Dual Time Podcast

On Dual Time Podcast Episode 20, Roman Sharf and Adrian Taskin talk about the dark side of the watch industry. Between them they have more than 20 years of dealer stories. They cover how stolen watches move through the secondary watch market, from Istanbul's Grand Bazaar to dealer-to-dealer trading at Hong Kong trade shows. Roman tells the story of a stolen Richard Mille RM 030 that turned up at our door with the Southampton police. He also explains why we replaced a $200K Richard Mille when an insurance fraud claim surfaced seven years after we sold it.Then come the watch scams: suitcases of cash from Japanese dealers, a $27K Daytona paid for in cash that smelled like weed, dirty crypto, and fake-token schemes hitting 47th Street. Roman breaks down a $365K Rolex "Jean-Claude Killy" with a refinished dial and a Frankenstein Patek Philippe 1518 with a swapped dial and case. He explains why we brought in Adam Golden before getting into vintage, and how to avoid buying a stolen watch: buy the dealer, not the watch.Adrian also surprises Roman with his grail: the Patek Philippe Sky Moon Tourbillon 5002 in platinum. They also look at a Patek 5304R open-worked minute repeater and a one-of-two 1980s Audemars Piguet skeleton perpetual calendar in yellow gold. Plus there's the $1M Patek 5104 deal that cost Roman $220K, and the unsolved Hong Kong mystery of a Richard Mille RM 11 sent to the wrong "Man."Is the watch industry cleaner or dirtier than it used to be? Tell us in the comments, and subscribe for more.

In this episode of the Dual Time Podcast, Roman Sharf and Adrian Taskin explore how wealth changes the way people buy, sell, trade and collect watches. Roman opens with his pick for the most undervalued watch on the market today, the Patek Philippe 5102 Celestial in white gold, and explains why he calls it the "sleeper of all sleepers." He also shows the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore "Marcus" limited edition that shaped his early years in the watch business.In Counter Offer, the hosts answer viewer comments. Roman explains how a vintage Patek Philippe 3450 perpetual calendar with a leap-year "red dot" arrived without the red dot, and how honesty with clients saved the deal. They defend Gérald Genta's legacy beyond the Royal Oak and Nautilus, explain why exhibition casebacks can cost more to make than solid ones, why missing Patek Philippe secondary casebacks can drop a watch's value by 10–20%, why Rolex hang tags and the new wooden hang tags are a headache for dealers, and whether Audemars Piguet or Rolex does better diamond and gem-setting work.The main discussion covers the psychology of luxury spending: how billionaire clients behave compared to new money, why car dealers are the toughest negotiators, why clients in the South are among the best to work with, the "I have to ask my wife" excuse, buying watches from divorce and estate sales, and what happens when collectors go into debt to keep buying. The hosts also break down the true cost of constant trade-ins, the "never satisfied collector," and why the watch flippers of the 2021 Covid boom either built lasting businesses or went broke.They close with the big questions: Is watch collecting a hobby or an addiction? What percentage of your net worth should you hold in luxury watches? And are watches really an investment once you factor in liquidity, dealer margins, and in-and-out costs?Whether you're a first-time Rolex buyer, a Patek Philippe collector, or just curious about the business of the pre-owned and gray market watch industry, this episode is full of real stories, market insight and honest advice from two dealers who've seen it all.

What happens when a dentist starts a watch group chat during COVID? It grows into CP Time, a 2,000-member watch collecting community across the US. On this episode of the Dual Time Podcast, Roman Sharf and Adrian Taskin of Luxury Bazaar sit down with Dr. Albert Coombs, founder of CP Time, to talk about inclusion in watch collecting, walking into boutiques and not feeling welcome, and getting a Patek Philippe 5711 Green at retail only to have the internet call it fake.We also get into the topics collectors can't stop having: should you call someone out for wearing a fake watch? Why do Richard Mille owners get hate when F.P. Journe owners don't? Are people buying hyped independent watchmakers for the wrong reasons? Roman runs the numbers on why the independent business model is so hard. Plus, Dr. Coombs talks about his De Bethune DB27, the CP Time x De Bethune collaboration, his three-watch grail collection (Rolex Daytona "Le Mans," RM 67-02, F.P. Journe), and the Cartier Tank Louis his father bought him in retirement, the watch that means the most to him.

Martin Zilber breaks down what it was like sourcing watches out of catalogs and hotel hallways in the pre-internet era, the $14,000 Paul Newman Daytona that started it all, the watch he sold for $12K that later hammered for half a million dollars at auction, and why he thinks the entire hobby shifted after COVID. They get into whether watches are really "investments," what separates a true collector from someone who just owns expensive pieces, the rise of independent watchmaking as a blue-chip category, and how social media changed the flex game forever. Then it's rapid fire: Rolex or Patek, steel or precious metal, quality or quantity — and his single biggest regret after three decades of collecting.

WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair, "The Nature Boy" himself, joins Roman Sharf on this special episode of the Dual Time Podcast for an unfiltered look at wrestling, money, and the Rolex watches. Ric revisits the viral watch-gifting moment with Roman and opens up about how much of the "Nature Boy" persona was real versus performance. He breaks down what a gold Rolex President meant in the 1980s wrestling world and the spending habits behind his famous line about outspending fans on bar tabs alone. The conversation also covers the business of professional wrestling: who really understood it best, who surprised him, and his list of great wrestlers, before closing on legacy: what he wants said about Ric Flair fifty years from now, and who inherits the Rolex Roman gave him!