Hey folks,

even though this is no Omega, I was hoping for some expertise on an old BWC.

Short background:

I’ve just returned from a friend who’s about to become a dad. Covid hasn’t exactly helped him and his wife financially and just before I left he gave me two watches he had bought about 25 years ago for 600DM, the equivalent of 300€. He hasn’t worn them in a long time, knew nothing about them and was hoping I could sell them for him so they had some money for something nice for the kid. “Maybe you‘ll find a buyer, if I could get half of what I paid for them I’d be happy.”
I suppressed my smile, as the first watch was a solid gold Seamaster DeVille in good condition, so his goal of 150€ will be surpassed by quite a margin from that one alone. The second watch is this:



I googled the ref on the case back and BWC Swiss 993000 seems to be correct. Movement should be a Valjoux 72, judging by the C24 ads I scrolled through, although many of them didn’t have the 17 jewels writing on the bridge.
Condition looks pretty good to me for a 60s watch, but I’m really more into Omega dress watches and way out of my depth here. There are scratches only on the plexi, dial looks lovely, though and the case sharp. Wear on the bezel is minimal on the outer edge, but it moves easily and the movement looks clean to me. Everything works, I’ll hand it to my watchmaker for a full service regardless, as the last one was at least 25 years ago.

So, what’s the question?

I’m mainly curious if this thing is original. I’m happy to sell it for the friend and I’m so looking forward to his face when I hand him a 4-figure sum he’s not expecting. But I’d love to know if hands, dial, bezel etc are correct for the watch. Thinking of the amount of fake SM120 bezels here, but from what I can find online everything looks good to me.

Also, I was a little suspicious that he got both watches for ~300€ back then, as I assume a solid gold DeVille alone wasn’t exactly worthless in the nineties, and the BWC 993000s are offered for 3000-4500€ on C24. Even discounting the usually high prices there, that’s still a pretty solid gain in value - or so I’d hope for him.

Really curious if someone can shed some light on this. As usual, thanks in advance and every feedback is highly appreciated!

Oh, and just for good measure, here’s a snapshot of the DeVille:

 

Looks fine to me. It's an obscure brand, but the quality and condition are good and it has desirable attributes (SS case, V72 movement). The chronograph is worth more than the SMDV.

 

Happy to triple your friends original investment
looks pretty spot on if we are comparing apples to apples.

https://omegaforums.net/threads/bwc...valjoux-72-in-new-old-stock-condition.126483/

 

Huh. I tried “BWC” and “BWC Swiss” in the search function, without result. But that might just add to the “obscure” image of the brand @Dan S
Thanks for pointing me there, that does indeed look very, very good. It’s also good to know that apparently, there’s a crowd for that kind of watch here (even though this one sure isn’t NOS). I’ll try a FS-ad once the service is done.

It’s not going to be easy to keep my mouth shut towards the owner regarding a ballpark of the value, but boy is it going to be fun delivering the money.

 

You can find realistic sales values by searching for column wheel chronographs on eBay and looking for examples in similar condition from lesser-known brands. Actual sales prices using the advanced search, not asking prices.

 

That bwc is very nice... Had seen this one on eBay
https://www.ebay.it/itm/324459820988Purchases made through these links may earn this site a commission from the eBay Partner Network

Surprised indeed he bought each for 300DM ... Kinda of things that would never happen to me haha

For sure, he will be able to get something very nice for his new child

 

Column wheel chronograph is a big help. C24 asking prices vs realistic selling prices is a difference I am aware of, thank you! I’ll have a look around and compare a bit. There’s no need to squeeze out every last €$£ from the sale, knowing him I‘m sure he’ll be happy if it sells for a realistic price and has an appreciative and happy new owner.

 

Valjoux 72 is obviously the starting point. But if you don't find enough of them, you could look at other Valjoux column wheels as well as Venus 175/178, etc. A three sub-dial chronograph will generally sell for a modest premium over a similar two sub-dial version.

 

Your best bet is to search completed eBay auctions to get a sense of real world street value- chrono24 is a daydreamers space for the most part.
You can’t compare the value of a column wheel chrono from a small brand like this to a JLC column wheel with similar form factor- they are not the same watch. Look for similar off brands with similar design and you will get an idea of comps that can help you gauge a decent value.