Hello dear forum members. I am new to this forum and also fairly new to the world of watches. I fell in love with the design of the tri-compax watches from the 40ies and 50ies and started to search for one over the last one or two month. Before that, I had no idea that a redialed or polished watch is such a deal braker for so many people. To me it seems very likely that over the course of 70 years a watch needs a lot of parts replaced to keep it in good shape (mechanically and optically) and that these parts may not always stem from the respective watch brand.
My question therefore would be, why are some of you not interested in redialed or polished or otherwise not 100% factory original watches and how do you judge what a non factory original watch is worth?

And on a sidenote if somebody knows a place where to get a steel case tri compax that fits the description above, I would appreciate your help. It seems that most sellers are not disclosing redialed or polished watches and thus expect unrealistic prices..

This post got a wee bit too long.. Anyway, thank you all who post on this forum as I already learnt a lot about UG's and hope to learn from all of you in the future.

 

Hi...Welcome... A reasonable noob question. I suggest you get yourself an avatar, settle in with a cup of coffee or a cocktail (not before 1700 of course), use the search function and read up. Getting a copy of Sala is also a good idea.

There is a role for redials (good ones). That is for folks who are just looking for an attractive vintage watch to wear. Unfortunately a lot of unscrupulous dealers don't disclose, so its caveat emptor. Most folks in this category don't know and don't care. They like their "new" watch. That is until they come here and find out what they have....

Collectors on the other hand, are interested in originality. This means that the parts on the watch must be original and or time/serial number appropriate. Service dials from the original manufacturer are acceptable but impact the value. A redialed watch is of interest only for the parts value to collectors.

There is a lot more to learn here ... hope that helps.

 

You could draw some sort of analogy from my grandfathers attachment to his chimney broom.

He treasured It, claiming it had been with him since he started his apprenticeship as a chimney sweep back in the early 1920s. I was quite surprised as it did not look worn and past its useful life. When I questioned him about it, he told me that he had changed the handle 18 times and the head 37 times.

It made me wonder why he was so attached to it as there was very little of the original broom left ...!

 

While @Larry S summed up the situation nicely, your question seems still unanswered. So why originality?
I like to compare the watch market with the market for vintage cars. There was a time when people preferred cars restored to perfection. But then it came to the minds of collectores that a restoration kills the history of the car. A car rebuilt to perfection has lost its soul. The same holds to some extent for watches. But keep in mind that restoration works on a vintage car most often has a higher quality. Mostly, you can hardly see the difference if some parts are replaced. This is different with watches. If you polish a watch case, the look is changed. It usually looses its sharp edges. It is less attractive. The same holds for redials. Most redials are of bad quality. The script is not so nice. Printing not centered or sloppy.
Therefore, an original watch is usually much more attractive than a refurbished one. However, this does not always hold. If the dial is destroyed by water or something else, a well done redial is in my eyes much better. Not long ago, I have seen a redial that was nearly perfect. There was only one small inconsistence that showed the redial and that nobody would realize when wearing the watch. But this was only one watch out of thousands.

This is true for mechanical parts that sometimes break and have to be replaced. If it is done correctly, nobody will complain and usually nobody will be able to realise if for exampple a gear is replaced.

What precisely are you looking for? Which size? What price range? Usually, you have to be patient to find a nice watch in good condition for the price you want to pay, in particular with these rising prices. However, there is a nice 35mm Tri Compax currently on Chrono24:
https://www.chrono24.de/universalgenve/tri-compax--id7890961.htm

 

IMO you can't really put polished and redial into the same category. Polishing is a condition issue, redial is a completely non original part. The majority of vintage watches have had a least a minor polish, it's just that if it goes too far, it affects value. Redial watches are basically non-collectable for the majority of people.
There's nothing wrong with buying redial watches if you like them, so long as you don't pay above market value, which is often going to be the sum of the rest of the parts in the watch. Many sellers will not disclose a redial, this is unethical and complete BS. I am just about to sell a redial compur, I will send you a PM just so you can get a sense of an example and relative value.

 

That is exactly why I am here! I do not want to get burned buying a watch or anything for that matter.

We are getting philosophical here and I like it! But I am on the side of your grandfather on that one.

I am looking for 35mm steel tri-compax for around 4 to 5k but less would be better as I would not mind a well done redial or new hands and so on...BUT I have no clue as to how much that would cost...

Thanks for the PM. Much appreciated and very helpful!

 

if you can stretch a little on your price, just get a nice mid sized SS completely original Tri, I might have a lead for you, PM sent......