I have been searching for a specific watch for some time, obsessively searching they bay and going through chrono24 etc. I've sold off some of my collection to raise the US$3.5k to pay for it and finally I found a watchsmith/dealer/collector that had one. He has a good reputation and is known as a decent, knowledgable guy. I ask the seller the usual lots of questions and endless emails and finally negotiate a price we can both agree to. Then after we agree the price I realise the subdial hands are from a different model. The seller hadn't noticed and says I am correct and that he will find some correct ones. He has sent me a picture with the correct hands and once again they are not right, they are certainly not the same length as the watch left the factory with. The difference is small but it they are not correct.
The problems are:
1. Do I take it anyway? Finding replacement hands is unlikely especially in the short term.
2. Is it acceptable to walk away after agreeing a price? A part of me feels that once I have said I will buy then I am breaking my word if I walk away.

What would you do?

 

Depends on the watch, how hard it is to find, and if you can get the correct hands.

 

The seller once again acknowldges these hands are incorrect and he will try again. There are a few of them around maybe one project watch on the bay every other month, one project watch on the bay right now. Another one has been BIN for months that is overpriced and overpolished.
The rest of this one I agreed to buy is in nice condition.

 

I think is completely acceptable to walk away after noticing that any part is not correct. The seller maybe didn´t notice it, and that´s also fine.
But you´re in your right of not buying, specially if the watch is something special you´re after for so long, and you had to sell many others to get the funds. I think negotiating and agreeing the price, is not an obligation for buying. And remember, that many times we want to sell a watch, we have to answer infinite questions, that leads nowhere; that´s part of the deal. I think being polite you can always say no.

If you tell exactly what ¿321? reference you´re referring to maybe others could help answering how difficult or not sourcing the correct subdial hands could be.

 

Thanks Tritium,
It's a Heuer 2446C, not exactly rare but not exactly common either

 

$3500 for 2446C GMT with the original bracelet? If it is, I will definitely go for it. It will be a steal, I think. Unless you are really really bothered about those hands.

 

No GMT and no bracelet, the panda dial Valjoux 72

 

Price sounds about right then. There're a couple of Heuer guys here. Maybe they will chime in to advise if the hands are available.

 

It depends which execution it is. There are large differences in value depending on which execution it is and thus I would not hazard a guess as to whether the price you quote is right without a picture.

Here two links for info and reference. This list is pretty up-to-date and reliable.

http://www.heuerpriceguide.com/autavia-60s/4561090754

This one helps identifying which execution it is. If
You can tell us, we'd have more idea about the value.
http://www.onthedash.com/Guide/Master_Reference.php4

Roger