First and foremost, I have a great admiration for all the watch related websites as they have a big role in our watch collecting journey.
Hodinkee is one of the biggest watch related websites that I have a great respect for, due their contribution in horology and the awareness they spread around watches. Put it this way; there‘s likely not a single watch that I’ve bought myself that I hadn't read the review on Hodinkee, so this blog topic by no means is targeted at Hodinkee or basically any website or professional seller, rather it’s for my community that I genuinely care about.
I received this email from Hodinkee last night about them introducing their Pre-owned watches on the website. I went straight in to check the website and look for the pieces available for sale.
I really love Royal Oaks personally so I went straight in to see what pieces were there. The 15300 blue dial caught my eye and I started to look closer at it.
Without spending too much time and without any macro analysis (bit of a banter), I noticed that the hexagonal screw just above the 1 o clock hour marker was facing in incorrect position (and was misaligned).
It was surprising for me because I genuinely think that Hodinkee would check all their pieces before listing them up for sale, as I do expect a lot from a brand as big as Hodinkee. But then again, we are all humans and an oversight can happen by anyone; by me, by you; or people at Hodinkee. We are all humans at the end of the day!
Looking closer at the listing, again, while I can’t confirm because I’m only looking at the photos, I actually think that this particular misaligned screw is not even hexagonal rather has a round screw head, which is just wrong. At least that’s how it looks on the photos which I’ll copy below. I have circled the bezel screw I am referring too.
This, if true, is a sad sight because someone may end up buying it and find this fault later, which just takes away the pleasure and joy of owning and wearing the masterpiece like this.
The reason I am writing this, while I came in for my lunch break, is to caution you and reiterate the faith in something very important.
“Buy the seller“ is a very universally accepted terminology in the watch world, but it’s the experience and sights like these that remind me that “DO YOUR DILIGENCE“ is really what can’t be outweighed by “buy the seller”.
Do your home work and complete your checks before you buy from basically anyone, myself included.
If you’re considering this particular 15300 from Hodinkee that I’ll link below, make sure to “do your diligence“
Here’s the photos:
Share your experience in the comments below, and don’t forget to share this with the communities that matter to you
Here’s the link to the listing:
https://shop.hodinkee.com/products/audemars-piguet-royal-oak-15300st-oo-1220st-02-10-10-aud-tx952m