That reference is not found in Sala. I have added it to my database. However, the piece, including the minute sub counters looks correct in my eyes. Edit: the crown looks like a replacement.

 

True. I had not noticed the pictures of the back of that buckle and the H.C. markings, and am not familiar with that maker.

 

Ok, thanks for your enlightenment guys !

 

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I think the dial is original, but the date wheel, chronograph seconds, and some of the register hands maybe, have been transplanted. Then there's the off color lume.

 

I've looked this one over for someone and struggled with the question of the dial. It's difficult to know whether it is the original part or whether it is a NOS replacement. Regardless, though, the dial appears to be correct and lovely. The date wheels, what we can see of them, look fine too.

Little doubt that the hands were relumed at some point.

I'm also undecided on the sweep seconds hand--though after some study, the rest appear correct. The sweep second appears to be a correct Universal part, that the watchmaker then, unfortunately coated in red paint when he was re-doing the 12 O'clock calendar hand. This unusual angle provides the evidence with the blued steel peeking through on the sides:

So my thoughts on the sweep second are that it was either a part harvested from another Universal with a different dial configuration. OR, that the original dial on this piece was of a different layout, requiring a shorter second hand, and that when the original dial was replaced with the ?NOS dial pictured, that it came up short. Can't rule out an idiot watchmaker clipping the tip off for his own personal aesthetics too, I suppose.

The crown on this is an obvious replacement, and the caseback graining has obviously received a touch up subsequent to what what probably a polishing attempt to remove some deeper scratches that persist in the snap back--which was not done well, I may add--as the graining is not consistent throughout.



On the whole, I really like this piece, though I'm skeptical that this has truly been serviced as the seller claims--or at least, serviced by a competent professional, by the leftover bits of grime about the case. I'm falling for those beautiful spider lugs, and it likely went a touch low as the seller understated the case diameter at 33mm in his listing.

 

Don't the calendar wheels have a patina too distinct from the dial? That was my thought on the possibility of a NOS dial.

 

Are you referring to the moonphase disc or the day/date discs? In any case, I don't feel like I can make a determination of anything else from the pictures/evidence at hand. If I opened her up on the bench and took the dial off, we'd no doubt learn quite a lot either confirming or denying all these possibilities.

 

The day/date disks. The moonphase looks right, but the other wheel look to be off-color. I suppose it's a hard call, you're right.

 

Back up for sale...

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Why did this sell for so much? It's a valjoux 72 movement, isn't it?

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Incidentally, it "sold" for $1,712.98 last week

 

It was legit. The seller contacted me. The winning bidder lived across the pond and was scheming up all sorts of shenanigans to avoid the import duties, to the point that it was setting off all kinds of red flags for the seller, who was quite conscientious and apparently spent some time on the phone with eBay trying to make sure he wasn't about to get burned.

 

I thought it went cheap. The Valjoux based Universals have been breaking all kinds of records lately, and are encroaching on waterproof Tri-Compax territory. The recent examples that have hit the bay were listed around $6k and then were pulled before auction end likely for a private sale. Couple people have contacted me asking me to look this or that over and were planning to buy in the $5k-6k range, which is what a decent Tri-compax was going for 2 years ago.

See also: this (a piece here was written up for Hodinkee), and this. The Aero-Compax is scarcer than the "exotics," and it's got that cool, particular look to it, so it doesn't surprise me that they're getting hot. Bain has this aero-compax that I hear he's asking $7.5k for, granted he's always on the high end, but he's not ridiculous like some of the Italians on chrono24.

 

I can understand the price premiums on those two others - they are well known in their own right. I never did like the look of the one I presented, though. I thought I remember them going for much, much less.

 

It took me a second, but I think I can explain the discrepancy... there's a 1990s version of the Aero-Compax based on the ubiquitous Valjoux 7750. I think one or two of those have sold recently, and those typically go for ~$1-1.5k.

The pricey one dates to the end of the 60s to 1970s.

 

Ah! That must be it - I think you're right.

 

HerePurchases made through these links may earn this site a commission from the eBay Partner Network's the 1990s version... almost a re-edition gone bad. Sold for $1200 in straight auction then relisted for a buy-it-now of $1000.

 

For the sporty, ultra-cool, vintage-watch-loving woman... if she exists.

http://bit.ly/Q6sI1x