Terms and Conditions

Accepting these terms

Inquiring, agreeing terms, or paying for a watch means you accept everything on this page, along with our returns, shipping, and authenticity policies. If you do not accept them, do not buy.

Order acceptance

We can decline or limit any order, for any reason, at any point before a watch ships. Nothing we send you before then is acceptance: not a quote, not an invoice, not a confirmation. Your order is accepted when the watch ships, and not before.

We use that rarely and for ordinary reasons: a pricing or listing error, a payment we cannot verify, a piece that fails its final check on the bench, or a buyer we are not permitted to sell to under sanctions or export rules.

Where we decline an order you have already paid for, that is our doing and not yours. You are refunded in full, by the method you paid, and we cover any fee the refund incurs.

We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone, for any reason, at any time.

Pricing and availability

Prices are listed publicly and can change without notice. A listing is a description, not an offer, and availability is confirmed when you inquire. We can correct a pricing or description error at any point before funds clear.

Reserving a piece

A watch is held only once terms are agreed in writing. Until then it stays available to other buyers. There is no cart and no online checkout. Every sale runs through a direct inquiry.

How you can pay

Bank wire. This is how most sales settle. Details on request. Nothing ships until our bank confirms the funds have landed, and sending us the wire confirmation from your bank moves it along faster.

Credit card. A 4% processing fee is added to any card payment and is shown to you in the total before you pay. We ship only to an address your card issuer can verify, so give us the billing address and phone your issuer holds on file, because a mismatch delays the order. Cards are charged in full before any work is carried out on a piece. We can decline a card at our discretion, and above a certain amount we may ask for a wire instead.

Where we have invoiced on terms, a balance unpaid past those terms carries interest at 1% per month.

Title and risk

Funds must clear in full before a watch ships. Title passes to the buyer when funds clear. Risk of loss passes when the carrier records delivery. We may require identification or proof of address before releasing a higher value piece, and we can charge a card we hold on file against an overdue balance.

Cancelling an order

You can cancel any time before the watch ships and we return what you paid in full. Once it has shipped it cannot be cancelled, and the returns policy takes over from there.

Returns

Our returns policy forms part of these terms, including the 48 hour inspection window, the requirement to get a return authorized, and that returns and refunds are at our sole discretion. Read it before you buy.

What we warrant

Every watch we sell is covered by our authenticity guarantee, and arrives function tested to the delivery standard set out below.

Every watch is either fully serviced by our watchmaker or sold unserviced. The product description says which, and what work was done to that piece.

An unserviced watch carries no warranty and is sold as is. Service can be provided on request.

A fully serviced watch also carries our twelve month limited warranty on the movement.

Our limited warranty, where it applies, is published in full on our limited warranty page.

What authentic means

A watch is authentic when its case, movement and dial were made by the stated manufacturer. Over a long life a vintage watch is serviced and parts are replaced. A service or replacement crown, hands, bezel, crystal, pushers, bracelet or strap, or a refinished surface, does not by itself make a watch non-authentic under our guarantee.

Vintage is vintage

Every watch here is pre-owned and most are decades old. Expect honest wear, and expect parts that have been serviced or replaced across a long life. We describe what we find and we describe it in good faith, but a vintage watch is sold as it stands.

Water resistance

Treat every vintage watch as not water resistant, whatever it was rated when it left the factory. Gaskets age and cases have been opened. We make no representation of water resistance on any piece, and water damage after delivery is not covered.

Timekeeping and service

A vintage movement does not keep time to a modern standard. Before a watch ships, our watchmaker confirms it winds, sets and runs, that any complications work, and that the rate averages within 60 seconds per day on a timegrapher across positions. That is our own delivery standard and not the manufacturer’s original specification.

It is a statement about the watch on the day it leaves us. We make no promise about rate, power reserve, or how long a movement runs before it needs attention next. The product description tells you what was done to that particular watch.

International orders

The buyer is the importer of record. Duties, import taxes, brokerage, and customs fees are set by the destination country, are not included in the price, and are not refundable. They can apply a second time on a replacement piece or on a watch returned to you after a claim, even though you paid them once already. Some destinations we cannot insure or lawfully serve, and we will tell you before you commit. If a package is refused, abandoned, or undeliverable and comes back to us, the buyer covers freight both ways and any charges raised along the way.

Taxes

We collect sales tax on shipments to New York. Any other tax raised where you live is your responsibility.

Consignment sales

Consigned watches are sold under a separate consignment agreement that sets the fee, the timing, and the payout. Ask us and we will walk you through it.

Warranties

Beyond what a product description states, the warranty above, and the authenticity guarantee we publish, a watch is sold as it stands.

Where a watch carries our limited warranty, any implied warranty, including merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose, is limited to the duration of that warranty. Some states do not allow limits on how long an implied warranty lasts, so this may not apply to you. Nothing here removes a right you hold under the law where you live.

Independence and trademarks

Biel Vintage Watches is an independent dealer of pre-owned and vintage timepieces, operated by Biel Ventures Inc. We are not an authorized dealer for, and are not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by any watch manufacturer, including but not limited to Rolex, Tudor, Omega, Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet, Cartier and Heuer. Brand names, model names and reference numbers appear here strictly to identify the watches we offer. All trademarks remain the property of their respective owners.

Watches sold here are pre-owned and do not carry a manufacturer's warranty. Any warranty or service commitment is provided solely by Biel Vintage Watches, and our Certificate of Authenticity is our own, not a manufacturer certification. This is the same notice that appears in the footer of every page on this site.

Any work described on this site is carried out by our own watchmaker, not by the manufacturer, and is not authorized or approved by them. A manufacturer service center may decline to work on a watch that has been fitted with non-original parts.

Limitation of liability

Our liability on any sale is limited to the amount you paid for the watch. We are not liable for indirect or consequential loss, including lost profit or any change in market value.

Changes to these terms

We can change these terms without notice. The version in force is the one published here on the day your order is accepted, so read it at the time you buy. Last updated 30 September 2026.

Governing law

This agreement is made and delivered in the State of New York and shall be governed by, and construed and enforced in accordance with, the laws of the State of New York, without regard to its conflict of laws principles. Any dispute arising out of or relating to a sale is subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state courts sitting in Erie County, New York, and the federal courts for the Western District of New York, and you consent to that jurisdiction and venue. Where consumer law where you live gives you rights these terms cannot remove, those rights stand.