Rado..... This is one brand that has never been in my list of "must-have". However, from a technological point of view, I have been following this brand very closely. The way Rado has been able to use exotic materials for its watch designs intrigues me.
Of all the Rado designs available, I like the turtle-shaped watch casing the best. This style is under the
Original Diastar line of watches. When I stumbled upon the Model R12639023, I was blown away. It has most of my favorite watch designs namely an internal bezel, sapphire crystal and (of course) the turtle-shaped watch casing. It is only at this point that I realised how difficult it was to source for this particular model.
Although Rado is part of the Swatch Group and has a formal presence in Kuala Lumpur with a few boutiques and a number of authorised dealers across the city, none carries the complete range of current models. After going to various Rado authorised dealers, it dawned on me this particular model is unique and not easily available. I was tempted to source it via the internet. As this would be my first Rado, I was hesitant to search the internet as I would prefer to review it physically first before making the plunge to buy. Moreover, if I do decide to get it from the internet, it would have to come from an internet merchant that I not had any experience with. It was only after I spoke to a resourceful salesman from AWG Fine Watches in Mid Valley that he was able to source one for me via the Swatch Group at a cost matching the internet price!
This is very interesting. It implies that we can bargain and get a price similar to what internet merchants are selling. The notion that brick-and-mortar shops cannot offer prices like internet merchants due to fixed costs is not necessarily true.
