Hi Gents,

About to commit to this and would appreciate the group wisdom here on the condition. As far as I can tell, it is all genuine save for the crown (plain and no UG logo)? Bezel is obviously not in the best condition, but an honest example nonetheless.

Thoughts please...?

Thanks and always appreciate the expertise here.

 

Oh, and I'm told that there is no longer a ref / serial number visible on the case back.

 

Lume is missing/discolored from the dial, hands are re-lumed (I believe), case is polished, sub-dial hands aren't all correct (the minute counter is wrong), caseback has polished the serial away, and the movement (while correct) isn't the cleanest that I've laid eyes on. The chrono hand also strikes me as odd - I think it's wrong. It should extend to the outer track (looks like it falls short in the first picture) and the tail should cut-off half of the "12" sub-counter, whereas this one is longer.

It's obviously up to you, but it would all come down to price for me. There's a difference to me between "honest" examples and worn examples. These were my two Evil Claptons (one of which is now gone). The left one is what I'd term an "honest" watch. The right one is a superior example.

Cheers,
CF

 

Thank you CF. Much appreciated.

 

Hey R, I'm a bit confused. I've always thought an honest watch mean it's all original?

 

No, I think they're apples and oranges. To me, an "honest watch" is one that has some scratches here and there and maybe a couple small imperfections (like the lume on the hour hand of my example on the left and the chipped paint at the bottom of the chrono hand), but aesthetically they're still very attractive and they don't look tired/worn out.

All original, on the other hand, just means that there aren't replacement parts. I see plenty of "all original" Speedmasters that, sure, are original, but they look terrible. Make sense?

 

So an honest watch is a better example of an all original watch?

I guess I also got confused with your first post as it seemed as if you were implying that the OP's watch was honest even if you thought the hands were relumed and the sub-dial's hands were wrong.

 

No, so OP stated that in his opinion, it was an "honest example." So I was trying to show what I would consider an honest example (my old Tri that was on the left) versus the worn example in OP's post.

A lot of it is semantics, and hell, maybe I use them incorrectly. Just my opinion on the matter. Would be curious to hear what other members think.

 

Whatever the terminology, I appreciate the flaws CF pointed out. I'd completely overlooked the subdial hands and the lume issue.

When I used "honest" I was referring more to the bezel... But anyway, I now have multiple reasons to rethink the possible acquisition....

 

Never forget the three C's of collecting: Condition, condition, condition. You'll never regret paying up for a truly great example. The same cannot always be said for worn/tired examples, unless the price is truly so low that it's a no-lose proposition.

 

Red Chrono hand is a replacement / repainted I believe. The center shouldn't be red all the way

 

Thanks!

 

it is rough at best. i would be put off by "no reference or serial" numbers. i don't like kojaks (shiny case backs) and while i appreciate that numbers where kissed on, i would still expect to see traces. unless the price was "reasonable", I would walk on that one for all of the reasons mentioned. But then again, i would much rather pay over the odds for a perfect one.

 

I didn't take what OP said into consideration. That clarifies things! Thanks Rob.

 

Hi all

Just wanted to thank everyone for their input. I decided not to go ahead with this.

Instead, went ahead with a Nina acquisition...

 

Congrats! That Nina is an entirely different league from the Tri that you posted originally.

 

Wow...Walk away from that right into a grail watch! You are living right!

 

Out of curiosity, I asked the original seller what the Evil Clapton sold for.

It went for the list price of EUR13,500

We are truly in crazy land territory....