Service agreement

1. Who we are

This agreement is between Azote Trading Inc. (株式会社Azote Trading), trading as Ryuzu Watches, of N&E BLD. 7F, 1-12-4 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, Japan ("we", "us"), and the person who submits a sourcing brief ("you").

2. What we do, and what we do not do

We act as your agent to search for, inspect and acquire a specific second-hand watch, and to arrange its export to you. We are not the manufacturer, we are not a retailer selling from stock, and we do not act as agent for any seller. We do not provide valuations for insurance, investment advice, or certificates of authenticity.

3. The brief

A brief is accepted only when we confirm in writing the description, the condition requirements, the budget ceiling, the search window and the fees. Until then nothing is agreed. You are responsible for the accuracy of the brief; a search conducted to a mistaken specification is still a search performed.

4. Fees

The search retainer stated in the brief confirmation is payable before the search begins, and the inspection fee is payable before we inspect a candidate. Both are paid on account of the buying commission on completion of a purchase, up to the amount of that commission. Where the commission is lower than the sum already paid, the difference is not refundable. The buying commission is calculated on the body price of the watch, excluding Japanese consumption tax, as a marginal progression: each band's rate applies only to the portion of that price falling inside it, per the bands and minimum stated in the brief confirmation. Where our negotiation reduces the asking price, a success fee of 25% of the reduction applies and the remaining 75% accrues to you. Shipping, insurance, servicing and any third-party charges are recharged at cost with documentation. Current standard fees are published at /fees.html; the figures in your brief confirmation prevail.

5. Candidates, reports and approval

In these terms a candidate is a watch that, on the dealer's own information, meets every essential condition stated in the brief confirmation. The brief confirmation lists your requirements as essential conditions and preferences, and you confirm it before the search begins. A watch need not meet the preferences to be a candidate.

Where a watch we present turns out not to meet an essential condition — whether you point it out or our inspection finds the dealer's description was wrong — it does not count as a candidate, and we may at our discretion waive the inspection fee for it. If you decline a candidate that meets every essential condition, we ask why, and where the reason is a requirement you consider essential, we add it to the brief for the rest of the search.

We present the candidates we find with the dealer's own information and photographs, together with a check showing how each essential condition is met and where that information comes from. That material comes from the dealer and has not passed through our inspection. Where you ask us to inspect a particular candidate, we examine it in hand and issue a written condition report. Some checks, such as opening the case, need the dealer's permission; where a dealer does not allow one, the report says which checks were not carried out. Reports state our professional opinion based on physical inspection; they are not a guarantee of originality, and we may be wrong about matters of judgement such as the degree of polishing. No watch is purchased on your behalf until you approve, in writing, a specific watch at a specific total. You may decline any number of candidates at no additional cost.

6. Title, payment and risk

Following your approval we invoice the purchase price, commission and estimated shipping. We purchase the watch after receipt of cleared funds. Title passes to you on our acquisition of the watch as your agent. Risk in transit is covered by the insurance we arrange for the full declared value; risk passes to you on delivery to the address you have given us.

7. Search outcome

We do not guarantee that a watch matching the brief will be found. If the search window expires without a purchase you may extend it, amend the brief, or close it. The retainer is not refundable in that event, save that if we accepted a brief and presented no candidate (as defined in clause 5) at all, we will refund it in full.

8. Cancellation

You may cancel a brief at any time before approving a purchase, forfeiting the retainer and, if the inspection has taken place, the inspection fee. After approval the watch has been purchased and title has passed to you; we act as your agent and never hold title ourselves, so we cannot buy it back or resell it on your behalf. We will help you find a route to sell, but the purchase price is not refundable by us.

9. If the watch does not match the report

Notify us within 7 days of delivery, with photographs. If the watch materially differs from the condition report, we will refund our commission and success fee in full and arrange return shipping at our cost, and we will take up the discrepancy with the dealer on your behalf. The purchase price was paid to the dealer and we are not in a position to refund it. This does not cover ordinary differences of subjective impression, nor faults disclosed in the report.

10. Servicing

Any overhaul is carried out by an independent watchmaker, quoted in advance and undertaken only with your approval. Vintage movements can fail during or after service in ways nobody can predict; where the watchmaker offers a warranty we pass it on to you, and beyond that we cannot warrant the mechanical performance of a watch made decades ago.

11. Water resistance

No vintage watch is supplied as water resistant unless the report states that gaskets have been replaced and the case pressure-tested, and even then it should not be considered suitable for swimming or diving.

12. Export, duties and prohibited materials

Shipments are made DAP (Delivered At Place; the older designation DDU, retired from Incoterms in 2010, is still used colloquially for the same arrangement). You are the importer of record and are responsible for import duty, VAT, GST, brokerage fees and compliance with the import rules of your country. We declare the actual price paid and will not under-declare value or describe a purchase as a gift. We will not export items containing ivory, tortoiseshell or other CITES-restricted material.

13. Liability

Our total liability arising from any brief is limited to the fees you have paid us in respect of that brief, together with the purchase price of the watch where clause 9 applies. We are not liable for indirect or consequential loss, including loss of profit or loss of an opportunity to acquire another watch. Nothing in this agreement excludes liability for fraud, for death or personal injury caused by negligence, or any liability that cannot lawfully be excluded — including rights you may have as a consumer under the law of your own country.

14. Identity and records

We may require identity documentation for higher-value transactions, and we accept payment only from an account in the client's own name. We keep transaction records for as long as Japanese tax law requires.

15. Data protection

We process your personal data as described in the privacy notice.

16. Governing law

This agreement is governed by the laws of Japan, and the Tokyo District Court has exclusive jurisdiction, save that if you contract as a consumer you retain any right to bring proceedings in the courts of your own country of residence where the law gives you that right.

17. Changes

We may amend these terms; the version in force is the one published when your brief is confirmed. This page shows the current version number and effective date.

Questions about any clause: support@ryuzuwatches.com.