After salivating over many of the fine examples on this forum, decided to give up the fight against the slippery slope and join the 18K club!

1st up - some of you may remember me asking for advice about this 341Purchases made through these links may earn this site a commission from the eBay Partner Network. Well, I'm very glad that I listened to you lot and not take the plunge that last time round, cos look what I found just a few weeks later!

http://www.ebay.es/itm/251538632421Purchases made through these links may earn this site a commission from the eBay Partner Network

Sure, it doesn't have a fancy display box nor original proof of purchase, and the dial looks like it could do with some polishing, but I ain't complaining for less than 1/5 of the asking price for the other!

Next up, my first manual wind Longines - went with the trusty 30L variety

http://www.ebay.it/itm/331215279963Purchases made through these links may earn this site a commission from the eBay Partner Network

Some of the hour markers have lost their tips, but overall, the watch looks pretty sharp.

Can't wait to get my hands on them!

Thoughts?

 

Oops, posted link to the same ebay item twice - corrected!

 

Oh dear. That's not a Longines case - it's probably a South American made case. I'd bet if you asked Longines about the serial number for that 30L they'd tell you it originally came in a stainless steel case. When it arrived at it's destination, somebody built gold around a base metal spacer and shaped it like the original steel case to create that. Also, the buckle is not genuine either. A gold plated buckle would have something like "PLAQUE 20" for 20 microns of gold plate, not STAINLESS STEEL. And the dial has either been doused with harsh chemicals that nearly removed the printing or has been refinished. My bet is it's a refinished dial because the spacing of the letters in LONGINES is off and the detail of the font is poor. Not sure the crown is authentic either.

How long do you have to return it or are you stuck with it?

Uh, that's the same watch as the above link.

 

Now we're cooking! It's the real deal. A crystal polishing will make that dial look much better. If the few spots are on the surface they can be removed. It's a pity what somebody did to that 3 mast argosy medallion though.

 

....

Well, the item's not shipped yet, so I guess I could do the verfication with Longines first and see how the seller responds...

Phew... at least one turned out fine!

Thanks Dennis!

 

Very nice Flagship IMO.

 

It's all good brother. We all make some poor buys if you are in this long enough. I know I sure have. As my eyes have gotten worse due to Parkinson's and at just 49, I am calling on more help from others to verify dials and such than I would have thought to do in the past. You rely on partners and friendships you make in this to help you out at times and there are some wonderful gentlemen here that don't mind at all to help out.

Wayne

 

Thanks Wayne, wishing you the very best too!

 

The man's a psychic! As predicted, Longines replied that "... The original serial number 11'949'538 identifies a wrist-watch in steel bearing the reference 8888. It is fitted with a Longines mechanical manually wound movement, calibre 30L ...."

Seller contacted for refund, wish me luck!

 

Good news - seller has provided full refund for the 30L

Even better news - the 341 is in!

 

Well, two things can be said about Spain and gold Longineses: one, that there used to be a time (not so long ago) when it was normal practice (not frowned upon by the brands) to encase movements in gold cases, usually in cases with integrated gold bracelets. Some of those movements came in steel cases (and maybe that is why nos cases pop up here and there in old jewleries now being closed). Anyway, people back then cared about having a good movement, a nice dial (sometimes, not even that), and a massive gold case and bracelet, to suit their tastes. They could not be bothered about whether the case was original Omega, Longines or whatever. Of course, Conquests and Flagships, with their medallions, were upscale, but in the case of more run-of-the-mill generic Longines or Omegas, I can even understand it.

The other thing that can be said about gold Longineses and Spain is that right now there is no love for them here. And they are quite cheap against international prices.

 

I'm not psychic…… but I'd be independently wealthy if I had a dollar for every time I've run into this situation. What a pity somebody wasted a nice 8888. Love mine!

 

I'm just glad that the seller was willing to let go the 341 at a reasonable buy-it-now price! Love your 291 Conquest - any luck in finding the correct crown? Any tips on what other online Spanish community I could frequent for more unloved gold Longines?

Beautiful specimen! Will use that as benchmark for my hunt!