Hello fellow watch enthusiasts, I have been a long time lurker on this forum, but this is my first post so please forgive any obvious errors. I recently stumbled upon a very nice looking lemania, for sale at a reputable dealer in my hometown of Antwerp (Belgium). I have been looking for a watch in this style for a long time, as my first 'serious' watch purchase, but would like some advice and other opinions before purchasing. Specifically of course, whether or not the watch would be worth the requested price. Perhaps the exact reference / movement and any other remarks you might have? Please note that I did not have a lot of time to investigate the watch on site, but I plan to return to the shop ASAP for more info, based on your inputs! According to the shop : 1950's oversized chrono from Lemania. 37 or 38mm by my estimate, no exact reference or info on the movement could be provided by the shop. The shop claims that the watch was serviced in-house before being offered for sale (this did not, according to them, include polishing of the case or re-colouring the dial but did include a check of all timekeeping functions, 'hands' and 'glass') and is sold with a one year guarantee. Asking price is 2700 euros, but I believe this is negotiable. The pictures were sent to me after a request by email. Overall, my impression was that the watch was in a very nice condition, with little markings or damage on the case and a relatively pristine looking dial. My experience is, however, very limited... Hence this post Any and all input would be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance!
My first impression is that the dial has been refinished. The imprecise bleed of the 2, 4, 8 and 10 into the registers and the printing of the registers seems off. While the case my not have been polished by the dealer, it certainly has been polished at some point. By no means an expert on these.
The case has been polished as the beveled edges are almost gone from the lugs and the dial is a redial. I would hold out for a better and more honest example, especially at their asking price.
Agree with what's been said. Pics are not great, but just evaluating it any watch and no expertise on this particular model - the large numerals are a mess so obviously a redial, heavily polished lugs and some horrible mismatched crown. Don't waste your money
Thank you all for the replies. This is more or less what I was afraid of... Could you please elaborate on the reason you believe the case was polished? Trying to learn to maybe spot it myself in the future
Because the edges of the lugs are not as sharp as you may expect them to be if really unpolished. I think that we are looking here at a suckers watch. Dealers sell this kind of watches to people who want an old watch without knowing anything about watches. This looks nice to the untrained eye, b.llshit story about being unpolished and I assume massively overpriced.
The logo on the dial looks out of proportion as well. Classic dealer watch: Over prized and pimped up for sale. There are many, many better ones out there. Cheers.
Thanks again for all your advice everyone. Even the great Northernman pitched in, I feel honored! I guess my quest continues . Don't hesitate to drop me a line if you have a lead on some 40's - 50's lemania's for sale! Best regards, Pieter-Jan