Afternoon guys, I'm fairly new to this hobby of watch collecting and I'm looking for a little help in identifying this Longines watch that I have stumbled across in a local antiques shop. It appears to be in good condition and it is running (its manual wind). The strap isn't original, I'm not sure about the rest of the watch? What do you guys think? It's also up for £795, does this seem about right? Many thanks for you help.
Can it be a solid gold watch with caliber 30L If so, how many carats? In my opinion it's a pretty plain watch, and the price is too high
Yes, a nice watch but plain, I would pass at this price; you should probably add a service even if it is "running". In my experience, you usually have 8-15g of 18k gold in such a watch; at most 300eur worth of gold (scrap value), to be added to the value of a plain Longines. If it is 14k or 9k, much less. £795 without guarantee/service would be too high for me. Maybe check the price of a service in your area, talk to (at least one) repair workshop, before buying in antiques shop/on the web. Better safe than sorry!
I always have to convert £ to $ (Cdn.) with posts like this. That is $1,320.00 (Cdn.) seems high to me. As has been stated, very often, gold watches sell for the price of a steel one, plus scrap gold value. That is, unless the gold watch is a/ rare, b/ unusual, and c/ in exceptional condition, and has box and papers. In that case, pay what you have to before someone else stumbles onto it. Maybe offer them £500.00, and if they turn it down, go back in a month. They might have softened up a bit if the watch is still there.
Thanks for the feedback guys. My main worry was if it was a redial? For a 60 or so year old watch it seemed to be in quite good condition and I haven't found one with a dial like it on Chrono24 or eBay. Also, not sure if it was solid gold as I didn't take the case back off, however I'll check this when I go back. They did mention that the price was negotiable and offered an instant 10% off so I suspect that there is much more room for negotiation above that 10%. I can also get a watch service locally for about £100 for a manual wind movement.
Nothing wrong with the dial, and the condition of the watch looks good. My guess it`s from the sixties. But I would like too see a movement shot. If you like it you should buy it
Personally I find the picture not crisp enough to opine on the dial but I did wonder /worry when i saw it. The « Longines » signature looks fine but I would want to see a clear picture of the subdial and all of the dial markings. Agree on pricing that’s way excessive.
The dial is definitely in surprisingly good condition, which should trigger your suspicion. However, the case also looks very clean, so you may have just stumbled on a well preserved example. Hopefully you can get some sharper photos.
My guess was the 50s but you could be right with the 60s. I too would also want to view the movement before purchasing as well. I do quite like it, although I'll probably wait until after the Midland Clock and Watch Fair. I may see something I like there as I'm really after a UG Polerouter or 50s seamaster. Yes, the camera on my phone isn't the best unfortunately. Here is the "high rez" original if it helps (it probably wont haha) https://i.imgur.com/7tW7wng.jpg
This is my concern. If it was an 18k Swiss made case with a 12.68 or 30L movement the pricing wouldn’t be that far off.
Just to update this thread, I've have had an email back from the antique shop with some more information and some fuzzy pictures. The case is 9k gold, however the back is plated, not solid. Serial is 13482059 and the case is by Baume number 34465. They have also included a picture of the movement which has revealed it has the cal 370 in it. It looks very clean but from what I understand (correct me if I'm wrong) this isn't one of Longines best movements and as such isn't worth the £795 asking price.
Nothing wrong with the 370, but agree with everyone else the price is way too high. This movement unlikely to be in a 18k case, so agree with UK 9k suggestion. 30L and 12.68 in more collectible pieces.
