OCR Text |
Show Local reporter gullible target By Bill Davis Have you recently pur-a pur-a watch? From a :sa who came to tt place of business, -Sips? Had some real ss, didn't he? 'Yes sir, this fella had a ue case of real fancy-cg fancy-cg watches with price a that said $125. Sold one for $25; can you i-veit?" Jep. In fact I bought Being affected by the suspicion common journalists, I took the ito Moab jeweler Les 3ves for appraisal. With lir of an expert who f seen the same sort of before, Graves was 7 and to the point: the ning new timepiece cost approximately $5 to produce and generally sells for S10-S20. Graves explained that the watch, and others like it, uses a one-jewel pin-lever movement and is spring wound. This type of inexpensive movement makes repair virtually impossible im-possible unless the watch is returned to the factory "if you can find it," Graves said. Watches sold in this manner frequently bear names closely resembling high quality firms. Some of the names used include "Bolivia", "Omequa" and "Lonjines". The unwary un-wary buyer, under the pressure of an impulse sale, and dazzeled by r , ; f V i'J iW... n fer A v I i J pensive-looking watch purchased recently from -to-door salesman actually contains a cheap one xl f lever movement. The watch, and others like C! Pr'Ce tags of $125, but were sold for $25-WU. ;1bJeweIer LeS Graves stated that the watches, made ' un6 Kong cost an estimated $5 to produce. fancy case, may assume that he is truely getting a bargain when in fact he is getting the shaft. Many of the watches have model names such as "Electra", indicating that it is electrically powered, when in fact it is spring-powered spring-powered by a "lifetime" mainspring. Of course, the "lifetime" is not specified, but one can safely assume that it refers to the lifetime of the watch itself. Graves continued, saying say-ing that higher quality inexpensive watches usually usu-ally have plain cases and leather bands with few extra features. However, the movement of such watches is of higher quality than those hiding behind a glittering facade. Is such a purchase embarrassing? Sure. Is it illegal? Generally not. If the salesman makes no misrepresentations or claims concerning his product, it can be successfully success-fully argued that the buyer simply did not examine the item closely enough before buying. The old adage, "let the buyer beware" applies doubly in such cases. Graves recommends that a prospective purchaser pur-chaser take the watch to a qualified jeweler before buying. A salesman with a legitimate bargain shouldn't object to such an examination. Graves concluded by saying that such sales practices are common and one can count on running into similar operations each vear- ,,TI As of now, my Hong Kong special" is still ticking faithfully on my wrist. However, when it develops a case of mech- ; anical hiccups, I can most likely count on the disease being terminal. Anybody , want to buy a watch from a red-faced reporter? |