RahulR
205
This is something I struggle with...
About 5 to 6 years ago the AD that I frequent carried Patek, Rolex, AP, Lange, RM, and a host of other brands and several independents. With most of the brands, there was quite a reasonable amount of inventory.
Today they no longer carry Lange, nor RM (went boutique only), and stock from AP has been really dire after they started moving towards boutique only model as well. We all know the difficulty of getting certain pieces of Rolex and Patek today as well. Even independent brands are reaching stratospheric heights that they too are becoming unobtainable.
I personally admire and wish to collect from several brands including Patek, Rolex, AP, Lange, VC, RM, and independents. Manufactures such as AP, Lange, and VC keep their most desirable watches as boutique only, and to get allocation it will be bundled with items of exorbitant value or less desirable. Frankly I don't have deep enough pockets to play the bundling game with multiple boutiques directly from the manufacture, so I stick to my AD and continue to focus on Patek and some independents. Do i wish i could collect from other brands? Absolutely, but it is not a reality for me yet! 
I find it quite bewildering that the sentiment is to feel lucky to get allocation for a luxury good that we pay a whopping amount of cash for.
Boutique Only Models, Why Build A Relationship
With so many boutique-only models offered by many brands, does it make sense to buy from a multi-brand AD? Without a history of purchasing from a boutique, odds are you have no chance at purchasing these Boutique Only models. So the question is, why put a...
Yes it still does because very soon…
You’ll have AD + Brand collaborations exclusive models, lol Joke aside, if your AD carries multiple brands like AP, PP, RM, Independents, then your profile will help you get all the best in one place. All your purchases will add up unlike individual bouti...
Some boutiques are operated by multi brand retailers.
But even they tend to have much less inventory than the ones directly owned by companies. I would be very curious to see how the current dynamics evolve. For most collectors multi brand retailers make way more sense in term of developing a collection, lea...
If you're looking for a scarce reference...
...it makes sense to cast your net was wide as possible...I don't think PP will ding you for buying from an AD.
Sounds good...
Agree MGD to cast a wide net, yet I'll need you to give me 30 BTC to cast it a bit wider. Already have three multi-brand ADs and two diff boutiques. Problem is I need two more boutiques on the list, so look fwd to your kind donation to my cause Apologies,...
Meh
All BS. They are just trying to milk long time customers at this point. Go independent and support a craftsman that cares about his customers, not some giant conglomerate. I made that mistake with Lange…
In the long run, this boutique model won’t last for long.
Let’s assume that everyone isn’t a billionaire with a million-dollar-per-year watch budget. If that assumption is true, then these AP/Journe/richemont boutiques won’t be able to satiate the masses of watch collectors who usually pick entry pieces to start...
This is something I struggle with...
About 5 to 6 years ago the AD that I frequent carried Patek, Rolex, AP, Lange, RM, and a host of other brands and several independents. With most of the brands, there was quite a reasonable amount of inventory. Today they no longer carry Lange, nor RM (we...
Why put all your eggs in one basket - just enjoy the diversity that collecting a number of major brands and independents has to offer.
Going off a bit of a tangent here, but I am slowly growing tired of of seeing the same multi-million collections of mostly Patek and FPJ. These to me are just boxes with safely invested money - there’s no real achievement in terms of the collecting hobby ...
