hi guys, i'm new here! there is a couple of vintage zenith watches on ebay that appeared attractive to me, but i have no idea about originality. are these original pieces?
blue dial, 36mm, caliber 126

black dial, 36mm, says caliber 40 although it is the same as the previous one?

many thanks

 

Hi waelb. Your pictures have not come out. Try re-posting them. You have to select the photo then press the "Insert Photo" button before hitting the "Post Reply" button

 

thanks, sorry about that. above is the black dial and below, the blue. thanks

 

They are both Cal 40 which is a cracking movement. Unfortunately, both look like re-finished dials which knocks 40 to 50% off their value as collector's watches. The blue one also has a heavily polished case so all of the clean edges have been removed. This also affects its worth.

 

thanks for the feedback stewart. i have bought from this person before and watch is on the way. it is a caliber 2310 and does say swiss made at the bottom but i'm guessing the dial is refinished... i kind of regret it now. would appreciate your thoughts, thanks.

 

That is an interesting example. I haven't seen the back of a dial as late as this one. The Zenith symbol is from the 1970s to the 1990s, from the period when the company was owned by the American electronics company, also named Zenith. The earlier dials I have seen were of a much higher specification to makes such as Omega - even when made by the same suppliers. On those dials, the back of the dial was finished after the application of the dial furniture.

This dial seems to have had the furniture removed, at some stage and that would indicate a probable re-finishing. Even if the back was not finished after application of the furniture. I would expect to see the feet of the hour markers to be finished flush with the back of the dial.

 

thanks for the info. i clearly asked the seller if dial was refinished or repainted and he said it was original... i have to wait till i receive the watch and inspect then. cheers stewart!