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Any clue about this 1937 UG?

Larry S
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bgrisso bgrisso
I can't recall if I've ever seen a UG tank with lume before? I wonder if this started out with factory lume and someone relumed it, or if it was non lume to begin with and someone lumed the dial and added lume hands? Would require in depth research.

I can't tell about the dial originality from pics so far.

if the dial is orig I think it's worth fixing this one up a bit, either relume it properly, or if it was not lumed originally, clean the dial and replace the hands.
Those are UG hands for sure and proportional to the dial. One of them there UG sanctioned dealer mods? Never say never as we know.
 
X350 XJR
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RJMNL RJMNL
Well the buckle is a bit green here and there, but I can't find any additional text or marks.

The only thing I noticed which I did not spot before is the text 'W3788' (is my guess) inside the case, but it seems to be just scratched in there instead of nicely done (btw my apologies for any poor language, English is not my mother tongue)

Great watch!

Those scratched in marks are typical of what a watchmaker would have used to indicate a service date or such. They would mean absolutely nothing to anyone but the watchmaker who put them there. This is a practice which is highly frowned upon today but was common back in the day.
 
RJMNL
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Thanks all! From the reactions I think the answer to this question is most probably a 'yes': Is it worth the investment to have it cleaned and checked by an expert?'.
 
bgrisso
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Larry S Larry S
Those are UG hands for sure and proportional to the dial. One of them there UG sanctioned dealer mods? Never say never as we know.

yes I think they are UG hands, I'm just wondering if anyone can find another example of a tank with them installed. Here's an earlier waterproof case example, hands are same I think....
 
P1020126_adj.jpg
bgrisso
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RJMNL RJMNL
Thanks all! From the reactions I think the answer to this question is most probably a 'yes': Is it worth the investment to have it cleaned and checked by an expert?'.

If you mean financially, I would think it's worth servicing the movement by a competent watchmaker. I would not do anything other than service the movement with a regular watchmaker. The lume requires proper research and finding the right person to work with (if you choose to relume). There's a handful of people that would be recommended for that particular job.
 
Larry S
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RJMNL RJMNL
Thanks all! From the reactions I think the answer to this question is most probably a 'yes': Is it worth the investment to have it cleaned and checked by an expert?'.
Absolutely … I would estimate that the shop I use would charge me $300 to service the movement. As @bgrisso stated, the lume is another project best done by a specialist of which there are few. Personally, I like the look as is.
 
Modest_Proposal
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It's almost never a good investment to have the watch serviced prior to selling. Most watch collectors prefer their own watchmakers do the servicing. I would recommend that if you intend on selling it, simply document it with good photographs and it will go for its fair value on Ebay or similar auction site.

As for Universal Geneve "experts" as appraisers of originality, you won't do much better than on this site.
 
bgrisso
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Modest_Proposal Modest_Proposal
It's almost never a good investment to have the watch serviced prior to selling. Most watch collectors prefer their own watchmakers do the servicing. I would recommend that if you intend on selling it, simply document it with good photographs and it will go for its fair value on Ebay or similar auction site.

As for Universal Geneve "experts" as appraisers of originality, you won't do much better than on this site.

good point. I was just assuming OP was intending to keep, and asking if value of watch was more than cost of service, but if not intending to keep, as you say, no point getting it serviced.

I also typed out the same response about the "experts" but then deleted it 😉
 
Carlton-Browne
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bgrisso bgrisso
yes I think they are UG hands, I'm just wondering if anyone can find another example of a tank with them installed. Here's an earlier waterproof case example, hands are same I think....

I agree that the hands are UG (and I don't think it's been re-dialled - just relumed). These are on a calibre 260.
22112019.jpg
 
Tohz
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Also would think that the OPs watch originally came with these lumed hands. I remember seeing other tanks with these hands before (though not sure if with such early serials).

For example see this 40s catalogue image
IMG_20200604_0040.jpg
Edited:
 
Larry S
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Tohz Tohz
Also would think that the OPs watch originally came with these lumed hands. I remember seeing other tanks with these hands before (though not sure if with such early serials).

For example see this 40s catalogue image
IMG_20200604_0040.jpg
Well Done!
 
bgrisso
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Tohz Tohz
Also would think that the OPs watch originally came with these lumed hands. I remember seeing other tanks with these hands before (though not sure if with such early serials).

For example see this 40s catalogue image
IMG_20200604_0040.jpg

nice find! Are we to assume the dial is lumed as well, there’s no way to tell from the photo (or is it a drawing?)
 
Larry S
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bgrisso bgrisso
nice find! Are we to assume the dial is lumed as well, there’s no way to tell from the photo (or is it a drawing?)
One would assume…
 
Mark020
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bgrisso bgrisso
I can't recall if I've ever seen a UG tank with lume before
Interesting remark. Come to think of it: I think me neither
 
Mark020
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The famous Hermes - which is no Hermes - one. Has been around for years. How could I forget 😁
 
Larry S
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@RJMNL … Thanks for sharing. I love the watch as is so my vote is a movement service if you plan to keep, of course this thing just screams “wear me with A black tux. “ or put it out for auction to find fair value as suggested. So you’ve had lots of input. What are your thoughts?
 
RJMNL
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Yes, you all gave me some good input. I didn't no anything about it a week ago, but now I know more. In fact I start to like it a lot. By reading all your comments I really got interested more and more and learned about terminology I did not know before. Normally I am wearing a nice (at least I think it's a nice one 😀) Tag Carrera, but after wearing this one a few days (no tux) you almost feel how old it is (it's very light). I think I will need to go through some process.. my uncle gave it to me, but the emotional value will probably not prevent it from putting it out for auction. Maybe I try to find out a bit more about value. Some say it might be a few hundred euro's, some say it will be a bit more. Since I am not a collector I might as well make someone happy with it. I will chew on it a few weeks 😀
 
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