Linde Werdelin Launches ‘LW Vintage,’ First Brand-Curated Pre-Owned Watch Market Eta Movement Replica Watches

Linde Werdelin Launches 'LW Vintage,' First Brand-Curated Pre-Owned Watch Market Watch Industry News

Linde Werdelin Launches 'LW Vintage,' First Brand-Curated Pre-Owned Watch Market Watch Industry News

It’s hardly a stretch to say the pre-owned watch market is a weird, mythical place in the eyes of most watch companies. They are sort of aware it’s out there, but they also seemingly have no interest / courage / idea (choose one… or three) on how to address it. There are a number of good reasons for that, as it truly is a slippery slope for them, littered with imminent perils imposed by the threat of product cannibalization, incorrect value assessment, customer service issues, and so and so forth. Linde Werdelin took a brave pill and went on to create “LW Vintage”, the brand’s own curated watch market for pre-owned watches that launched just today.

Linde Werdelin Launches 'LW Vintage,' First Brand-Curated Pre-Owned Watch Market Watch Industry News

This online platform will allow existing and future Linde Werdelin Unboxing Replica customers to sell or shop for pre-owned Linde Werdelin timepieces. While that may sound a simple enough feat, LW did have to take all those aforementioned (and more) issues into consideration. We got on a quick call with one of the founders, Jorn Werdelin, to discuss how exactly this new platform will work and what issues they had to account for when planning it.

Linde Werdelin Launches 'LW Vintage,' First Brand-Curated Pre-Owned Watch Market Watch Industry News

Since they got started in 2006, Linde Werdelin say they have produced a total of about 4,500 watches, a large portion of which were sold direct to the customer – and while ten years in business is respectable for a completely new brand like LW, it could be argued that it does not entirely justify the “Vintage” designation in the watch industry, where vintage timepieces are generally considered to be a fair bit older than that.Anyhow, while many of these watches will remain in the same collection they originally landed in, others will be offered up for sale again on the secondary market. The inspiration behind LW Vintage was to offer a service that would make it possible for Linde Werdelin owners to have their pre-owned watches sold via the brand itself, either on consignment or by having them take the watch back and put its pre-owned value towards a next purchase.
Linde Werdelin Launches 'LW Vintage,' First Brand-Curated Pre-Owned Watch Market Watch Industry News

This contact form on the LW Vintage site’s “Sell” page is where owners of pre-owned Linde Werdelin watches can start the selling process

Here’s how it will work. Linde Werdelin Spidolite Ii Replica will, in all cases, take delivery of the watches in their HQ, authenticate them, perform a service, and replace the strap if that is required (which it will be on watches a number of years old, but not necessarily on ones that are more recent purchases), provide a letter of authenticity, and add an additional 24 month factory warranty. When these are done, the watch is offered for sale on their LW Vintage page where, after the purchase, the brand will conduct the shipping and payment procedures between buyer and seller, allowing for a safe transaction.

Linde Werdelin Launches 'LW Vintage,' First Brand-Curated Pre-Owned Watch Market Watch Industry News

Besides the 2 pushers on the right used to help mount and unmount the instrument onto the watch, there are just four buttons used to turn on and cycle through attributes on the Linde Werdelin Reef. There’s one on the left side located on the top that’s used to turn off and on the tool, as well as a back button (when shifting from 1 display to the preceding). Those on the long underside part of the rectangular-shaped instrument are used to maneuver up and down through the various webpages (the leftmost and rightmost buttons), and the one in the centre is used for picking or confirming options. There are not any markers on the Linde Werdelin Reef case itself, other than the engraved Linde Werdelin logo, however after using it in 1 dive, it becomes pretty normal. Additionally, when switched on, there are indications on the screen, e.g., Up and Down arrows, and Input for the bottom buttons.The overall functionality of the buttons is not difficult to comprehend, and I performed the first two dives without moving through the PDF manual that includes the tool, it’s worth mentioning that on property, without gloves, and I do find the buttons very difficult to press. That is undoubtedly a result of the high-quality construction meant to allow the buttons to be usable submerged at the 300-meter maximum depth it is designed for. In the water, again, the experience is significantly much better and easier. The best way I could describe it would be like the encounter as pressing a very stiff chronograph pusher that’s 5 to 10 times bigger than most typical chronographs. Pressing the button is hard at first, but once past the essential pressure point, it clicks satisfyingly using a default option sound verifying the input signal was received.Charging the tool is done via standard Micro USB type B connector, however rather of having any kind of connector right on the instrument itself, the Linde Werdelin Reef includes a black plastic bracket that you can use and which exposes a USB connector.
For these services Linde Werdelin will quote a fee to the seller on an individual basis – which will be more on watches that required a full service and were out of their warranty period, and less for timepieces that are still under warranty, required no service where only the authentication and transaction procedures have to be handled. When asked about the details of the service the watches receive before they go up for sale, Jorn told us that they will service the movement and replace the strap (again, only when this is necessary), but he is strongly against refinishing the case, because of their complex, faceted designs – and also to maintain the original condition and patina.

Linde Werdelin Launches 'LW Vintage,' First Brand-Curated Pre-Owned Watch Market Watch Industry News

While both the seller and buyer can enjoy a safe buying and selling experience, there is a threat for the brand to consider, and that is the potential cannibalization of their full-priced watches. If you think about it, this brand-run platform will allow the buyer to get the full brand experience as he or she is getting a guaranteed authentic, factory serviced watch that is topped off with an additional factory warranty for 2 years, all for considerably less than the retail price – albeit arguably at some premium over what the watches may be offered for elsewhere on the pre-owned market.The relative competitiveness of this aforementioned factory pre-owned package has to be one of the (numerous) major issues that have kept others away from venturing into this territory. Whether or not this will hurt retail sales is something Linde Werdelin will have to see for themselves.

Linde Werdelin Launches 'LW Vintage,' First Brand-Curated Pre-Owned Watch Market Watch Industry News

With that noted, it is worth pointing out that the concept of “certified pre-owned” is not all new, as it has been around in the car industry for ages – and it is something that seems to be working well for them. After all, you can pretty much always take your premium car back to the official dealer you bought it from and have it put towards a new purchase. Generally speaking, the depreciation, as well as the importance (to some buyers at least) of a brand certification and additional factory warranty is very much comparable between luxury cars and timepieces.LW Vintage is a very interesting initiative as its level of success will certainly have an effect on how other independents – and maybe, just maybe, later on the bigger brands – approach the sensitive issue of factory certified pre-owned watches. lindewerdelin.com