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  1. Foxy100 Aug 22, 2018

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    My collection is going through a few big changes, I'm slowly selling a few Omegas and Heuers, have bought an X33 Skywalker and hopefully there's a Grand Seiko coming soon. More consolidation and cash raising more than anything but there's a little fine tuning going on!

    I have a Big Blue I bought after the previous owner had sent it off for a Bienne restoration. I had the original dial, hands etc refitted when it was serviced at STS and bought an appropriate bezel on Omega Forums. When Bienne had serviced the watch before my ownership they made some deal with the owner that they'd keep his original bezel and would supply him with a NOS one for free, hence me having the original dial and hands etc but not the bezel.

    A BB has just sold on eBay in nice condition (with some bubbling on the dial) but without service history (or a collection of spare parts) for £4,500.

    What would you say mine is worth, as is or sold with the spare bezel/dial/hands? It's in really nice condition, the case was lapped at service and is almost all perfect apart from a few small marks and a very very light scratch on one side where I failed to avoid hitting something. The bezel is a bit beaten but I think suits the watch perfectly.

    And would it be comparable to a nice original and unpolished PloProf, if I can find someone to do a trade?

    I love the watch but miss my old PloProf and find I'm picking out my 1000M instead of the BB when I open my watch case. I think the 1000M and PloProf are different enough watches but I have the BB's chrono functionality covered by a few other watches. Put simply I'm just not wearing it enough and the desire for a PloProf is too strong!

    Any help would be gratefully received, thanks in advance.

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  2. Rasputin The Mad Monk of OF Aug 22, 2018

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    I think the main issue affecting the value of your BB is the relatively poor condition of the external bezel. The original bakelite versions of these are very difficult to source esp in good shape. Your dial condition is overall excellent which obviously helps. Are the H and M hands of the first photo the same as the second?
     
  3. simonsays Aug 22, 2018

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    For the right person and the right watch parity is there. I think £4500 is a very fair price for yours and if you provide all the service parts too then it starts to look like a right bargain and the price should head to £5k+.

    There are plenty of Ploprofs out there and its just a case of sifting through the numerous available watches to find a good one at a good price. Unfortunately they are probably worse than Speedmasters for service changes and replacement parts so good ones are few and far between.

    I hope you find a member who has an unloved Ploprof in a similar state to your Big Blue, and a direct swap can be made and if not a quick sale, after all cash is king! Good luck.

    As an aside, the balance between originality and cosmetic appeal can be a fine edge. You may do better with the service bezel fitted and the original bezel as an optional extra. Photos of patina are often very cruel, even if its lovely in person.
     
    Foxy100 and Dash1 like this.
  4. Foxy100 Aug 22, 2018

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    Thanks both of you. I would take a lot of detail photos of watch plus parts. Those two photos of the BB in the sunlight don't show the lovely aged lume, the sun is being a bit harsh on the hands in both pictures!

    It wouldn't take much to replace the aged parts with the new if a buyer wanted that. I'll let the dust settle once I've sold off the other watches and will see how I feel about it all. I do miss my old PloProf though!
     
  5. Lowflight Aug 23, 2018

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    Curious as I am in the market for one
     
  6. roryoc11 Aug 26, 2018

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    I think with the choice of bezel this is easily £4.5k, the dial is one of the nicest i have seen on one of these. Out of interest is the service bezel all acrylic / Bakelite ?

    While there are ploprofs to be have at 3.5-4.5k, for an original and unpolished I think it will be closer to £6k. When did you let your old one go?
     
  7. Foxy100 Aug 27, 2018

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    I don't remember what the service bezel is, I was told by the seller it was Omega's last one.

    I actually shared the PloProf with a friend but he needed to free up some cash and it sold before I could find the money to buy him out. Shame but we went into it knowing that was the deal. It only sold in the last couple of months for £4k.