Hi all,

I'm new to universal geneve, and always want a nice Polerouter Sub.
Tonight a second generation Polerouter just pops up on eBay. (http://www.ebay.ca/itm/231290735437?ru=http://www.ebay.ca/sch/i.html?_sacat=0&_from=R40&_nkw=231290735437&_rdc=1Purchases made through these links may earn this site a commission from the eBay Partner Network)
After I read carefully about the thread(http://omegaforums.net/threads/polerouter-sub-a-typology.3624/),
I now have some questions.
1. Has it been redialled? The print on the dial seems not sharp enough comparing to the dial on the thread, especially "Polerouter Sub".
2. Is the second hand correct? The second hands showing on the thread are all a narrow one. Instead in this watch, it is a wide one. But I do notice the ad picture, there is one maybe use wide second hand. The ad picture just to small to confirm.
3. Is this watch over polished? Since the side of the Djayrom's watch shows a angel there.
4. Also, the bezel obviously wrong.
Am I missing something here? Any advise is appreciated.

Thank you and best regards,

Charles

 

New found: There is a red box outside the brand logo. But in the thread that I mentioned, it's white. Bezel seems the same as the ad picture. The glass has been changed.

 

Charles, I saw the one on ebay as well. It's tough to tell on originality and I will most certainly defer to the experts, but UG seems to have used many different versions of dials. The dial on that one looks a little rough. I have a symmetrical version - you can see another one of them on the typology post above - that has no box at all. I'm not sure about the one on ebay.

 

Hello Bluepoint, thanks for the input. The dial and the case are the two I worry most. Do you think I need to pass this, wait for another? Thank you.

 

It's a tough call. Like I said, compared to some on this forum, I'm by no means an expert on UG. With the caveat that I'm basing my opinion on the price and what I paid for mine, I personally would pass. I bought mine from a reputable dealer for a price not too far from what this person is asking on ebay and my sense is that mine is in much better shape - at least from the pictures.

 

Hi Everyone,

This is my first post after being a spectator for years. I’m the lucky recipient of the Sub the OP asked about. Unfortunately (or not) I didn’t see this thread before I bid and won. I say unfortunately because it would have encouraged me to do more homework, but in the end I think the watch is great. A few good things, not-so-good things, and questions:

The Good

• It all appears to be original. I suppose it could be franken, but it’s nearly impossible to tell given the number of variations we can find with a good Google Images search. It matches the Japanese catalog exactly -- the bezel is hard to make out in that catalog, but if you look very closely you can see that it’s the same.
• Dial is great. The type is slightly raised and sharp. Slightly faded, but that makes sense given the age.
• Case is very good. There are a few minor dings and scratches, but the edges are sharp and it doesn’t look like it was ever polished. If it was, then the watchmaker was very careful to maintain its integrity.
• Movement looks pristine. I’m no expert, but it’s beautiful with no obvious signs of oxidation.
• Keeps great time and power reserve seems right (although not measured thoroughly)
• Most important: It looks awesome in person and on the wrist!

The Not-so-good

• Bezel is a bit loose and doesn’t click. I don’t know how normal this is. It’s not like it’s about to fall off or anything, but it’s not as tight as new watch would be. QUESTION: I know it’s supposed to be bidirectional, but is this particular version of the bezel supposed to click?
• The crown threads seems like they might be stripping. This is my biggest concern, although I’m not sure if that’s really what’s going on. It’s a little hard to wind after I unscrew it, and something is rubbing a bit every revolution. Same thing when I set it. Seems to screw in fine, but nothing to compare it to. QUESTION: Anyone else have this experience?
• The crystal is not original. No surprise here, but I’d at least like to have a thicker, diver style crystal. QUESTION: Where can I order such a thing?
• There’s a bit of flaking on the hands. I assume the chrome or rhodium plating (which is it for these hands?) just wanted off, maybe due to long exposure to the original tritium? It’s really not that bad, especially since they’re still shiny underneath.
• The hands look like they were relumed. Not the end of the world, but not my preference.
• Bezel has some scratches. I’m OK with this, and I’ve seen a lot worse. I’d be more worried if it were perfect because then it wouldn’t match the age or use the of the watch.
• The back is a little scratched up from poor use of case opening tools.

I’m looking forward to posting more and joining the community. I have a bunch of watches, and since this is the UG forum, I’ll also mention that I have a 1958 Polerouter Date tuxedo dial. It took forever to find one that wasn’t redialed and/or over polished. Mine has a tropical dial, now somewhat splotchy brown w/ spider webs. The type looks completely original, with a clean movement, and a case with completely crisp edges, despite years of use that dulled the finish. I guess I’ll head over to the Zenith forum for more posts…

Cheers,
Superburger

 

Bluepoint, if this is a pic of your watch, where did you get the strap? That looks comfortable.

 

I assume he got it from Matthew Bain, I used to buy a watch from bain too and it came with the exact same strap, but there was nothing written on it to explain its origin.

 

You are correct. I did purchase it from Matthew Bain. There is nothing on the strap that would indicate who made it.