By Jovan Krstevski
The increasing demand for MB&F timepieces that are no longer available on the market prompted MB&F to launch a dedicated section of the brand’s website to list rare second-hand MB&F timepieces. Many collectors know just how difficult it is to find quality pre-owned MB&F timepieces so this development pretty much makes everyone happy. These rare watches are indeed extremely difficult to find but no more.
Economically-wise, the initiative will have limited profit margin although MB&F is clearly reinforcing the second-hand market of its watches directly so that is pretty much an unexpected oversight.
Collectors get the following advantages for an MB&F Certified Pre-Owned timepiece:
• complete service and case refurbishment conducted by Geneva-based MB&F watchmakers
• 100% authentic and in perfect working condition timepieces
• 2-year unconditional warranty
• free shipping to anywhere in the world
Moreover, MB&F is not the first to do this initiative. F.P. Journe launched the same initiative back in October 2016 becoming the first luxury watchmaker to do such endeavor. The value prices with new warranties and official certification made it so attractive to many collectors. MB&F is now offering the same chance to its customers successfully protecting them from going to shady markets.
Not all grey markets are bad, we know that and MB&F knows that too that’s why to get an edge, the watchmaker is offering something that is hard to match – each watch sold through this program receives a complete service and case refurbishment, conducted in-house, before it is made available. That is something I would love to go for. Also, I like the 2 year unconditional warranty and the free shipping to anywhere in the world. MB&F reinforces this advantage over the grey market by claiming that buying through them is the only way to get 100% legit rare items. If you think about it, it is quite easy to acquired a tampered and worst stolen property. If you happen to be looking for five or six figures on a timepiece, better turn to the pros unless of course you really have the skill to do it yourself.
As a start, MB&F listed five watches: an HM4 Razzle Dazzle, an LM1 Xia Hang, an HM7 TI Blue, an HMX Black, and a Moonmachine Ti and to date, only one watch remains. Since the prices are lower than the original retail price, it’s pretty obvious what happens next. It will be interesting to see how often MB&F is able to offer new pieces and how fast collectors are snatching them up. Certainly, with the recent activity in the website, collectors are just waiting for the right piece on offer.
Furthermore, each product page also contains videos, photos, and detailed descriptions of the watch. While the ability to fully purchase the watches online is not yet available, the sale is initiated over email which is sort of of exclusive. Visit MB&F here.
