, but...

One of my co-workers got his Rolex Date at Davidson and Licht in Walnut Creek. He said he really likes their service.

And while I've not purchased a watch from them, Heller Jewlers in San Ramon seems to have pretty good service the times I have been in there. Of course alot depends on the salesperson you encounter. I don't have a Rolex, only Omega SMP but I do covet the no-date Sub. One of these days!

 

[boa2]

Avi,

If you have no luck with the Bay Area AD's stock, I would recommend trying Grebitus or Devons in Sacramento. Slower moving inventory right now.

Best of luck!

 

[Oysterdavid]

Elsewhere in San Francisco

There's an AD near Chinatown in SF...you'll have to go to the Rolex.com site to find them...another in Berkeley...same directions...both have been rumored in the past to be 'flexable' on price.
In Marin, there's Julianna's in Corte Madera...nice folks, but unknown about pricing flexability.
If when you say 'ship out of state' you're referring to buying at the counter and having the AD ship to an out of state address to avoid sales tax...many AD's will do this for you...but if you're referring to mail order from out of state to your California address...most likely you'll have to go gray market to accomplish that.

Good luck in your quest.

 

[patrick_b]

While I can't help you with SF, in the last year I visited AD's across the country. Most were in the northeast (Boston & NYC). One thing I found to be true [generally speaking] is that you'll get better customer service and discount opportunities in small markets compared to the big cities.

Again, generally speaking. I'm sure there are exceptions. I looked for my GMTIIC for a good six months. I would have bought it from whomever had it in stock, but luckily, none of the big city AD's had one to sell (Boston, NYC, Atlanta, San Diego, San Fran, Chicago). I finally found it in a smaller market in upstate NY...and got a very reasonable discount as well as great service.

Stores like Tourneau & Wempe don't seem to offer any discount on Rolex sports models. It may be because I didn't have a relationship with any of these AD's, but I asked about pricing on a variety of sports models (Sub, LV & SD). All said they do not discount those models. The dealer who sold me my GMTIIC, offered a discount without me asking!

So, try some smaller market stores if you can.

 

[Avi]

Thanks guys!

For some reason AGH (now banned) bought this thread back up. I did end up getting my Sub from my SF AD. No, I did not get a discount, but I'm working towards establishing a relationship with them for a forthcoming SS Daytona purchase.

Appreciate your inputs!