Bad photos with good outcomes

Fascinating, isn’t it? How lighting (not talking photoshop here) can completely change how a watch presents in photos.

My wife spotted this Bulova in an antique shop on Christmas Eve. The owner was naturally hoping to get holiday prices for it, so we decided to come back after the holidays when there would be room for negotiation. So I snapped a few pics and off we went. Looking at the photos at home later on I was thinking “Dang, I don’t remember the gold fill being so worn 😬“. But we went back a few days later to try again anyway.

This is my snapshot in the shop. Dang, the case is all brassed out on the left side...



And this is at home in better conditions



Of course, when I could see the watch in-hand again I could tell that it was in great shape. It’s a whole different game though when you buy online from crappy photos and you are thinking (hoping?) that the watch will be better in person then it is in the photos. Or when yellow gold appears to be white gold... the list is long.

What are your “I took a chance on crappy photos” stories?

Oh boy, where do I even start?

With this?

Bummer about the lost photos, sweet watch though 👍

Excellent case study 😎

From the seller:


Upon arrival:

This is my best one.

The colour seemed to be off in the auction pic and I wasn't sure if it was genuine.



Luckily it was the pink gold case and the yellow bracelet that was throwing things off. Just a buff of the crystal needed and a new crown, couldn't find a pink gold one at the time though.