Hi,
I'm brand new to the forums but have been mulling over a certain watch now for quite a while and was looking for some advice on the condition of the piece.

First of all I am wondering if the case is a little too far gone?

And secondly, I'd noticed some potential signs of corrosion on the movement and am apprehensive about buying if it will mean future issues, thoughts?

 

Why have they blanked the movement number? I would be highly suspicious of that.

 

Good question, I asked them that and they replied,
"Serial numbers are not disclosed, but I can let you know the first three digits : 170xxxxx

Unfortunately we do not have a service history of this watch. There is no flaw that we could see or find."

 

But they blanked out the movement number, which doesn't make sense other than to hide something sketchy (wrong movement). Other than that the movement looks quite beat up. I would move on....

 

Hmmm, I understand. What of the movement condition with the potential corrosion? Is this a bad sign?
Edit: Must have missed the second part, damn it, this watch has the perfect indices and style for me, what a bummer.

 

If they think it appropriate to blank a movement number (not a movement serial as noted above) then they know next to nothing about watches (or are hiding a swap) so everything they say is suspect. That movement is crying out for a service so reckon on at least another $200 minimum as an immediate requirement. Unless it is very cheap I would perhaps move on. That 17.0m serial is from 1959-1960 by the way.

 

Thanks for the reply, they are a watch store in Munich that seem to deal with things professionally but this is definitely not cheap for what it is, they are asking $1500 USD

 

They are taking the piss, it is worth about a third of that in that condition.

 

Amazing, this is the kind of advice I was looking for. You've just saved me a lot of cash and headache! Much appreciated.

 

Take a look at the private sales forum here. As of right now, there is a solid gold 18k DeVille for sale that is less than the watch you were looking at. I'm sure you could find a few other nice watches there in your price range.