Frequently asked questions - FAQ

With every watch purchased for €1000 or more, you will receive our watch passport free of charge, including a 1000-day guarantee. In the case of jewellery, you will receive an expert certificate confirming the authenticity of the piece of jewellery.

As we are not bound by the price fixing requirements for concessionaires for all brands, we do not have to adhere to the sales prices specified by the manufacturer and can grant significantly higher price advantages for some brands. Ultimately, at watch.de by Juwelier Raf Häffner you can obtain almost any model from almost any brand.

We carry out small and large repairs professionally and reliably in our in-house watch workshop. We can also have jewellery made, reworked and repaired promptly. Our other services include:

• nationwide express pick-up & delivery service and worldwide express value dispatch
• free access to one of the world's most extensive watch archives
• weekly watch.de newsletter with a bargain for our subscribers
• our own online auction platform watch.de Auktion
• Financing
• Purchase, commission, trade-in and lending

Whether you order on site or online at watch.de, you can rely on the expertise of our diverse team. Goldsmiths, watchmakers, gemmologists and enthusiastic watch fans contribute their wealth of experience to provide you with the best possible shopping experience. Even if you buy online, you can always contact your personal customer advisor directly. We ship exclusively as value dispatch with a four-week return or exchange option and money-back guarantee. In addition, we offer you all payment options with the highest security standards. We endeavour to be as transparent as possible when it comes to ordering, shipping and refunds and are happy to answer any questions you may have by phone or e-mail.

We offer around thirty brands that we stock as an official concessionaire in Stuttgart, some of which are even exclusive. However, as it is part of our core business to sell all brands, we use our worldwide contacts as a source of supply for all the brands that we do not have in our concessionaire portfolio. Guarantees issued by the manufacturer/concessionaire on new or unworn watches are not affected by sales through our company and retain their legally prescribed validity.

Jeweller Ralf Häffner buys, takes in payment or on commission and lends. You can find all information here.

The legislator has laid down very comprehensive regulations for all online shops in order to guarantee you the highest level of security and information before or when shopping online.

One of these legal requirements is the exact price labelling, which you will find with every item:

1. Subject to VAT incl. 19% VAT: This means that the adjacent amount is the final price for you and nothing more will be added to this amount, except for any shipping costs. This amount includes the statutory VAT so that you can get this refunded if you export to a non-EU country. In most cases, items priced as "new" or "unworn" include VAT.
2. Differential taxation according to §25a UStG: This means that the adjacent amount is the final price for you and nothing more is added to this amount, except for any shipping costs. However, VAT is not included in the purchase price. If the item is exported to a non-EU country, the VAT will not be refunded. Second-hand items are usually subject to differential taxation.

We will of course endeavour to provide you with any item you require. For an offer with price and delivery time please use our enquiry form.

Gerne können Sie unser Ladengeschäft besuchen, um Ihre Wunschuhr oder Schmuck persönlich anzuprobieren. Bitte prüfen Sie vorab in unserem Onlineshop, ob der gewünschte Artikel als “sofort lieferbar” ausgeschrieben ist und beachten unsere Öffnungszeiten: Montag bis Freitag von 10.00 bis 19.00 Uhr und samstags von 10.00 bis 18.00 Uhr. Selbstverständlich können Sie auch Ihre Onlinebestellung persönlich bei uns abholen. Ihr Ansprechpartner bei watch.de wird Ihnen per E-Mail oder telefonisch Bescheid geben, sobald Ihr Artikel abholbereit ist.

Value shipping within Germany takes about 1-2 working days and worldwide between 2 and 5 working days, depending on the recipient country and shipping method. The individual delivery time is indicated for each item as follows:

• Delivery time immediately: Item is in stock and will be dispatched immediately after receipt of payment
• Delivery time 10 working days: Item must be ordered by us and is ready for collection or dispatch after approx. 10 working days and after receipt of payment

It is very important to us to deliver the ordered item as quickly as possible. In some cases, your order will be delivered before the announced delivery time. In rare cases, it can also happen that the delivery time is exceeded by the supplier / manufacturer, which unfortunately cannot always be avoided due to our large selection of items. In this exceptional case we hope for your understanding; alternatively you can cancel the order at any time.

When you buy a Certified Pre-Owned watch from watch.de by Juwelier Ralf Häffner, you can be sure that it has undergone the following steps:

• Complete appraisal
• Authenticity check
• Ultrasonic cleaning
• Tests of all watch functions
• Authenticity check of the movement
• Repair of the movement
• Time regulation and checking the power reserve
• Testing the watertightness of the glass, crown and base seal

For jewellery, the certification includes an authenticity check by our jewellery experts. As proof of your Certified Pre-Owned Pretiose, you will receive a watch passport including a 1000-day guarantee or an expert report for jewellery. Further information is available here: Certified Pre-Owned luxury watches and jewellery

The condition "unworn" can be found for brands for which we do not have a concessionary relationship with the respective brand owner / manufacturer. In accordance with trade mark law, the trade mark owner can prohibit a non-licence holder from advertising the respective trade mark with the term "new".

Each item at watch.de contains one of our five condition classifications:

• new: watch, unworn and with original box and all papers.
• unworn: watch that may (not necessarily) have had a first buyer but has never been worn and comes with original box and all papers.
• like new: watch that may have been worn a few times, but without visible traces and normally with original box and all papers.
• very good: watch that has no or only minimal signs of wear, if with leather strap, then with new / mint leather strap and usually with original box and papers.
• good: Watch that shows signs of wear commensurate with its age, but has no scratches, flaws or damage.

If a watch is classified as "vintage", it is a model that is no longer produced by the manufacturer. This means that you can also find watches from more recent years under the term "vintage". Before delivery, each watch is checked in our watchmaking workshop for water resistance and accuracy as specified by the manufacturer. We guarantee full functionality and that the condition and condition exactly match our description.

Yes, a watch without papers is of course checked just as thoroughly for authenticity at watch.de as a watch with papers. With our watch passport including a 1000-day guarantee and our 40 years of experience, we offer the highest level of security. If you have any questions about a particular model without papers, we will be happy to answer them. Use the "Question about product?" function in the product view or find your personal contact person here: About us

If a second-hand watch does not come with the corresponding papers, a jeweller's invoice will suffice as proof of ownership. The loss in value is usually only slight if the original papers are not present. Only highly sought-after collector's watches will show a noticeable reduction in value.

We have our own watch workshop directly in our shop in Eberhardstraße. Our watchmakers carry out small repairs promptly. The duration for medium and large repairs is individual and depends, among other things, on the scope, the capacity utilisation of our watchmakers and any spare parts delivery. Repairs that are covered by the manufacturer's warranty are usually sent directly to the manufacturer; in this case, significantly longer waiting times can often be expected.

The circumference of your wrist is a decisive criterion for the right watch size. You can easily determine this with a measuring tape that you place loosely around your wrist (Read more: The right watch size for your wrist). Depending on the measured circumference, we recommend the following watch sizes (diameter of the case).

You can find a template for determining your correct ring size here: Measure ring size (PDF)

Manual winding is always necessary for a mechanical watch (hand-wound or automatic). Before starting up for the first time and after long periods of inactivity, it is not sufficient to wind an automatic watch simply by wearing it. To put your watch into operation, you should wind it fully. This is done using the crown. 30 - 40 turns are the rule. With an automatic watch, the spring cannot be overwound - as is often claimed - as it is protected by a slip clutch. Manually wound watches may only be wound until resistance is felt.

To set the time and date, pull the winding crown out to the first click position (after unscrewing the screw crown). This position is usually the correct position for the quick date setting. Set the date to the date of the previous day by turning the crown and then turn the hour hand forwards over 12 o'clock using the second crown position (pull the crown out again to the second click position). If the date jumps forward by one day, the watch is set to the beginning of the current date. If it is the afternoon, you must turn the hour hand past 12 o'clock again, i.e. to "afternoon". Never set the date on mechanical watches when the hour hand is between 9.00 p.m. and 3.00 a.m., as this can damage the movement.

Rate accuracy: You can influence the rate accuracy of your mechanical watch to a certain extent. When you take the watch off, you can do this in different positions. Crown up means the watch runs slower, as the balance is in a suspended position and the resistance is greater. Dial down means the watch runs faster, as this is where the least friction occurs. Observe the rate behaviour and try out the different positions (i.e. dial up and crown down). In this way, you can achieve rate deviations of up to 2 seconds/day. Please note that you have a mechanical watch with a rate deviation of up to 60 seconds per week within tolerance.
We recommend the use of a watch winder, especially if you are in the fortunate position of owning several watches. You will find a large selection of these useful helpers for automatic and hand-wound watches in the watch winders section.

Chronograph function: top pusher = start/stop function, bottom pusher = zero setting - reset. The chronograph may only be reset to zero after it has been stopped. The two push-buttons must never be pressed simultaneously, as this may damage the chronograph function.

Water resistance: Always keep the crown pushed in or screwed in. Never operate the pushers under water and never pull or unscrew the crown. The water resistance should be checked every two years by a specialised watchmaker. Most jewellers also provide this service on site. If water ingress or even just condensation is visible on the inside of the watch glass, we strongly recommend that you visit a watchmaker immediately.

• "water resistant" means splash-proof. The watch is not water resistant
• "water resistant", 30 m, means minimal contact with splashing water possible, e.g. when washing hands
• "water resistant", 50 m, means contact with water is possible, e.g. when showering and bathing
• "water resistant", 100 m, means swimming and snorkelling are possible
• Only watches labelled 100 m (10 ATM) are suitable for swimming or water sports. The standard for diving watches is at least 200 metres (20 ATM). Only these watches are suitable for diving. Good to know: There is no guarantee of water resistance. Please refer to the operating instructions for your new watch.

We wish you lots of fun and long-lasting pleasure with your new watch from Ralf Häffner Jewellers!

For watches with a purchase price of 1000 euros or more, you will receive a watch pass including a 1000-day guarantee. With this service from our company, we give you the security of having your watch repaired by us free of charge for almost three years in the event of a warranty claim. We normally always deliver new watches with the original and worldwide valid manufacturer's guarantee, unworn watches if available. You can therefore contact any official concessionaire in the event of a warranty claim. The manufacturer's guarantee is not affected by our 1000-day guarantee.

When you order an item online from watch.de and have it delivered via insured shipping, you are entitled to a 14-day return/exchange policy. You can claim this right to return/exchange free of charge and without providing any reason. The return period begins on the day you receive your watch. The deadline for the two-week return period is the day you notify us of your intention to return the watch. In such cases, please have the watch collected by us rather than sending it yourself. It is important that the item arrives in the same condition and with all the items provided with it, such as the original packaging, any documents, and the original invoice.

Im Falle eines Garantieanspruchs bitten wir Sie, Ihre wertvollen Stücke zusammen mit der Originalverpackung, allen dazugehörigen Dokumenten (Kassenbeleg oder Quittung, Uhrenpass, Garantiepapiere des Herstellers) und einer Schilderung des Problems an uns zu senden, zu bringen oder abholen zu lassen.

Please contact us in advance by email at info@watch.de to announce your shipment. Upon arrival, you will receive confirmation that your watch has arrived. After a thorough inspection, we will start the repair as soon as possible.

When you buy a new or unworn watch from Juwelier Ralf Häffner / watch.de, you will receive the original description of the watch and the warranty papers stamped by the concessionaire, if available. However, some manufacturers have now switched to paperless documentation. With the warranty papers issued by the manufacturer and completed, stamped or activated by the relevant concessionaire, you have a manufacturer's warranty that is valid worldwide. The duration depends on the registered date on which the warranty begins and the different warranty periods specified by the respective manufacturer. However, the minimum is the legally prescribed two years. Some manufacturers offer a guarantee of up to five years. In some cases, you can also register the watches with the manufacturer and apply for an extended warranty.