# Hamilton watches on Overstock legit?



## christo57 (Mar 23, 2012)

I am looking to buy my first Hamilton. I am looking at the Venture Automatic, silver face (H24515551). The only authorized sellers around me are a couple Rogers and Hollands jewelers, who have none in stock, and have told me I would have to order it to even see it... and that would take 4-6 weeks, because its on back-order due to demand.

Yet, when I search online, right away overstock . com pops up selling it for $480 less than msrp ($300 less than the best deal R&H said they could offer). It also shows it having the deployment clasp, which I want, and R&H thought didn't come with it.

So... that being said... is the watch from Overstock going to be a legit Hamilton or a Chinese knock off? The warranty is listed as 1 year from distributer, that also has me questioning it.

I am not just trying to buy it for looks, as cheap as possible. I want it to be a 100% legit Hamilton. My last name is Hamilton, which is how they first caught my attention, and I happen to be having a family reunion this summer and would love to have the Ventura or perhaps others before then.

Thanks for any info.


----------



## hans caravan (Jan 24, 2011)

AFAIK Overstock is a gray market dealer. That's why the warranty is valid for one year through them. That's saying the watch isn't legit though...


----------



## erikclabaugh (Mar 10, 2011)

I would be stunned if the Hamilton from Overstock was not authentic. I have bought numerous products from them over the years and in every case the item has been legit, and of the highest quality.


----------



## jjt2 (Dec 21, 2007)

The Hamiltons on overstock are 100% authentic. And their return policy is great if you don't like the watch.
I'd check online for a coupon code too, you can usually get at least another 10% off or so.


----------



## christo57 (Mar 23, 2012)

If the watch on Overstock is legit and new, why wouldn't it come with the manufacturer warranty? Will I have any problem getting it serviced?

All I know about grey market is from a few searches, and with other watches it seems that some will not have a serial number, or matching warranty card. Or supposedly the manufacturer will know its grey market, if you send it in, and won't service it.

Not trying to seem paranoid, just want to make sure I know all I can before I jump in. I would just go to the AD if they even had it in stock and could give a better discount, but if they are claiming its on backorder there is no way they are going to budge. Not too mention I will have to buy the deployment clasp seperate, though the overstock pics show it coming with.


----------



## hans caravan (Jan 24, 2011)

christo57 said:


> If the watch on Overstock is legit and new, why wouldn't it come with the manufacturer warranty? Will I have any problem getting it serviced?
> 
> All I know about grey market is from a few searches, and with other watches it seems that some will not have a serial number, or matching warranty card. Or supposedly the manufacturer will know its grey market, if you send it in, and won't service it.
> 
> Not trying to seem paranoid, just want to make sure I know all I can before I jump in. I would just go to the AD if they even had it in stock and could give a better discount, but if they are claiming its on backorder there is no way they are going to budge. Not too mention I will have to buy the deployment clasp seperate, though the overstock pics show it coming with.


Sounds to me like you should buy the watch through an AD. Then you will have nothing to worry about.


----------



## Perseus (Mar 25, 2010)

christo57 said:


> If the watch on Overstock is legit and new, why wouldn't it come with the manufacturer warranty? Will I have any problem getting it serviced?
> 
> All I know about grey market is from a few searches, and with other watches it seems that some will not have a serial number, or matching warranty card. Or supposedly the manufacturer will know its grey market, if you send it in, and won't service it.
> 
> Not trying to seem paranoid, just want to make sure I know all I can before I jump in. I would just go to the AD if they even had it in stock and could give a better discount, but if they are claiming its on backorder there is no way they are going to budge. Not too mention I will have to buy the deployment clasp seperate, though the overstock pics show it coming with.


Gray market is authentic watch that's not sold from a authorized dealer (AD). Warranty's are only valid through AD's so most gray market offer their own warranty. Most gray market dealers have serial numbers, but you'll want to find out before making a purchase. I'm not sure Hamilton would service a watch without a serial number.

The forum has a ton of posts on gray market so do a search if you want more info.


----------



## rlarsen462 (Feb 25, 2012)

The "big" grey market dealers (i.e. Amazon & Overstock that sell all kinds of stuff other than just watches) have really good return policies, and are most likely to survive as companies to service the warranties they offer through themselves. I would have no hesitation in purchasing a watch from either, because if it was fake, or had a wiped out serial number, you could return it and I am sure they would have no problem. I recently returned an Oris to Amazon and it was a very easy experience. In fact Amazon, despite being an enormous company, has a fairly small jewelry and watch department, so if you call that department's number you can talk to the same few people making the customer service experience much improved over the standard "call center" procedure.

Good luck, and as others have said, the no-headache path will be an AD. In fact, my AD actually gives as good or better prices than Amazon and many of the grey-market dealers, I just have to deal with sales tax.


----------



## RON in PA (Sep 11, 2007)

Swiss made Hamilton watches such as the one being discussed in this thread do not have serial numbers.


----------



## rlarsen462 (Feb 25, 2012)

RON in PA said:


> Swiss made Hamilton watches such as the one being discussed in this thread do not have serial numbers.


Fair enough, didn't even realize that. Have never looked for one on my watch.


----------



## lonewolf9 (Dec 5, 2011)

I bought a Hamilton Khaki Aviation quartz chrono from Overstock back in Oct 2011. No issues whatsoever. The box it came in wasn't fancy, but it was a real Hamilton box with the manual.


----------



## leepaulsc (Apr 21, 2013)

just ordered a x-wind from overstock and it is being sent from hong kong, this seems a bit weird, have done quite a bit of research and it seems overstock sells legit watches, however just wanted to get anyones take on it being sent from hong kong. dont really care where it comes from as long as it is authentic.


----------



## DrGonzo (Aug 29, 2014)

I just ordered from them and I'm not getting a good feeling about it. Their price was more than Jomashop but with a 10% "new member" discount they were less than everyone else (except the shady ones like Authentic Watch Store). It's still a good price even though I had to buy a warranty from them. (I assume there will be no manufacturer's warranty with this watch). I figured I would pay a bit more for a speedy turnaround and a good return policy. Some vendors were also selling this watch via Amazon but I wasn't sure if that adds any more protection than buying from them directly. Overstock says:

"We update our product sites hourly, ensuring that advertised items are in stock."

However after two business days my order is still "processing," and, via online chat, customer service said it can take up to three. I said if not shipped by the end of day three I will cancel. And their response was "ok". Seems obvious to me the watch is not in stock and they are in the process of tracking one down. A quick google search reveals that this happens all the time, and that they often change the order status to "shipped" days before fedex has received the item. I would be okay with this if they were up front about saying it's on back order, rather than saying they have it and my order is being processed. Feels dishonest.

It seems to me if I have to wait anyway, I may as well cancel and order from Jomashop for less money. Or order from Alan Furman for more money but deal with a vendor who is up front about exactly how long it will take, and who guarantees the watch has original papers and warranty. Has anyone else had this issue with overstock?


----------



## iinsic (Feb 18, 2010)

I suggest considering Ashford.com, which has a great selection of Hamiltons at very good prices. Ashford originally was an offshoot of Amazon. I have purchased many watches from them over the last 15 years, including two of my three Hamiltons. I had only one service problem - water intrusion on an Ebel for my wife - which they quickly corrected under their warranty. I think Jomashop should be okay, too ... but Ashford's prices are better.


----------

