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Beautiful constellation(turned out to be a counterfeit). Want help evaluating before I buy

drpaul
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This is a constellation for which I am in talks with the owner. His initial listing ended unsuccessfully. Possibly because he had listed it as a pie pan.
I contacted him, a pawn shop/ vintage Shop kind of thing. He confessed he doesn't know much about watches neither do I(though I am trying). He was not willing to budge below $700. ( His initial asking was
around 900)
s-l400 (16).jpg s-l400 (15).jpg s-l400 (14).jpg s-l400 (13).jpg s-l400 (12).jpg s-l400 (10).jpg s-l400 (11).jpg


I know it's not the sharpest case. Movement also has stains/ ? Surface rust. Is it a deal breaker?
I am not a collector and don't need it to be collector quality ( though I have a feeling the more I am in this forum the more my standards for a watch are increasing)
Is the price $700 a decent deal? Or will I be able to do better within this budget?
Bucke and strap are after market.
 
s-l400 (17).jpg
SOG53
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Im not sure if the movement photos are just low resolution, but these movement photos look like bad news to me- I would be very wary on this one- can you get better resolution movement photos? Without them it would be a hard pass for me.
 
X350 XJR
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Refinished dial.

Need a straight on shot of the outside of the back, 14900 is the most widely counterfeited case.

I don't feel good about this one regardless.
 
RoadRunner73
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most watches will seem to look OK with these low res pics : you need high res pics to be able to evaluate a watch ; also, even on E-Bay, I would expect higher prices, it's suspect to me : usual way to hook a buyer by a very attractive price, so one more red flag
 
drpaul
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I will post the link of eBay advertisement. I think photos are better there. Something about the way I download i
SOG53 SOG53
Im not sure if the movement photos are just low resolution, but these movement photos look like bad news to me- I would be very wary on this one- can you get better resolution movement photos? Without them it would be a hard pass for me.
 
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drpaul
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Managed to down load better quality pics ( I hope).
Is your opinion the same?
 
drpaul
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X350 XJR X350 XJR
Refinished dial.

Need a straight on shot of the outside of the back, 14900 is the most widely counterfeited case.

I don't feel good about this one regardless.
Hello sir I was very confident about the dial. I think it's the poor quality download i did that made the dial look redone. Some better pics. Plz educate me if I am wrong
s-l1600.jpg s-l1600 (1).jpg s-l1600 (2).jpg s-l1600 (11).jpg

Also the case back photos you wanted. Do they look fake. Any tips to identify counterfeit will be greatly appreciated
s-l1600 (3).jpg s-l1600 (4).jpg s-l1600 (10).jpg
 
drpaul
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The markers look Onyx. Don't they? 700 bucks is reasonable right? For the whole package and condition.
 
X350 XJR
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COUNTERFEIT CASE!

The stars are wrong.

Honestly NOTHING about this watch is good or correct.
Edited:
 
Spruce
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And you’ve noticed the missing minute marker between 4-5
 
drpaul
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Spruce Spruce
And you’ve noticed the missing minute marker between 4-5
Good eye. Totally missed that ::facepalm1::
 
Passover
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Spruce Spruce
And you’ve noticed the missing minute marker between 4-5

Seems they also forgot "Swiss Made"
 
X350 XJR
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I'll put it as plainly as I can, this watch is a pile of shit in any language.
 
drpaul
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Thank you guys. Your experience and keen observation saved the day for sure. Went through Desmonds blog and couple of things that stood out in retrospect.
Screenshot_20230418_235057.jpg

The ' plumping out' of the main case is not faceted in this watch and looks similar to the counterfeit example shown.
Screenshot_20230418_235220.jpg

This dial also fails the "moy" test. I guess they should align vertically? The date window in not faceted as described. And want the others keen eyed members already pointed out.
 
Pastorbottle
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On top of all the points made here, even if it was a good ‘un the movement looks pretty grotty, so I’d still stay way clear.
 
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