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Advice and help on this offer for a 2254.50

Pupone
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Hi guys,

In my search for the right 2254, I believe I have found one that seems to be in rather pristine conditions.
The seller told me he purchased it in 2003 and didn't use it much but the watch spring is broken so I believe that I can already expect to pay an extra €500+ to send it to Omega Bienne for a repair.
He's selling it for less than €2000 (full set) so I believe (I hope) it might still be a good deal.

Now with him being in another country (still in Europe) I cannot take the watch to an AD to authentify it, so I'm asking your help here to know whether the watch is not a fake.
For the record, he sent me the serial number that is on the international warranty card and it matches the number that is on the white box. He was not able to take a picture of the serial number on the lug though, as it's too small.
Shall I have concerns?
Another thing is that the serial number on the card/box starts with 8036, which from what I've read corresponds to serial numbers from 2006, but the warranty card shows that it was indeed purchased in 2003...

Are there other things that I should check with him?
 
03.jpg 06.jpg IMG_4029.jpg IMG_4030.jpg IMG_4033.jpg IMG_4036.jpg IMG_4037.jpg IMG_4038.jpg
zwjk
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Looks a clean example to me mate.

I think 2000 Euros is a fair price
(maybe on the higher side) but not spectacular considering you will have to put some money into a service.

I’m not sure about the serial number and the online charts aren’t that accurate, but that’s quite the discrepancy. Did the seller confirm that the serial on the lug matches the warranty card?

If not then that’s an issue because it may be a put together set.
 
Pupone
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zwjk zwjk
Looks a clean example to me mate.

I think 2000 Euros is a fair price
(maybe on the higher side) but not spectacular considering you will have to put some money into a service.

I’m not sure about the serial number and the online charts aren’t that accurate, but that’s quite the discrepancy. Did the seller confirm that the serial on the lug matches the warranty card?

If not then that’s an issue because it may be a put together set.

Thank you for your response. Actually I haven't asked the seller to confirm that as I'm affraid he might just make this up, like "yeah sure, both numbers match" when it's actually not the case.
I might be to paranoid about buying a fake or franken, but I really want to clear any doubts.

I'll ask anyway, let's see what he says.
 
zwjk
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Pupone Pupone
Thank you for your response. Actually I haven't asked the seller to confirm that as I'm affraid he might just make this up, like "yeah sure, both numbers match" when it's actually not the case.
I might be to paranoid about buying a fake or franken, but I really want to clear any doubts.

I'll ask anyway, let's see what he says.

If you have any doubts, just walk away.

It’s not worth it if considering these aren’t that difficult to source (right now anyway). Plenty of good examples come from Japan so definitely have a look around the Japanese auctions.
 
Pupone
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zwjk zwjk
If you have any doubts, just walk away.

It’s not worth it if considering these aren’t that difficult to source (right now anyway). Plenty of good examples come from Japan so definitely have a look around the Japanese auctions.

So far I must say the seller has been reactive and provided me all the pictures and informations I requested from him.

You are right to say they are not that difficult to source but I must say that minty ones usually sell around €2700/2900 on chrono24, which to me, is too expensive.
I took a look on Japanese auctions but I'm not very familiar with this system and I know I'll have to pay extra fees for the customs, shipping and from the auctions I found, there is never that much information about the watch history, servicing etc.
 
Pupone
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So he just replied and said that the numbers on the lug are way too small for him to be able to read them... I don't know about this watch but on my Speedmaster, under the proper light, it is readable.

He even tried with a magnifying glass...
 
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vitriol
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Push on it, serial number is not huge but for sure it is completely doable to take a decent photo where the serial is readable.
You may need to suggest to seller that 480x640 resolution is far from right when taking the photos of €2k item.

The online charts are not very accurate, I have had a similar SMP with the serial starting at 80*** and Omega confirmed it as the watch produced in year 2000.
 
gpssti4
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Looks okay from the poor photos. However, how does the seller know the spring is broken? Has it been opened up? Can the seller take it to a local (to him) shop and have it opened - he could then send a movement shot too.
 
Knudsen1971
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Looking legit to me, red dot is still present, so it supports the theory of being not worn much and after mainspring broke it remained unserviced in a box. Clasp engraving is quite sharp, usually well worn watches nave the clasp or scratched as hell, or scotch-brited so the writing is shallow.
Th the SN photo: tell the seller to wash the watch, and make hi-res photo in a bright light conditions. Then you should be able to zoom it from the photo.
 
alefar
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All seems ok to me too. 2700-2900 would be too much even for a mint example in my opinion
 
Pupone
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Thank you all for your response, I have followed the advice from Knudsen1971 and am now waiting to see whether he'll be able to take a better picture after cleaning the watch.

I keep you posted 😀
 
ConElPueblo
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I don't think €2000 is far fetched for a watch in such good cosmetic condition. The mainspring issue and service can be resolved by a watchmaker with an Omega account, which is what I would recommend you doing.

There might still be good specimens of this reference available, but really sharp ones are getting less common. These are often the "one good watch" a person would buy and wear all the time, so marks and excessive polish is common to see.
 
Pupone
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ConElPueblo ConElPueblo
I don't think €2000 is far fetched for a watch in such good cosmetic condition. The mainspring issue and service can be resolved by a watchmaker with an Omega account, which is what I would recommend you doing.

There might still be good specimens of this reference available, but really sharp ones are getting less common. These are often the "one good watch" a person would buy and wear all the time, so marks and excessive polish is common to see.

Have you ever experienced the official Omega watchrepair in Bienne, Switzerland? I'm already thinking about sending it there as I've heard many good things about their work and it shouldn't be much more expensive than going to another watchmaker with an Omega account.
 
Thrasher36
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I would walk away from this, How can a watch which is in such good condition have a broken mainspring? Why can't he get a picture of the serial number? Because it does not match that's why.
 
Knudsen1971
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Broken mainspring can be just sellers assumption, it can be anything in the winding mechanism. As cal 1120 is basically ETA movement, getting the mainspring can easy for every watchmaker. If you wan to have the service covered by Omega, use some Service center in Europe, you don`t need to send it to Bienne. But the price of the service is then cca 600euro, if remember well. The service prices are set by Omega headquarter and is the same in whatever official service center worldwide, differences are just in conversion rates. Pricing list can be found on Omega website. Lets wait for the new photos for further judgement..
 
ConElPueblo
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Thrasher36 Thrasher36
I would walk away from this, How can a watch which is in such good condition have a broken mainspring? Why can't he get a picture of the serial number? Because it does not match that's why.

IMO there is nothing to suggest that it doesn't match.

Incompetence is far, far more common than ill intent.
 
Pupone
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So, I finally received a picture. He seemed to have struggled a bit to take it and explained me how he managed to do it.
I read his explanation until he finally revealed the (THE) number... which is 930.

The bracelet number😡


Not really what I was expecting but I explained him (again) which number I was waiting for, so let's wait and see... I'm more amused than anything at this since I believe he did it in good faith.

Here the picture 😀

Picture_20211412071457.JPG
 
Pupone
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Ok, he managed to take a clean shot of the SN and it matches the number on the warranty card 😀
 
vitriol
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Pupone Pupone
Here the picture 😀

Picture_20211412071457.JPG

The watch still has a red dot on the case back, which means it hasn't been opened quite some time.
Then, how does the seller know that movement has a faulty spring?
 
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