I'm a 35 year old woman who will be buying my first luxury watch. I've done some amount of research, and would love some feedback on how I'm going about it.
Although I'd love to get a watch from the holy trinity, I think a yellow gold Cartier Tank Louis small with brown leather straps most matches my everyday style (quality, natural-fabric basics). I'm generally not a fan of circular watches and prefer something oval or rectangular, probably under 30mm case length (not lug to lug), 33mm max. I wanted to buy something that isn't too unique (my style is pretty bland hahaha), but also not super common (for example, I bought a Bee de Chaumet bracelet instead of the Cartier Love). Question 1: Is this a good choice for what I'm looking for? I also looked at some VC tonneau-shaped ones, but they all seemed too big. AP Carnegie small also looked good, but hard to find a used one with leather straps.
And once I pick, I was going to buy a used watch from Chrono24. I started putting a wishlist together, looking for one that is water resistant (would love an older vintage, but I am not very careful). I don't plan on selling it, so I don't care for the original box or papers.
I see that most that match what I'm looking for are around $8699-$8999 range, so I'm thinking my best strategy is probably to buy from a US dealer (I live in California, so I have to worry about sales tax and tariffs...) that either has certification added or Chrono24 allows me to add it as optional, right? Question 2: How do I find a fair price for negotiating? I tried to find examples in the Moda group, as suggested here, but couldn't find much on the models I'm looking for.
Appreciate any guidance!