Chronosect has always been committed to giving visibility to Italian dealers and watchmakers, following the idea that only a direct relationship with the customer can establish trust between those who buy and those who sell. Praitano Gioielli, an activity present for forty years in the panorama of Italian jewelers.
Who are you and how long have you worked in the sector?
My name is Nicola Praitano. I learned the trade from a young age, when in 1995 I started working in the family jewelery - founded in 1978 - in Folgaria, as watchmaker. Then I became the owner, thus expanding my duties from the practice of watchmaking overhaul - which I continue to carry out in person - to the more commercial and management aspect of the business. Also in the nineties I started moving between Italy and Great Britain, buying at the London second-hand market - the famous Bond Street - specimens of Rolex well made, reviewing and reselling them here in Italy. It was the period when there was still no real second-hand market in Italy, unlike today. Today in managing the jewelry store , promising in Salò I am validly supported by my wife.
I strongly believe in quality. If a clock è nice, in good condition, mechanically sound, it does not stay in the window for long: I have very little stock. Salò is on Lake Garda, therefore the , including the foreign one, has always been important in my sales. Given these restrictions, my business has once again gravitated to local clientele, with whom fortunately I have always had excellent relations. The request, despite the rising prices, is always quite strong, especially for the Rolex. As for the vintage, I must say that the difficulty is more to find the pieces they ask me than to sell them, so here too there are certainly no problems of demand.
Do you focus more on the jewel or the watch?
In the shop, half of the windows are jewelry. I work with mounted stones, I am a World Diamond Group dealer, a Vicenza jewelry company, so I receive jewels already complete. The jewel it must always be sold, but it is different from the watch because unlike the latter is not same to you "fast". For us, the jewel represents an integration of the turnover, an extra chance at the end of the year to make ends meet. As for the question, it must be said that for jewels above five thousand euros, I think of some diamond bracelets, it remains very strong. It is therefore not a sector that we intend to stop presiding, also because the diamond has an emotional importance that is not secondary, it is always very nice to sell a quality stone.
How can the Chronosect platform be useful for your business?
I like the choice of giving space to workshops as to shopkeepers, to jewelery as to watches, I find it useful and far-sighted. I am very satisfied with the Chronosect App: the chat it has given me great satisfaction, I have already had the opportunity to buy four or five watches.
Everything I bought was identical, once in the store, to what was seen in the photos and in the description. The billing is also timely, the last one arrived just a day after the purchase. This is possible thanks to the fact that Only Certified Sellers have access to the App, ie professionals who Chronosect has selected. Deal with serious and reliable professionals it's a big plus in our industry, and I believe that Chronosect have an important space in the future of my business, also to expand my market to a wider clientele.
Relationship with the customer: can after-sales assistance in the laboratory help build customer loyalty?
As a watchmaker I have an edge, I would say. In fact, I personally checked everything I sell first. This allows me to be sure there are no surprises, and gives the customer who knows me the peace of mind that his Rolex vintage it will work flawlessly and will be restored to working order in the event of a problem by a person he trusts. I have the serenity of one revision done in a workmanlike manner for every watch I sell, because I check the watch myself!
I believe it is essential for those who work in watchmaking to have a service laboratory available. This is also why the choice of the Chronosect platform to make available a network of Certified Laboratories both the merchant who does not have his own workshop, or the merchant who may have sold a watch by mail order and prefers to have it placed in the city where the customer lives rather than embarking on the shipment at his own business, and finally the simple private individual, can contact with confidence.
It even happened to me that a customer brought me a watch bought elsewhere and, on my advice to have the problem solved under warranty and free of charge by those who sold it to him, he replied that preferred to have it reviewed for a fee by myself. Here, this gives an idea of the importance of relationship of trust with the customer in the field of laboratory assistance ...
Tell us how the market is going and what are the greatest professional satisfactions for a trader like you.
Until three or four years ago, showcasing a Rolex Air King or Datejust, it wasn't long before it was sold, its market had it. Not to mention the manual-winding Precision with leather strap that I was dealing with until fifteen years ago ... Here, over time the customer has become more demanding, even more fussy, he wants above all the Sporty Rolexes in excellent condition. Personally, I don't like to deal with certain watches that are sold at double the price list, rather I prefer to work on vintage; that said, even in the sector of vintage there is a strong demand for watches quality, well kept.
For 2021 I am optimistic, the type of product I deal with is in high demand on the market. The greatest satisfaction for me is when a customer walks into the shop and tells me they came here because they have heard good things about my professionalism, as in the case of that buyer who has chosen to pay for an overhaul with us instead of using free support. .
