Frequently Asked Questions

The 1916 Company is the leading global destination for collectors of luxury watches and jewelry. With more than 20 global locations, we are authorized dealers of the finest luxury watch and jewelry brands, including Rolex and Patek Philippe. The 1916 Company gives collectors access to the world’s best selection of collectible pre-owned watches — including Rolex-Certified Pre-Owned, Patek Philippe, F.P. Journe, Audemars Piguet, De Bethune, as well as other leading Independent Brands. The 1916 Company Family also includes artisan independent brands De Bethune and Reuge. The 1916 Company offers collectors more than a traditional retail transaction. Expert Client Advisors; resources to understand the value of their collection; the ability to trade and sell pieces; educational content and tools; events and experiences, including factory trips to Switzerland; and a dynamic inventory are all key ingredients that help set The 1916 Company apart. Our philosophy for The 1916 Company is simple: we want to share our passion for collecting with enthusiasts and collectors around the world while delivering these services, as well as the very best in authorized primary luxury watches and collectible pre-owned inventory.  

Yes! The 1916 Company has a growing roster of Authorized Dealers across the United States that you can visit to browse inventory or sell your pieces. Please visit our Locations Page to find the location nearest you.As well as retail storefronts, The 1916 Company is a growing global company with corporate facilities in the United States, Switzerland, Hong Kong, Singapore, Shanghai and Dubai. Please visit our Locations Page to find the location nearest you. 

These four entities have united to usher in a new era for collectors of luxury watches and fine jewelry around the world. While The 1916 Company's global footprint grows, you can still walk into your favorite world class locations or browse our ever expanding online inventory. Wherever you are, you will find the same unparalleled service and an even larger selection of luxury pieces. 

The best way to save on a purchase from The 1916 Company is to pay by wire transfer. Contact a Client Advisor to discuss wiring instructions. Many of the watches on our website have the ability for you to make an offer. We strive to respond to your offer as quickly as possible during business hours. If we decline your offer, we may contact you with a counteroffer. If we accept your offer, we encourage you to complete the transaction as quickly as possible. The watch will remain listed for sale until checkout is complete. 

Certain watches that are in high demand can trade for a higher value on the secondary market than their original retail price. Our pricing team are watch market experts and we work very hard to give you access to the most popular watches at a fair market price. We also welcome you to step into one of our many retail locations which offer a vast selection of new timepieces and jewelry at manufacturer retail pricing. 

Yes, you are welcome to contact your closest 1916 Company location to see any watch in person. If the watch is in a different location, we are happy to ship the watch to that location for you to inspect, but we require a 25% refundable deposit required before we will ship the watch. Please contact your Client Advisor for more information.

We would love to talk to you about any watch you are looking to purchase! We process a high volume of watches, and the watch you are looking for may already be in our system. Please Contact a Client Advisor and they will let you know if we have the watch in inventory, or if we are able to source the watch for you. We may require a refundable deposit before we source a watch, and it may take several months to source and recondition a watch to The 1916 Company quality standard. You can also add a watch to your wishlist on the website or our mobile app to check and see if the watch you are looking for has come in stock.

Strap and bracelet sizes can vary; however most watches we post are sized for the average wrist size. When possible, we try to include any additional links that have been provided by the seller and will add notes to the listing if the watch is short links. If you are unsure if a watch will fit your wrist, please contact your Client Advisor for sizing information. Additional links or a new strap may be purchased if available.

Selling your watch to The 1916 Company is easy! Visit the Sell Your Watch page of our web site and provide as much information as you can about the watch, along with a few pictures. We will respond within 24 hours with additional questions or a quote to sell your watch. Once a quote is accepted, we provide a pre-paid, fully insured shipping label for you to send your watch to us. Upon receipt and inspection of your watch, we will issue payment with 72 hours. Visit the “Sell Your Watch” page for additional information.

Yes. The 1916 Company accepts trades involving timepieces of greater, lesser, and equal value. The difference will be credited toward a client's purchase of greater value than the trade or issue a payment to accompany a chosen watch of lesser value than the trade-in. Preliminary trade-in values can be conveyed via phone and email contact, but all timepieces must be inspected, authenticated, and appraised by The 1916 Company's specialist team before ultimate trade value can be specified. Please see our trade page for full details.

We issue a check or wire transfer of the funds for your watch within 72 hours of successful receipt and inspection of your watch.

Insurance for full replacement value is included on all outbound shipments of watches and accessories from The 1916 Company. Inbound watches are insured for the proposed purchase price of the watch. A signature is required to complete delivery of all packages.

Generally, our watches ship within 1 to 2 business days. The 1916 Company is a global company with inventory held in locations around the world. If the watch you purchase is in a different geographic region from you, it may initially be shipped to your region by the most expedited service available and then shipped to you via next day delivery. Your Client Advisor will communicate with you on shipping details every step of the way. Please review our shipping page for complete details. If a watch is posted with a “Coming Soon” status, please contact a Client Advisor to learn more about delivery details.

Our return period is within seven (7) days from the delivery date. This grace period applies to watches purchased directly from The 1916 Company. Watches must be returned unworn in the same condition in which they were sent to you. Contact your Client Advisor to request the return authorization process.

Refunds will be processed after a thorough inspection by one of our watch experts. Please allow 10 business days for the refund to be reflected on your original payment method.

Our preferred method of payment is by wire transfer. We also accept cashier’s checks, personal checks from repeat customers, PayPal, all credit cards (Mastercard, Visa, Discover, American Express), debit cards, Apple Pay and Alipay. US Only: You also have the option to use Affirm monthly payments directly on our website – our “buy now, pay later” service.

We offer financing through Affirm. You are able to make monthly payments over 12, 18 or 24 months. For example, on a $6,000 watch purchase, you may pay $539.04 for 12 months with a 7.8% APR. For complete details visit Affirm.com (www.affirm.com/faqs) or add an eligible product to your cart and select Affirm at checkout. Note that credit decisions and payment terms are not controlled by WatchBox.

We only ship watches once full payment has been rendered and cleared. For payments issued by check or ACH, this may be 10 business days or longer. Our preferred method of payment for fastest shipping is wire transfer. 


We issue a check or wire transfer of the funds for your watch within 72 hours of successful receipt and inspection of your watch.

Newer sales tax regulations for e-commerce businesses require sales tax to be collected on orders shipped to many states as required by law. The 1916 Company is registered to collect sales tax in many states as required. Please note that States are evolving their collection requirements and we will update this list as more states are added:

 

ALABAMA	ALASKA	GEORGIA	LOUISIANA	NEW MEXICO
UTAH	ARIZONA	HAWAII	MAINE	NEW YORK
VERMONT	ARKANSAS	IDAHO	MARYLAND	NORTH CAROLINA
VIRGINIA	CALIFORNIA	ILLINOIS	MASSACHUSETTS	OHIO
WASHINGTON	NORTH CAROLINA	INDIANA	OKLAHOMA	WEST VIRGINIA
SOUTH CAROLINA	IOWA	MICHIGAN	PENNSYLVANIA	WISCONSIN
COLORADO	RHODE ISLAND	MINNESOTA	TENNESSEE	FLORIDA
CONNECTICUT	KANSAS	NEBRASKA	TEXAS	DC
KENTUCKY	NEVADA	VERMONT	NEW JERSEY	SOUTH DAKOTA

 

The 1916 Company customers are required to pay applicable VAT for all purchases. Customs charges as well as any associated import taxes, or duties may be applied in jurisdictions where The 1916 Company does not maintain a physical location. The taxes collected by The 1916 Company will be listed in your purchase receipt, but you may be responsible to pay additional duties and taxes to the carrier. Contact your Client Advisor for any questions about charges in your country prior to shipment.

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Strap and bracelet sizes can vary; however, most watches we post are sized for the average wrist size. Average wrist size for men is 7.25" and 6.25" for women. When possible, we try to include any additional links that have been provided by the seller. If you are unsure if a watch will fit your wrist, please contact your Client Advisor for sizing information. Additional links or a new strap may be purchased if available.

Every watch we sell comes with our 2-year Global Warranty from The 1916 Company.

For US customers, we offer an additional care plan for eligible watches, providing coverage for three (3) years on watch damage that is not covered by warranty, e.g., dropping the watch, breaking the crystal, cutting the strap, etc. The price of the care plan will vary depending on the price of the watch. Visit our care plan page for complete coverage details.

As the largest buyer, seller, and trader of high end luxury watches in the world, you can be confident that any watch you see at The 1916 Company is guaranteed to be authentic. The 1916 Company is committed to the integrity of the luxury watch industry and will not buy or sell watches that are replicas or contain inauthentic or aftermarket parts. The 1916 Company maintains relationships with major watch brands and is trusted by thousands of clients worldwide, therefore, we take watch fraud extremely seriously. Our watches are all carefully evaluated and authenticated by our in-house Swiss-trained watchmakers, without compromising value or provenance, before entering our curated inventory of pre-owned watches for sale. Every pre-owned watch is guaranteed to be fully authentic and comes backed by our 2 year Global The 1916 Company warranty to give you peace-of-mind. Our watch experts are highly trained to identify any indication that a watch may not be authentic. If fraud is detected, The 1916 Company will confiscate the watch so that it is no longer in circulation and will work with the proper authorities to identify the source of the fraudulent watch. If you have questions about the authenticity of a watch that you purchased from somewhere else, we are happy to provide a free evaluation. In order to receive the evaluation, you can ship the watch to us at your expense and we will be happy to investigate the watch through our meticulous authentication process. Please visit our authentication service page for full details of our authentication and assessment measures.

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