Just a separate comment on shopping for, and buying, watches.
I buy a lot of watches on the grey market, but I do prefer to buy from ADs when possible and the price difference can be justified due to buying from a local dealer, having a single point for service/adjustments, getting all of the papers, etc. Certainly on higher-end watches, I prefer to buy from an AD.
Being in Houston, most watch brands have ADs or retailers. But not all. I can't locate a GO in Houston. But in researching other options like the Cartier Santos, AT, Zenith Chrono, Oris ProPilot X, etc., I have been to a lot of boutiques and dealers around the city - Zadok, Lewis, Jared, IW Marks, Tennenbaum, etc.
I realize I am well beyond the average customer as far as having WIS. I spend a lot of time looking at watches, paying attention to movements and features and options. In going to these various dealers, it is shocking how wide the discrepancy is in the knowledge of the salespeople. A salesperson should know EVERYTHING about the watches they sell. Everything. That's their job, their livelihood. And its crazy to walk into a boutique for a brand and knowing more than the people selling the watch. For day-to-day watches at the mall, no issue. But a boutique or authorized dealer is different. Not only that, but they should have an idea of the competition. It doesn't have to be comprehensive, but knowing what differentiates your watch from others is critical when talking about a watch that is north of $8k and well into 5 figures in some cases.
Some places I've been have been pretty awful and the salesperson basically did nothing more than open up the case. No enthusiasm, no talking about what really stands out about the watch, no discussion of why its worth $10k or whatever. Just "here, try it on. Mirror is over there." It definitely makes a difference in the overall decision-making process. I love Zenith as a brand, but I won't be buying one from the guy I talked with. If I ever do decide to get a Zenith, I'll give the store (AD) another opportunity and go in to discuss with another sales person and see if it is a different experience. If it isn't, then I'll buy online and simply get a cheaper price. With Cartier, I will order from Zadok before I go back to the boutique. Not that they weren't friendly, but the experience I had at Zadok was tremendously different than at Cartier. For the better.
It is an absolute blast to get a sales associate who also suffers from WIS and has a job selling watches because they fucking love watches. I spent at least a couple hours at Zadoks trying on watches from nearly every brand in the store. The salesman showed me a $240k ALS. I tried on Panerai, JLC, Grand Seiko (the salesman was actually wearing a cherry blossom spring drive), Tudor, Omega, etc,. It was a blast.
I did the same thing at Jared's with Oris, Bremont, Longines, Omega and others.
Both of those salesmen knew more about watches in general, and about the watches I was looking at, than I did. And it made a world of difference in the overall experience. Other than the GO, which I will have to buy outside of Houston, my next watch purchase will be from Jared or Zadok simply because of the relationship. Watches are a luxury item and not inexpensive. There's also a huge variety of watches. So for me, having a relationship with the sales associate is an important factor in my decision as it enhances the entire process and can lead to finding watches you may have otherwise missed. Like the AT, which I had seen but not really spent any time looking at closely until I tried them on at Zadok and Jared.
I realize a lot of people prefer a hands-off approach from the sales person and that's what works for them. But, if you are like me and love everything about watches and talking about them, and you are in Houston, and you are looking to buy - I HIGHLY suggest going to talk with Elvis at Zadok's and Zach at Jared. Both guys know their shit and clearly love watches.
Feel free to PM me if you would like their contact info.