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Originally Posted by bing240sx
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you need to have a 'watch guy' these days. most of the boutiques for Rolex, Omega etc. are staffed by 50 year old women in malls who dont know shit about the products they are selling. It's the best way for the watch co's to push volume and manage their product line... tougher to manage guys who are enthusiasts rather than jewellers.
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I guess it depends on where yo go. I went to Lenkersdorf (or something more or less like that spelling) and Lillenquist & Becksted in Tysons Corner, VA. In both places I found multiple highly knowledgeable and skilled sales people.
For example, I asked one of them about about the movements inside a watch and though he thought he had the right answer, he wasn't sure and checked with a colleague who knew right off the top of his head. The guy I was working with also did in fact have the correct answer along with the integrity to admit he wasn't totally sure and bothered to confirm his answer.
At another store, I spoke with a woman who knew more about Bruguet -- minute details, some of which were clarifications on the minute details I had mentioned -- than I did/do.
To your point, however, I also went to another store and spoke with a salesman who didn't know the difference between a Submariner and a Seadweller. I saw the SD in the case and mentioned that it looked much thicker than I recalled a Sub being. His reply: hmmm...I don't know why that would be. I then asked him if he was "into watches" or whether he just worked there because it pays the bills. He did admit the latter was his reason for being there. I guess I already had a sense that that would be his answer given some of the conversation I'd had with him before making the SD comment.
Based on my experience, if one is in a store selling brands that would have appeal to folks "into watches," there is surely at least one person, if not several, who will know a lot about watches. If the only "watchie" brands the store sells are Omega and Rolex, it's far more hit or miss regarding finding a highly knowledgeable salesperson.
In the end, I guess one must do one's own research before going to a store so that the store visit is mostly just to test drive a watch and make one's decision based on that plus what one learned in one's researching.
All the best.