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Longines second setting watch from the 1930s

  1. dualdo Jun 1, 2014

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    Hello,

    I consider to buy this watch. It's from the 1930s - movement number: 53 20 xxx.
    The owner wants to get 33 k USD - over-valued - what is the market willing to pay?

    BTW: The hands are later replacements.

    Thanks in advance
    Horst

    [​IMG]
     
  2. gatorcpa ΩF InvestiGator Staff Member Jun 1, 2014

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    Price sounds way too high for me. Here's an appraisal done on the US version of "Antiques Roadshow" several years ago:

    http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/roadshow/archive/200906A49.html

    The video on the site is quite informative about the origins of the watch and connections to Charles Lindbergh. A couple of further points.

    1. The watch in the video is probably the largest size made. I don't know if the watch you are considering is the same size. If it is smaller, it's probably worth a bit less.

    2. A US market watch would have both the Wittnauer and Longines names. Wittnauer was the US distributor of Longines in the 1930's. Yours is probably a European model, with just Longines on the dial. Not sure if this would make a difference in value.

    3. The watch above has the special aviator rotating bezel. If you can prove a military connection, that makes it more valuable.

    4. For the example in the video, $12K was a retail valuation in 2009. Now, five years later, I would suspect it would have gone up some, but not to $33K.

    Hope this helps,
    gatorcpa

    PS - Found this original US advertisement:

    [​IMG]

    On this website - http://horologium.com.au/2012/03/08/the-rare-longines-wittnauer-second-setting-watch/
     
  3. dualdo Jun 3, 2014

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    Thanks a lot for your input !
    Yes, it's a military execution, rare for sure - but I think overpriced.
    regards Horst