BestShopSites
Bottom Line Rating*

Best Sites

Description

Accolades

E-Bay
www.ebay.com

Forbes Review: 

"This site has 14,000 items in the timepiece category. Though much of it is junk—cheap new stuff or garage sale relics (a Westclox alarm clock with loose parts inside and no crystal), there are plenty of treasures, too. In Collectibles, hone in on character watches, pocket watches, wristwatches, clocks or parts and tools. Then search further: in Clocks, for example, you can choose Antiques (a three-weight Viennese regulator wall clock sold for $1,625), Novelty (a round Viagra wall clock starting at $8.49) or Vintage (a 1950s blue-and-yellow GE kitchen clock sold for $24.50). You’ll get more hand-holding when you buy directly from an established dealer but you won’t get the same variety of merchandise.

BEST: You can search past results to see what similar items sold for recently.

WORST: Ebay is still a free-for-all, so buyer beware."

Forbes Top-Rated Favorite in Best of the Web Forbes 9-11-00

Antiquorum Online
www.antiquorum.com/ home.html

Forbes Review: "If you can’t attend Antiquorum’s auctions in Geneva, New York or Hong Kong, bid at home in real time. Antiquorum Auctioneers have specialized in selling watches and clocks for 20 years, setting many world price records. The top item in November’s 100 Years of Wristwatches sale: an 18kt pink-gold Calatrava made in 1938 by Patek Philippe, with a high estimate of $600,000. You can view catalogs online a few weeks before each sale. Catalogs for the past two years, including sales results, are also available.

BEST: Detailed explanation of auction process. Item descriptions include a grading system for case, dial and movement.

WORST: No search feature within the site.

Forbes Selection in Best of the Web Forbes 9-11-00

Forbes Review: "For new watches: nearly 100 brands and more than 4,000 watches. No real bargains, but you can save 35% off retail—and avoid paying local sales tax. If you want to splurge, there’s an RGM automatic chronograph wristwatch for $26,000. You can also find commercial travel and desk clocks, like Bulova’s miniature brass piano-shaped clock for $100. The vintage watch corner recently featured nearly 1,000 men’s and 59 women’s watches, most priced between $100 and $500. Bands range from lizard grain for $10.50 to genuine crocodile for $105.

BEST: Complete purchase online. Liberal 60-day return policy for new watches, 30 days for vintage. Customer service 24 hours a day.

WORST: No photo available for many items."

Forbes Selection  in Best of the Web Forbes 9-11-00

Forbes Review: "Nearly 800 vintage wristwatches listed here—plus a smaller inventory of new watches, pocket watches and military watches. The site owners have put up nearly half the watches themselves, but they’re adding affiliate dealers, 34 so far, to broaden their offerings. It’s easy to search by maker and/or price or to do a more detailed search for characteristics, such as case metal type. There’s a handy new repair center, too.

BEST: The What’s New feature makes it easy to check out new merchandise. And each item has a direct link to the merchant for product queries.

WORST: Although clocks are listed in main sales categories, only one clock was for sale when we checked in, a 1940s Tiffany traveling alarm clock for $325. Individual histories of makers still in the works."

Forbes Selection in Best of the Web Forbes 9-11-00

Forbes Review: "This international site (you can click on Japan and it comes up in Japanese) has the best selection of unused older wristwatches, known as New-Old-Stock watches. Our favorite: a stash of fun spaceman watches designed by André Le Marquand in 1972, inspired by astronauts’ helmets at the time, for $225 each. Other offerings include dozens of Omegas and a handful of Porsche Design pieces from the 1990s. Gisbert A. Joseph, the dealer, is based in Spain, but he has a representative in Michigan in case you want a U.S. contact.

BEST: Buy by credit card online. Six-month guarantee from date of purchase.

WORST: Only three-day return policy. No information on shipping costs. Can’t search by price."

Forbes Selection in Best of the Web Forbes 9-11-00

Forbes Review: "Jonathan Snellenburg, who exhibits at the tony New York Winter Antiques Show and does appraisals on PBS’ Antiques Roadshow, has put together this site for serious watch and clock collectors. It has a couple of dozen beautiful clocks and pocket watches, some one-of-a-kind, from the 17th to the early 20th centuries, and a fascinating bookshop that carries old auction catalogs and historical treatises. A 19-inch-high gilded clock adorned with a standing figure of George Washington, made in Paris in 1810, sells for $85,000. A dashing Patek Philippe silver pocket watch with a 20-jewel movement, circa 1917, goes for $12,000. A 1766 treatise on the physics of clocks and watch movements with exquisite engravings costs $4,500. You can’t order online, but then again, you’ll probably want to chat with Snellenburg anyway.

BEST: The What’s New section saves time on return visits. Browse through the bookshop’s book summaries to learn about the luminaries of clockmaking history.

WORST: Can go as long as two months without updating merchandise for sale."

Forbes Selection in Best of the Web Forbes 9-11-00

Forbes Review: "A mom-and-pop operation. It’s easy to browse and a pleasure to look at because the watches take center stage. Despite the name, there are pocket watches as well. Mostly low- and mid-range stuff, up to $1,000 with old American names like Hamilton, Elgin and Waltham. Comprehensive search criteria saves you time if you know what you’re looking for, like only mint in-box items. Detailed descriptions, including condition (i.e., barely visible hairlines on porcelain dial). Watch bands too.

BEST: If you have questions, e-mail pop—Bill Strickland, a retired banker and watch collector who views watches as historical artifacts and likes to chat.

WORST: Small inventory (63 men’s, five ladies’). Order by e-mail, but must pay by snail-mail.

Forbes Selection in Best of the Web Forbes 9-11-00

Forbes Review: "With 100 brands and 8,000 styles of new wristwatches, you can find almost anything you want here, but expect to pay full retail. There’s also a section called Certified Pre-Owned with 18 hand-picked Vintage Collectibles. A 1960s Jules Jergenson self-winding white gold watch goes for $750 and a 1950s manual rose gold Patek Philippe Top Hat watch for $13,500. You can get a break on Modern Classics, lightly used second-hand watches still in production. Our pick: a two-tone Cartier Panthere from the 1980s for $3,950, versus $5,500 for the identical new model.

BEST: You can submit a free trade-in appraisal form via e-mail.

WORST: Full retail prices."

Forbes Selection in Best of the Web Forbes 9-11-00

BestShopSites
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