Can I visit your showroom when I am in San Francisco?
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Yes.Our private showroom is located in the Tiffany and Co. building in the heart of San Francisco’s famous Union Square shopping district.Our showroom is open from Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm PST, exclusively by appointment.
Yes.We welcome trade-ins of all kinds of watches, jewelry, diamonds, and even gold.For more information on trade-ins, please visit our website devoted exclusively to selling, consigning, and trading in your pre-owned watches, jewelry, and diamonds, www.SellUsJewelry.com.This allows you to see what types of items we allow trade-ins of.Then contact us and let us know what item you are interested in purchasing and what item(s) you are interested in trading in.
Yes.In fact, we have an entire section of our website devoted exclusively to buying pre-owned watches, jewelry, and diamonds.For more information, please visit the “Selling a Watch?” section
TheFinestWatches.com sources watches through authorized dealers and distributors and other legitimate established lines of distribution within the watch industry.TheFinestWatches.com does not sell manufacturer’s rejects, and all pre-owned watches are stated as “Certified Pre-Owned”.
You'll receive an immediate email confirming that your order has been placed. If any of the items you ordered are not in stock, or the status of your order changes at any time, you'll be notified by another email. Once your order is shipped, you will be notified again by email with the tracking number, so that you will know exactly when your order will be delivered.
We use state-of-the-art data encryption technology to protect against loss, misuse or alteration of your user information.Secure Socket Layers (SSLs) encrypt the information sent between your computer and our database.In addition, we use an internet fraud protection screening system to protect your identity and your credit card transactions
After you place an order with TheFinestWatches.com, we will check the information you give us for validity, including verifying your method of payment and billing/shipping address with your credit card company.The information you give us is used solely for this purpose only, and is never resold or shared with any third parties.For added security, we will gladly destroy any credit card information we have received upon request, after your order has been completed.
How will I know what I am making a secure transaction online?
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When you make a purchase or create an account on our Web site, your transactional information is transmitted in a safe, encrypted format.To be sure your connection is secure, look at the bottom status bar of your browser window.If you see an unbroken key or a closed lock (depending on your browser) the SSL is active and your information is secure.Most browsers offer additional security alerts as well.If for some reason you are unable to connect to our secure server, please call us at (800) 998-3082.
At TheFinestWatches.com, we make every effort to show you the most accurate pictures of our watches. When we have an item in stock our photographers produce the best image possible. When we post pictures on the web, we use the latest digital techniques.However, please know that the image on your screen is not meant to appear as the actual size of each watch. For technical reasons (including variations in computer monitors and web browsers) this is not possible.If you have any questions regarding the details of our products, including specific size questions, please do not hesitate to contact us for more information.
TheFinestWatches.com provides a 100% Guarantee of Authenticity on all items we sell. With over 21 years in the industry, we have built relationships with many authorized dealers, and have built our reputation in providing nothing but the genuine product.
From our experience, we would not recommend to swim with a watch that has a water resistance of less than 100 meters (330 feet) or 10 bars/atms.
Watches used to be deemed "waterproof," however, the International Organization for Standardization prohibited the use of the term waterproof.They also issued a standard for water resistant watches.Water resistant watches are made up of special gaskets which form a watertight seal.A sealant is applied as well, to help keep the water out.The material of the case is also tested to pass as water resistant.Watches are tested for water resistance in still water.It must be noted that a watch with a certain meter rating is tested for water resistance under still water, with the watch being stationary.It does not take into account if the watch can withstand the pressure that is generated by motion at that depth of water.It is important to keep this in mind when you are purchasing a water resistant watch.
If your watch’s water resistance is not measured in meters, you can approximate it's resistance by multiplying bars or atms (atmospheres) by 10.
Keep in mind that it depends on a specific watch’s recommendations.Check your watch manual before using near water.Always remember to make sure your crown is pushed/screwed down before immersing in water.For more information on water resistance, please visit our Water Resistance page.
Can I order a watch that is not available on your website?
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Yes.If you cannot find a particular watch on our website, it means that we do not have it in stock.However, we may be able to special order it for you.For best results, try to find the manufacturer name and model number and we will do our best to locate the watch for you.Please note that all special order watch sales are final.
Do not attempt to size your own watch.You may damage or scratch the watch and bracelet.We recommend that you take your watch to an authorized dealer or reputable local jeweler for sizing.
If you purchased the watch from us, we may be able to assist you in ordering additional links, replacement straps or bracelets for your watch.However, we generally do not order replacement straps or bracelets (except solid gold or platinum bracelets) for watches purchased elsewhere.If you are in need of a watch strap, or additional watch links, we recommend that you contact the manufacturer directly.
If you purchase a watch with a metal bracelet, there is a good chance you will need to have one or more links removed to fit your wrist properly.This is best done when the wearer is present so that the watchmaker can see the shape of your wrist to determine which links to remove.Sometimes it is better to remove a link from the right side of the watch, other times they will opt to remove it from the left side, depending on the size of your wrist and how the watch fits.You may also need to remove only a half link, as opposed to a full link.
Bracelet sizing is a service provided free of charge as a courtesy of TheFinestWatches.com.We size the bracelet to fit prior to shipping based on the information you provide us.As this service is provided as a courtesy, we make no guarantee or promises regarding to fit.As the watch belongs to you, any links we remove during the sizing process will be included in the delivery to you.However, we suggest that you take your watch to a reputable local jeweler for sizing.Expect to pay a nominal fee (around $10-$20) for this service.After the links are removed, keep the extra ones.Occasionally, a watch bracelet may break and it is a lot easier (and cost effective) to have the bracelet repaired with your own links than ordering and shipping new ones.In the case that a watch bracelet is too short (highly unusual), sometimes a full link or half link can be ordered from the manufacturer.Depending on the availability of the watch (if it is new or discontinued) and manufacturer, the prices can range from $25/link to $250/link depending on the material (although some can cost more).
Yes.A warranty is included with every watch purchased.If the watch is new/unused, generally a two-year warranty will be included from TheFinestWatches.com (defined as "The Finest Watches Two Year Warranty").This warranty is identical to the manufacturer’s warranty in every respect.In some circumstances, The Finest Watches is able to pass along an authorized dealer stamped warranty card (defined as “All Papers Included”). In the detailed description of each watch, we clearly state which warranty is provided.All Certified Pre-Owned watches come with a one-year warranty.
Every watch sold by TheFinestWatches.com will have its own unique serial number.The authenticity of the watch can be confirmed via the serial number that is usually engraved on the back of the case of the watch*. The serial numbers are engraved by the manufacturer as a way to track the sale of the watch and are regarded as a mark of authenticity. Some online retailers scratch the serial numbers off the back of the watch, or sell replicas without serial numbers at all.However, we only sell watches with the serial numbers intact. This ensures the authenticity of your watch.It is simple and easy to verify the authenticity of your watch at any authorized retailer. Once you purchase the watch, you can bring it to an authorized dealer and they can verify the authenticity of the watch based on its serial number. We guarantee our watches to be authentic and we are willing to stand behind every watch we sell.
*For most Rolex watches (except Cellini models), the serial number is engraved on the side of the case at 6 o’clock; viewable by removing the watch band from the six o'clock and twelve o'clock ends. (Newer models may also have the serial number engraved on the inner bezel at 6 o’clock)
How are you able to sell your watches for so little?
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The FinestWatches.com is not an authorized dealer for the brands that we carry, and is therefore able to avoid the manufacturer’s pricing controls.Since TheFinestWatches.com does not have an expensive retail store with high overhead costs, such as rent and numerous salespeople, we are able to maintain low overhead costs.We also have a very low markup on our merchandise, so we can pass along those savings over to you.
Here is our size guideline for watches.Keep in mind that sizing depends on the style and manufacturer.Some tend to make very petite watches, while others make larger models.All measurements are approximate and are measured by the width of the case.
A US quarter is 24.26mm in diameter and 1.75 mm thick.
A US Half dollar is 30.61mm in diameter and 2.15 mm thick.
Here is a helpful tool to assist you when purchasing a watch online:
Check the watch specifications to see the diameter of the watch (or in the case of a rectangular watch, the height and width of the case), take out a ruler and draw a circle with that watch diameter (or a rectangle for a tank-style watch).Cut out the shape and put it on your wrist.Voila! Imagine the style and you're one step closer to making your decision.
Hint: If the watch measurements are specified in millimeters, and your ruler does not have millimeters, you can simply convert the millimeters to inches by multiplying the millimeters by 0.03937.For example, if a watch is 20mm wide, just do 20 x 0.3937=0.7874.You can round that off to 0.8 and draw a circle with a diameter of a little more than 3/4 of an inch.Or, if you'd prefer to work in cm, you can convert mm to cm by multiplying the millimeters by 0.1.So, 20mm will be equal to 2 cm.And, if you're not good with math, just type "convert 20mm to inches" into Google and they'll do it for you.
The FinestWatches.com is not an authorized dealer for the brands that we carry, and is therefore able to avoid the manufacturer’s pricing controls. We purchase our watches from respected industry sources.TheFinestWatches.com is not an authorized or direct dealer for any brands.TheFinestWatches.com is not affiliated with, nor do we have any relationship with any of the watch brands that we sell except as otherwise noted on TheFinestWatches.com website. The names, trademarks, designs, logos, service marks, and all intellectual property, etc. of the watch brands shown on this site are exclusive property of their respective owners and are not the property of TheFinestWatches.com. TheFinestWatches.com logo, the names "TheFinestWatches", "TheFinestWatches.com", and "www.thefinestwatches.com" are the exclusive property of TheFinestWatches.com, Inc. All of our products, however, come directly from authorized dealers and respected industry wholesalers.
A midsize watch is a watch that is smaller than a regular men’s watch and larger than a regular women’s watch.Women who like their watches to be a bit bigger than normal can opt for this size.From our experience, most men find midsize watches to be too small.However, if a man is of a particularly small build, he may prefer this size.
What is the difference between a quartz and a mechanical watch?
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If you are looking for a watch you can rely on for accuracy, we would recommend a quartz watch.You never have to worry about winding it or wearing it in order for it to work.In quartz watches, a specially designed battery activates a quartz crystal inside the movement that vibrates approximately 33 times per second.These vibrations translate into impulses by a computer chip that drives an electronic motor, which moves the watch's hands.
If you are the type of person who appreciates mechanical things, or the beauty of the complications found in a mechanical movement, a mechanical watch is right for you.Mechanical watches typically run for about 40 hours on one full winding of the mainspring.The power reserve on a watch indicates how much time a watch will function when not worn, or until it is wound up again.A few watches on the market today can run up to 8-10 days without being wound.Some prefer to use a watch winder so that their automatic watch can run continuously without being worn.
In a self-winding or automatic watch, you do not need to wind the mechanism.You just need to wear the watch.The movement in an automatic watch is activated by a rotor, which turns by the force of gravity with the regular movements of the wearer's wrist.Automatic watches are more or less reliable, although at their worst, they can gain or lose about 10 seconds per day.An automatic timepiece needs to be worn for about 10-15 hours until it is fully wound.COSC certified automatic movements (called chronometers) are tested by the Swiss Official Chronometer Testing Institute (Controle Officiel Suisse des Chronometres) and can gain 6 or lose 4 seconds per day (-5/+8 for watches with a diameter greater than 20mm).
