Comments and considerations about UG Polerouter

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Hello everybody,
I found this Polerouter ... it doesn't look bad but I would like to have your evaluation
Thanks in advance
Valentino
 
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I suppose it depends on whether 'not bad' is what you are looking for and whether it's in budget.

Horribly polished case back - I presume the serial and case ref are no longer visible (looks like a 20368-1). Lugs look well polished too.

Pretty heavy patina on the dial but not unattractive. Crown looks to have been replaced.

I would always want to see the movement before buying a microtor unless it was a crazy rare dial or the price allowed me to take such a risk.
 
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Hi,
right comments, I do not mind the patina of the dial
obviously the caseback is not the top and the crown is to be replaced but the cost is really low.
But since I care a lot about your opinion, if you think it's better to give up, I'll follow the advice
 
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Hi,
right comments, I do not mind the patina of the dial
obviously the caseback is not the top and the crown is to be replaced but the cost is really low.
But since I care a lot about your opinion, if you think it's better to give up, I'll follow the advice
The case backs were not deeply etched so it’s pretty special to find one that’s legible and crisp. The crown does not even appear to be a UG service part. Case has been highly polished. Dial has nice patina. I find that SS models can rock patina better than gold ones. As Mazoue said, the devil is in the movement with the micro rotor. These are a royal pain to repair.
 
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From a UG insider and OF member, I have indeed taken such a risk on a cool but imperfect watch because I liked it and the moment looked fine. From a total stranger, no movement pics probably not. The repair cost and time in shop on these can meet or exceed that of a Tri Compax. This I learned on my tropical dial for which I paid much more. Not worth it if you get hit with a big bill.
 
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There is nothing there that would worry me unduly. It looks complete and original to my untrained eye.

There is little or no sign of rubbing on the rotor itself.

You can see the tell-tale circular signs of rubbing on the inside of the case back but you seem to find that on a significant proportion of these and it doesn't always indicate a problem. I guess there must have been very little tolerance within the case design.

Whilst I agree with @Larry S that the microtors are not always to fix, there is no shortage of donor watches and so I don't think that they should ever be hugely expensive to repair.
 
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I had some polerouters repaired but I always spent a reasonable amount.
I think I will proceed with the purchase
 
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It looks ok, but not perfect - as everyone seems to agree.
I like the dial, the ageing is uniform across it.
If running, the movement looks like it should probably be OK.
The main cost with repairing a microtor movement in my experience is the rotor itself (especially a cal 69 or 1-69), and the balance.
The dial, case, and movement look all correct for a 20368-1, and there is no evidence of rotor rubbing on the inside of the caseback.
I don't think its a huge gamble at that price, at least I would certainly consider it if i was looking for one...
Just needs an original crown (the small domed type, also seen on 204610 and a couple others) to complete it.
 
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and there is no evidence of rotor rubbing on the inside of the caseback.

Completely agree with everything you said other than the above statement.

I suspect you just had a quick glance and missed the circular marks or have I always misinterpreted these as being rotor rubbing marks?

 
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Stand corrected 👍
No matching paint loss on the rotor itself, so possibly has been replaced.