I agree, and this apply to any highly desirable watch even more so than the more niche Seiko Pogues. And what does this say about the future of watch collecting? I think education, such as the post above by @ewand, is an important way forward. Nevertheless, some other avenues of authentication will be needed or this hobby is in peril.

 

I did start putting together a "Pogue Only" book with the idea of documenting as much minutiae about the 6139-600x as I could muster, but life and stuff got in the way :-p

One of our members with a background in the jewel business tells a story about the market for certain stones where clarity and purity was prized above all, until perfect synthetics could be made (and though there was a test to validate a sample, it was expensive and destructive to that sample). At that point, any perfect specimen was assumed to be no more valuable than fake, but more organically flawed - and previously less desirable - items were assumed to be real, and more valuable as a result...

In terms of Pogue valuations, there are outliers like genuine Silver PROOF or Teal Sunrise, which can fetch $3000 or maybe even a lot more. Lately, "True Pogues" with yellow, RESIST marked dial can be well over $2K if in decent shape and with a correct bracelet. I'd put a good yellow PROOF 6000 not far behind a True Pogue, on the basis that it's earlier.

 

I completely understand anyone who is turned off 6139s based on the minefield. Thankfully, there is a lot of good research and help from the watch community. Often the watches for sale have terrible pictures, making it even more of a leap of faith.

Bottom line is the Pogue has a wonderful place in history and is a beautiful, if not just fun watch that also has a decent movement. They are still worth the search, at least to me. Again, i totally get why people are put off though

 

Personally, I'm put off by the weird proportions and the way they sit on my wrist.

 

I agree - the 6139-600x is a great watch, even without the Pogue/space connection (for whatever value that brings to you...) I would say that any watch collector who likes chronographs should have a Speedmaster and a Pogue; since getting into the 6139-601x, aka Bruce Lee, variant, I think they are maybe even better on the wrist than the Pogue. Gone are the days of bargain 6010s though; maybe a legacy of people leaving the Pogue market and looking for something else...

 

FIFY

 

It is a rats nest, pure and simple, I would steer well clear.

After nearly a year of looking on and off, I finally found what I thought was a good one a good dial with original parts (aftermarket bracelet) and apparently serviced, but when I got it in my hand the inner bezel would only move with pushing the crown in (the sign it has the wrong stem part) and then after a couple of the day slipped, then the crown fell off in my hand, so whoever serviced it was a clown. Can probably be fixed up but as we all know Chronographs are a money pit.

I still have my Bruce Lee in blue, should have stuck with just that as my 6139 representative.

 

That sucks. Didn't feel right "liking" your post. Sorry about your experience.

 

No worries. The Day indicator worries me most, as does finding a watchmaker willing to work on it (even in Japan), most would rather deal with something easier - unless the day indicator can be knocked back into place, it means taking all the hands and dial off.

I broke my own rule and got this one, so point dwelling on it too much. But I hope it serves as a cautionary tale!

Here it is in the short interval before between arrival and failure..

 

I can recommend Tracy at https://ashtontracy.ca/about-us/

He serviced a 6139-6015 for me. Very thorough, including his report.

Dave

 

Thanks for the tip, I haven't come across him before.

 

Thanks for the shout out guys! I was going to add that there no real reason to be scared off by these. Yes, some of them can be a a money pit but for the most part they require fewer parts than Swiss watches. Once the barrel jeweling is taken care of they are good to go. I’m not sure why there is concern about the day indicator. Yes, they can be out of whack but it’s generally taken care of during servicing, and If not a new day disk can be installed as a last resort.

 

Just wanted to add I had a great experience with Peter Molloy of East Coast Watchmaker. He did a bang up job on my Cevert.

http://eastcoastwatchmaker.com/about-us/

 

Correct, it is difficult from pics alone to see if it is F or R , so i stopped looking for them.

 

To those who have given up finding a real Pogue, don't.

This arrived today. A very lucky (but informed) find.

The watch was attaced to a silver Native American watch cuff. It wasn't part of the watch description and the photos were fuzzy. But there was enough visible to risk that it was correct and could be in great shape, as it was protected from touching the skin.

Here are the auction photos:






Here is the watch that arrived today. Not only is it correct, it's in fantastic shape. All functions work, including the turning bezel and day/ date setting and pushers. It's now on an Uncle Seiko H link.

 

Incredible grab--really, really well done. The finishing's fantastic.

 

Thats a great "True" well done.

 

I still want one. Think they are great watches and if I could find an original in 600-800 dollar range I would buy it.

 

Do you still have a Pogue for sale? I noticed you had a ‘72 listed last year.