Crown & Caliber

I have nothing but good things to say. I was searching for a watch for my fiancé, and wanted to trade in one of my own (Cartier Roadster with a pink face) towards it. Not only did I get a fantastic price for his watch, they offered me a more than fair trade in price for mine. The process took a little under two weeks total, and I’m now in the possession of the perfect engagement gift. Purinmaa and Regina were not only consummate professionals, they were warm, friendly, and helpful. I will definitely be making my next watch purchase here.

Be careful here!
Sold a 5 figure watch to them; they admittedly low balled me but a skosh better than the competition and safer than eBay so I went with it.
Imagine my surprise when their check sent to me was MUCH (5k) more than the agreed deal!
Then the hijinks began. I spent a couple of hours on the phone trying to point out THEIR mistake/​find someone who knew anything /​doing the right thing! No one knows anything of course…
Fast forward 24hrs (a Friday) and we’re at Defcon1 — I’m stealing their cash committing fraud and a crook per their messages to me. Once again try to call them back — can’t reach any of the players.
Ultimately resolved, but am eternally convinced if I had pocketed the cash unscrupulously no one there would have noticed or cared.
YMMV obviously, but they lost my business for sure.

When selling/​consigning my watch with C&C, The process from start to finish was easy and seamless!
I emailed them with photos of my watch, they called me the next day and from there it took about a month before my cheque arrived into my hands (USA to Canada).
The company is very transparent in their contract and they really made the process a pleasure to do business. I never once had the inkling that they were trying to bamboozle me or be sneaky in their dealings.
I was originally going to list my Breitling on ebay; however, I knew ebay would be a problem because my watched needed servicing (which would be expected by the potential buyer) and that cost was over $ 500 from Breitling. Plus, the fees that ebay and paypal take are just atrocious for what they give you in return. Lastly, any potential audience/​buyers would most likely pay duty since I would be shipping from Canada.
C & C was the optimal route to sell my watch because they have ‘in house’ watch experts who do the servicing, etc. And since my watch was selling from the USA, the customer base being largely in the States meant they were not paying fees such as duty which helped me! There is no doubt in my mind that I received the best price (USD) for my Breitling by going through C &C.
I had nothing but a positive experience with C & C’s staff, the contract and their terms and conditions which were reasonable.
If I am ever in the market for buying a luxury watch, I will go to C & C because I know that I will get an authentic watch that has been fully serviced at a good price.
Lastly, should this company go public on the stock exchange, I would seriously consider buying shares because of the nature of their business and how well run the company appears.
As for selling your time piece, 5 stars all the way!

i was very suspicious to start, asked to see insurance binders and the sort .
they sent me everything i asked for.
they fixed, posted and sold my watch and sent me that check without any problems. they sold for 5% less than they thought, but they got me more than i originally thought they would !

This place is a complete joke. I fill out a form to sell a watch, they only offer me a consignment option. The watch is brand new, and they want $ 399 to ‘prep and refinish the watch’ and then 20% fee for whatever the watch sells for. Are they out of their minds? I can list the watch on eBay and achieve the same thing. What a scam

Made an offer on a vintage watch. It was accepted. They serviced it and then worked with me through my crazy travel schedule to ship it. Communications and follow up by Tyler were great. I think this is the way to go for Vintage and Pre-​Owned buying and selling. I’ll be back.

Bad experience with this company!
First, bought a Rolex SS Daytona, described in excellent condition with box and papers. They said it included the green and red tags, but it did not include the green tag when received, FAIL! They said that they have experienced watch makers in house. They supposedly do a quality control check before sending out the watch. The watch was double boxed with a lot of padding and bubble wrapped, nice right? Well, I then opened the box, no signs of the box getting beat, no dents etc. was excited to see and try the watch on. First impression, watch looks good, repolished, clean… i then tried out the chronograph, well, the «seconds hand» stops at 58sec, FAIL!!! So I did a reset and tried again, same thing happened. I called customer service right away and they said, send it back so they can check to see whats wrong with it. I told them I’ll just send it back for a refund because God knows what else is wrong with that watch. I mean, come on, I just bought a high dollar watch and you’re telling me its broken? So I sent it back the next day, and then got my money credited back to my account close to about 2 weeks after it was sent out.
So I thought I shouldn’t judge them, maybe it was just one of those «Friday» watches that was overlooked by their watchmakers.
So a few weeks passed, I browsed their site and saw another Rolex, priced right, but no box and papers. Described as «very good» condition. Decided to give them another chance, since this watch is not a chrono, It should have no problems with the movement. Bought it again online, and called customer service the next day to confirm my order, and to ask to make sure the watch is indeed in «very good» condition, they said, yes it is. It was really difficult to see the details on the pictures provided in the website, so the reason for my call. Received the watch 2 business days later. Well, I opened the box, watch looks clean, except it had a chip on the crystal that was noticeable even without a magnifying glass. That flaw should have been disclosed on the ad so the buyer knows what he/​she is getting. I doubt that their watchmaker missed that. So I emailed customer service, same sales person I dealt with the first time. He apologized that I’m having a bad experience with the company. I told him, lets work it out. They said they were willing to replace the crystal with an aftermarket one, and I told them I want the original crystal, they said no. Ok, I made a compromise, how about they pay/​credit me half of the bill for me to have the crystal replaced at a local Rolex Service Center, but they said no, they insist on replacing it with an after market part. Very Disappointed! Now, I question the watches they service, do they install aftermarket parts inside the watch without disclosing it to buyers?
They are an online seller of high end «pre-​owned» watches, the least they could do is disclose the flaws that are obvious. I guess they are hoping that your 7-​day inspection window runs out before you notice it, so you can’t return it. Btw, the 7-​day window includes the 2days that it takes for them to ship you the watch, so basically you have 5-​days, lol! What a joke!
Anyhow, I’m just sharing my experience with them. For a small amount of money, they would rather lose a customer and future customers (word of mouth), than just fix their mistake properly. Its like going to a Mercedes Benz dealer, and they tell you, we’ll replace that part with an aftermarket part.
You decide! Buy with caution…

The process of selling and consigning timepieces is genius, as the system created by C&C is hassle free, trust-​worthy and quite competitive when compared to what anyone else could be paying for preowned timepieces. I’ve been tracking this company since it was initially launched and I highly recommend it to anyone looking to sell, consign or buy a Swiss Timepiece.

The experience with the staff was excellent. The Crown & Caliber team is professional and courteous, and the process is fairly transparent. Processing time from shipping my watch to C&C to getting it listed was a bit on the slow side, but nothing particularly frustrating.
The only reason this business does not get more stars is that, in my opinion, they should be able to list at an asking price reasonably close to what I could manage as a private seller, and that was not the case. My watch model has sold between private parties for a bit more than C&C listed at, and after their prep fee and 20% cut, I’m left a bit lighter than I would like. However, the benefit is that the sale is fire-​and-​forget, and I was more interested in getting the watch off my hands than in continuing to try to sell it myself.
IF YOU’RE WILLING TO NET A BIT LESS TO HAVE A SMOOTH AND EASY SALE, C&C IS A GREAT OPTION. Recommend.

Say what you mean and mean what you say! That is exactly my experience with C&C. I live in California and was hesitant to ship my watch cross country to a company I could only see on the Internet. It was so easy and they did a great job in getting me over $ 3,000 more than the best price from several different watch brokers.
If I could give 6 stars I would.
Thank you to the great staff who assisted me.
Don’t hesitate to use C&C if you are considering selling your watch.

I have just completed my first sale with C&C. I was very impressed with every aspect of the experience. The price was better than anywhere else, the Web site easy to use, the customer support consistent and responsive, and payment prompt. I would certainly use them again.

Crown & Caliber’s process is unique and revolutionary to the world of watches. Watches are valued with great care and attention to detail. The customer service team works tirelessly with customers to help them get exactly what they want. The sales team is dynamite and works relentlessly to find each watch a new owner. Crown & Caliber’s employees are also truly some of the most knowledgeable in the watch industry, and is a company I can trust.

I bought a JLC watch from Crown & Caliber. They claim to have each watch tested in house for accuracy. My watch was losing 10 minutes a day… which for a year old JLC is not quality you would expect. After a lack luster response from Crown and Caliber I sent the watch to a third party for authentication and inspection. I was told by the third party that the watch needed some new parts which would cost $ 2,000 to fix. Needless to say Crown and Caliber did not test this watch before sending. I never once received an apology from them and the response times were painfully slow. Sometimes taking a week or more and usually after a follow up email. In pre-​owned watches you buy the seller… do not buy Crown and Caliber. There are more professional companies out there. Happy to share all documentation if anyone is even considering using them.

So, Crown & Caliber does what they say. They help you avoid the ebay risk. However, I’ve checked the price of three separate watches with them and I sold each to a jeweler for between $ 800 and $ 1,950 more than they offered. Those were cash deals and also eliminated the ebay risk. They came up with a good idea, so they get to charge what they want. But for sellers who are willing to put in even just a tiny bit of effort you’ll come out with much more money in your pocket. I’m not even going to float my Patek’s past them; I’m simply done testing what they’ll pay.
I recommended getting an offer from them when you want to sell; that will then give you an idea of what you shouldn’t take and can easily beat by going elsewhere.

Very impressive service. I’ve tried to sell watches myself before and it’s always a long and time consuming process. This was totally hassle free and they actually sold my watch for slightly more than they estimated. I would definitely use them again.

I sold my watch to this company. I feel I got a fair price and they made it very easy to complete entire transaction. Prompt service and excellent communication. No pressure and pleasant to do business with.

Crown & Caliber (C&C) is a phenomenal seller. I first heard of C&C when I saw Hamilton Powell being interviewed on the Hodinkee website (if you’re a collector, then you know the website). His business model was intriguing, and he seemed knowledgeable. But I didn’t have anything to buy or sell, so I pretty much forgot about it.
Then, a few months later, I saw a watch that interested me on eBay and — totally coincidentally — C&C was the seller! I bought that watch for a very fair «Buy It Now» price and telephoned C&C shortly thereafter, late on a Saturday afternoon, just to make sure the money had arrived and they were shipping the watch soon. Hamilton (owner) answered the phone, said all was well, and a few days later the watch was here. It was very well packaged and arrived in impeccable condition — just as described, which is important.
The watch was running a bit fast (which can happen during shipping etc.), and the folks at C&C promptly and professionally took care of it for me. Darryl in particular was extraordinarily helpful. He was my «point person» who followed up with me to make sure I was happy. We had several conversations because I’m pretty particular about such things.
The folks at C&C certainly seem to be in it for the long haul and genuinely value the prospect of establishing long-​term clients.
I would totally do business with these guys again. Darryl and Hamilton are both top-​notch.

These folks will charge you 20% to sell your high-​end watch, and all they pretty much do is list it on eBay.
Furthermore, as a buyer I sent them a question about a watch through eBay on one of their watch listings and they never even responded. How’s that for customer service?
So either way it sounds like it’s not worth using these guys at all.

It saddens me to add a dash of reality to the stellar reviews below, but unfortunately I must.
In researching how to sell my TAG Heuer watch on line, I naturally stumbled upon Crown & Caliber. Based on the testimonials, reviews here, and some pretty impressive media coverage, I snapped photos of my watch, filled out the necessary information and pressed upload.
Their Web site indicates that a response will be received «within 3 business days.» After hearing nothing by the morning of day 5, I called to make sure I hadn’t missed something, or mistyped my information. Three hours later I received a phone call from a customer service representative who very politely informed me that «unfortunately, my watch did not meet their minimum market value threshold, and they would be unable to help me sell it.» This despite the fact that the TAG Heuer page on their site states — in all caps no less: «WE ACCEPT ALL TAG HEUER MODELS.» Perhaps a disclaimer is in order.
In the end, that’s a business decision they are perfectly entitled to make. However, it’s kind of rude that I had to wait 5 days and call them for an answer. So, sellers beware. Crown & Caliber is happy to help you sell your watch — as long as it’s «high-​end» enough. And if it’s not? Well, apparently that doesn’t even merit the courtesy of a follow-​up phone call or e-​mail.

So I heard back from them today. They emailed me and called me. Given changes with gmail, her email ended up being filtered to my junk mail, so keep that in mind as you wait for a response. Check your junk mail.
So, I spoke with a lady named Becky who was super helpful and professional (and very nice). I’m intrigued at the offer they issued me and will likely go further down the path. I’m increasing my rating to 4 stars at the moment based on my experience with Becky. I’m will likely update my rating further after I completed my interactions with them.