Hi, I’m new here. Can anybody tell me about this Longines? Appears to be 1940s. Closest thing I can find to it appears to be the “calatrava” style Longines. The watch is not running but appears to be in fairly good condition. For 80 dollars I thought it may be a good one to pick up. Let me know your thoughts on potential value, is it worth fixing? View attachment 990540 View attachment 990541 View attachment 990540 View attachment 990541
The dial is repainted. Personally, I wouldn't be interested in repairing it. Yes, it's cheap, but I'd save my money for something with more upside.
I ended up getting it for $25. Opened it up, looks like a 1942 serial number. Here are some pictures:
Any Longines for only $25 is a great deal in my book! It is most likely a redial as DanS stated, but it's still an attractive watch in my eye. I would clean it up, get a new strap for it and wear it. Whether you want to get it serviced will be up to you. It would never be a collector's piece, but even if you put $125 into the watch, you would still have an attractive 1940s steel Longines watch at a cheaper price than a modern steel quartz watch.
Definitely a redial by the look of the logo and off-centered subdial. Also looks like lume was added next to the hour markers at some point. That said, the applied hour numerals are cool and the 23M movement is reputable. The case looks good and original even though it's scratched and a little beat. I wouldn't polish it. What is the case diameter? That will be a big factor in the value.
That's good. Many watches of this type are 33 mm or less. You can search sold prices on eBay for other 23M in 35 mm to get an idea of value. Keep in mind though that an original dial in good condition can make up around 60-80% of a watch's value.
Since you have nothing to lose, you might try getting the dial refinished again. Some of the redialers are doing "collecter level" redials. I have a Hamilton that had a bad dial refinish in the past that I redid and it's much better.
How many chemical baths, ovens, laser chisels do you have in your house? Just curious. This is a job for professionals, not a « DIY » job.
I'm not aware of any resources on DIY dial refinishing and I'd strongly advise against it. You could very likely end up with something much worse and irreversible damage.
Well I’ve been sitting on my butt for 2 months doing nothing cause of corona. Need a project or something!
...not to mention that dial refinishing is relatively inexpensive as watch interventions go, but of course collector-level costs more.
Do a web search on "dial restoration". The two that are most well-known, irrespective of quality, are International Dial and Kirk Rich Co.
Dan: you guys spot redials immediately. I’m trying to learn. The subdial doesn’t appear off center to me, but the lack of patina and numbers on the subdial seem odd. I’m learning that if it seems off, it probably is... so yeah, the subdial has been reworked. Is there anything on the larger dial that jumps out at you?
Not Dan but the word "LONGINES" Is placed too high on the dial. Think about "golden mean" and how that might apply to the placement of that piece of printing. Also it would be unusual to reprint the sub seconds track, which is also not centered properly, without redoing the entire dial.