Hi All,
I'm looking for an everyday wear watch, have settled on a Seamaster Pro 2064.50 (41mm, quartz, sword hands, black, Bond bracelet) and would very much appreciate some input from the forum. As I search the pre-owned online market, several concerns / considerations come to mind.

I'd like to avoid:
- a scratched crystal or overtly scratched bezel
- over-polished watches with rounded edges or gloss where there should be brushed finish
- overly loose bracelets or bezels

These issues seem very tough to determine with online shopping. Does it all boil down to return policy and/or reputation of the seller? Avoid eBay and stick with reputable online shops?

Should I cave in and buy the much more common 2264.50 from one of the Japanese vendors at $1400-1500 and just buy a Bond replacement bracelet?

Lastly, any thoughts on eBay vendors quartzwatches or americanaliquidators? Post quality and return policy aren't terribly reassuring...

Sorry to cram so many questions in a thread. Any advice, corrections, recommendations would be appreciated!

 

Mamma mia...

 

any reasons for preferring the quartz version?

you can stick to online listings with clear pictures with close-up of the watch, or sellers with good reputation (for selling watches and not random knick-knacks) A good example would be the following which was posted in the recommended ebay listings thread by alam.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Omega-SEAMASTER-SS-AUTO-300M-1000ft-2254-50-Large-/162301168589Purchases made through these links may earn this site a commission from the eBay Partner Network

The quartz versions rarely comes up in the recommended ebay listings thread as they are generally not sought after. I would recommend going with 2254.50 if your budget permits (and get a bond bracelet).

 

So you recommend he spends about £2k for a 2254 and bracelet vs circa £1k for a quartz 2064? I think I see a minor advantage for the quartz 2064!

The 2X54 is indeed a great watch but many of its qualities are shared with the 2X64 so I wouldn’t dismiss it so quickly, as a grab and go beater a quartz SMP works great. To say they are not sought after isn’t backed up by evidence IMO, it’s not like they fetch peanuts.

The problem is that the Blake models were sold most often with the Speedmaster style 1610 bracelet, in Europe almost exclusively so. There are 2054s and I guess 2064s our there but they are rare. I think that combo was more popular in the US and possibly Far East so looking at a Japanese seller might indeed be a good idea if you can’t find one in the US. Otherwise maybe try to find a loose 2264 on leather ie without the bracelet, or simply sell on the Speedmaster bracelet from a 2264 to recoup your bracelet outlay. Finding a 2064 would be simplest though of course since bracelets arent cheap these days.

 

if he can find a reasonably priced 2064 online, I don't think we will be having this discussion in the first place. That's why my first question was why he preferred the quartz version, does he think the mechanical equivalents are priced way beyond his budget that they should not be considered?

My comment on the quartz actually meant that he is unlikely to see them show up in the recommended listings thread, not so much on how much the quartz versions can be resell for.

Seeing that he is already considering the 2054 + bracelet swap option, I do think paying US$300 more for a 2254 is a fair recommendation. Whether there is a need for a bracelet swap is necessary, probably we should save the discussion for another day.

 

I do agree that the bracelet is a separate issue not easily sorted since there aren't many on the Bond one out there.

Perhaps I misunderstood your point. As you say, there are plenty of watches out there worth buying that don't appear in the recommended listings on here. I still maintain the quartz SMP versions are perfectly worthy in their own right, in my recent experience the difference between good examples of the auto and quartz is more like $600-700 rather than the $300 you suggest, but perhaps you are including the cost of a Bond bracelet too? In recent UK listings (which I watch like a hawk) for example, a good 2254 with b&p will now routinely fetch £1,600+, a good 2264 only circa £1,100-1200.

I have both quartz and auto versions btw and they have both and benefits and drawbacks vs each other. Horses for courses, I don't think it is right to say one is always better, they are just different and the price reflects that.

 

My eyes, my eyes!!! I see no pictures!!

 

Thanks very much for the input. The 2254 is a good thought, but a "grab and go" watch is exactly what I'm looking for. I've already got a couple of luxury automatics, and I cringe when I think of the expensive service for which they are due. There are a couple of 2064s on the online market currently, but mostly 2264s, as padders pointed out. I am leaning toward a 2264, replacing the bracelet, and recouping the cost by selling the old one.

The challenge now is finding a near-mint 2264 at a reasonable price. The reputable online dealers ask $2,200-ish. The eBay vendors want considerably less, but their return policies are uncomfortably restrictive and the sparse info in the posts doesn't give one a warm feeling.