Hello!

I have found this Zenith Chronomaster Moonphase ref. 30.0240.410 in yellow gold for sale at a dealer in my town. It comes with box and verification/rate papers, but no certificate. The asking price is the equivalent of 7700 USD / 6500 EUR at the current exchange rate. There is no mention of service history; only the usual "checked by watchmaker and in very good condition".
What are your opinions on this? Does it look good? Is there a discoloration or dirt on the wheel in picture #10 that I should be concerned about? What about the coloration on the small screws that hold the caseback in place? Do you see any sign of overpolishing?
Is the price right (most asking prices on Chrono24 are priced higher as usual)?

If I buy this, it would be my first gold watch. Do any of you have gold watches in your daily rotation? Does gold hold up well in everyday life? I don't do mountain climbing or other "hardware-demanding" tasks, and I have three steel chronographs as well.

-best regards

 

https://www.chrono24.sg/zenith/zeni...10240410-moonphase-black-dial--id15942513.htm

I think the price is a bit dear given you can get this one at much lower price.

 

The one in your link is a steel model while this is a gold one. The price hike of around 50% is as expected when you go from steel to gold, unless it's a Rolex' from an AD, where the price difference in percent is much larger.
I suppose this _could_ mean that the asking price is not too far off. It's similar to the lowest priced gold examples on Chrono24.
I don't have any gold watches and thought it would be nice to have one, and an El Primero is on my wishlist anyway.
I also like the "Patek-vibes" these 90s and 00s Zeniths often have.

 

IMHO, vintage Universal Geneve Tri-compax for instance the steel ones are actually of higher value than gold. I think it is kind of similar with zenith where The price of G381is lower than a386 or a3818 etc. (All of which are also el primero). I am not sure about this zenith model because it is kind of not exactly that vintage yet by age. Anyhow, good luck with your quest to find a gold el primero.

Also I really think this model looks great

 

Afaik in the vintage world quite a few models in gold will be priced lower than their steel brothers. The price differential seems to dissipate as you go through the timeline and get to more modern pieces. For brand new watches it is the other way round.

Gold watches as daily wearers are totally fine. Gold is softer than steel and small blemishes in the case have to be expected if you intend to wear it casually. If the condition is completely mint then probably want to avoid wearing them doing white water rafting.

 

I agree, it looks great, but I have never handled this reference in the metal and don't know exactly what pitfalls to look for.

The seller lists this watch as from cirka 2000, but the absence of a "Z" in the movement name suggest 98 or 99 as the latest year of manufacture so it's not quite vintage yet. Chrono24 strongly suggests that gold El Primeros from this period are priced higher than the corresponding steel models.

 

The moonphase EPs make lovely dress watches. They have a very elegant case design and you see fewer in solid gold.

 

There is also a sale by a member at good price. It is steel though, and I think going forward steel holds better value.

https://omegaforums.net/threads/fs-zenith-chronomaster-t-moonpase.115617/#post-1584013

 

Anyway a good quality watch and nice and clean after is up to you to buy it or not, the price could be better but not overpriced , but definitively nice

paul

 

I have 3 gold watches that I wear and they stand up just fine - 9k, 14k and 18k. I don't wear them when I am doing dirty jobs and have a couple of beaters for those situations. As someone who has 2 EPs, I like the gold one better for this particular model. The gold EP is priced high, so I would not pay that price, especially if there is no proof of service. That will set you back $750 and you need to find a watchmaker who does lots of these. I don't send them to my regular watchmaker. Don't take anyone's word on an EP without a receipt from a reputable service provider. These are the quintessential - buy, don't service, wear it occasionally, let it sit, sell it. I have one that kept good time and strong amplitude and it still had worn parts from dried up oils and neglect. Good luck, these are lovely watches.

 

You should be fine to wear a gold watch in an office environment. Or at home whilst not during DIY / gardening.
I often wear a white gold and am not too worried either.

On this Zenith model; it's stunning. I own a modern and a vintage El Primero and like them both.
One of their strong points is that they are relatively thin for a chronograph or calendar chrono.

Good luck with your considerations / purchase.

 

I have received a couple of more pictures of the back side of the watch. It does seem that there is some sort of discoloration on the reversing wheel of the winding mechanism seen through the rotor. The clutch wheels do not have this coloration. What do you make of this? Have you seen anything like this before? Does it mean there is dirt floating around in the movement?

Or is it simply too much lubricant?

Apparently it doesn't affect the timekeeping of the watch since I assume "checked by a watchmaker" at least means a watchmaker has tested it on a timegrapher, and also that the chronograh starts, stops and resets properly. Ditto for power reserve.

 

I will leave it to people more expert than myself to comment on the coloration of the mechanism. However, as to the question regarding gold for daily wearing, I have several gold watches in my regular rotation. Of note, I wear a tie every day and a suit on about half of them. If you work in an similar environment, gold works great. I particularly like my (yellow) gold watches on solid blue suit days.

 

No issues from me about the inconsistencies with colour. As long as it had a service from an experienced EP watchmaker, brass is prone to discolouration.

 

I had a white gold version of this watch and loved it. If you like his price, you'll enjoy this watch.

 

I have the steel version of this watch and love it! I have one gold watch and wear it occasionally (with care!) and no adverse effects that I have noticed.

 

I think you should factor in a service and I bet they are not cheap for a complications Zenith. Been after one of these myself on and off for a few years as owning a Moonphase is something I have yet to do in this hobby we all share and love.