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  1. Passover Jun 14, 2019

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    Hi, I would like to know what you think about this one:

    Serial comes from 1970, case is either unpolished or slightly polished, correct crown and pushers,

    Correct end links 173 so bracelet should be 1162 (not pictured, some elements seem to be a bit bended),

    Bracelet and caseback look a bit too shiny on the pictures but this could be from lighting,

    Light lume loss on the minute hand but not too bad.

    Movement is clean and the screw heads look fine, gasket is incomplete.

    According to the seller the dot at the edage of the crystal (at Tachy 500) is not a dent, only dust

    I think: A used example but correct, should be a good daily wearer. Prices up to 1800USD should be reasonable

    Thanks for looking :)




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    Etp095 likes this.
  2. connieseamaster Jun 14, 2019

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    Picture of the lugs from the end of the watch will tell the story of polishing (or lack thereof). Caseback seems quite polished.
     
  3. Ian_km Jun 14, 2019

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    Probably from 1972 not 1970, mine has a serial of 31.6... and the extract says May 1971.
     
  4. Passover Jun 14, 2019

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    Can be true, no doubt...

    I was only refering to the movement serial to point out that the movement number is in the correct range :)
     
    Ian_km likes this.
  5. bama2141 Jun 14, 2019

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    Looks like a fair deal for $1800. Movement seems clean but caseback gasket needs replacing. Crystal looks to be in reasonable shape. Caseback is worn (its a close to 50year old watch and the engraving wasn’t deep to begin with). The front of the case has been polished by someone trying to restore the lapped finish, but not well. I’d say fine for a daily driver, but the finish could be brought back to pristine by TMWatch if you so desired.
     
    tikkathree likes this.
  6. septentrio Jun 14, 2019

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    tikkathree likes this.
  7. wsfarrell Jun 14, 2019

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    The case has seen some wear, but I don't think it has been polished---the bright strip between front and side looks original in width. These are usually made wider by polishing. A good buy at $1,800.
     
    oddboy likes this.
  8. flqt-9000 Jun 14, 2019

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    At 1800$ you can find better examples.
     
  9. Archer Omega Qualified Watchmaker Jun 14, 2019

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    I think you are overestimating the amount of material removed when polishing a case. Unless someone is trying to remove a very deep mark, the amount removed to simply bring back the shine and remove fine scratches would not affect the width of the polished area.

    To me the one side that is in focus shows evidence of being polished...
     
    Etp095 likes this.
  10. kingsrider Thank you Sir! May I have another? Jun 14, 2019

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    Looks like it was sanded with 200 grit sandpaper. You can do better if you are willing to spend $1800.
     
  11. wsfarrell Jun 14, 2019

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    True, I was thinking more of lapping machine polishes. I still think the case could be untouched (aside from wear), but I'm certainly in the minority here.
     
  12. Passover Jun 15, 2019

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    Intersting points brought up by you guys, thank you for that!

    I decided to pass this one and look for a better one.

    Thanks again for your time :)
     
  13. Archer Omega Qualified Watchmaker Jun 15, 2019

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    Here's why I think this has been polished...


    two.jpg


    one.jpg

    If you look at the polished strip that you indicated could be made wider by polishing, it has what I would say are very obvious striations along it that come from poor refinishing. Rather than being random, they follow the contour of this polished strip, indicating they were put there during a polishing operation and are not from random wear and tear.

    These are indications of someone most likely using a buff that had not been properly prepared/maintained.

    Cheers, Al
     
    JanV likes this.
  14. wsfarrell Jun 15, 2019

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    I disagree. I don't think a buffer would leave marks that deep. I also think a buffer would have marked the surrounding bevels on the top and side. Unless they were masked off. But someone who would go to the trouble of masking would not use a buffer that rough. Even 200 grit sandpaper, as suggested above, would likely have spilled over to the surrounding bevels. Unless very carefully applied. But nothing about this suggests "careful." Still looks like bad wear to me, especially given how (relatively) intact the top and sides are.
     
  15. Archer Omega Qualified Watchmaker Jun 15, 2019

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    Not sure what type of buff you are imagining, but refinishing can use a number of different buff materials, from hard felt wheels, stitched buffs, and unstitched buffs. A hard felt wheel is very precise in what it touches, so will not affect surrounding areas even if they are not masked - I refinish polished surfaces all the time without masking surrounding areas and it's easily done if you have experience.

    I've seen this marking happen first hand from polishing so I know what it looks like...but if you disagree that's fine...
     
  16. wsfarrell Jun 15, 2019

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    I have many buffs and have used them all. This doesn't look like buffing to me.
     
  17. Archer Omega Qualified Watchmaker Jun 15, 2019

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    Again, we can agree to disagree on this one.
     
  18. wsfarrell Jun 15, 2019

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    Fine.
     
  19. septentrio Jun 15, 2019

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  20. wsfarrell Jun 15, 2019

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    So you're saying that (a) someone recut (lapped) this case years ago (like the watch you linked at horlogeforum), (b) it was then worn for a while, picking up many dings, dents and scratches, (c) then someone did a terrible buffing job and messed up the polished side bevels (at least). Right?