So this watch was my grail for 2016, and I took somewhat of a gamble on the one from ebay a couple of weeks ago knowing the case was over polished. Thanks to @LouS and Abel Court for their insight into the watch, and confirming that other than the case and obvious lume degradation, it was a nice original example (save the pearl at 12 o'clock).

I had the seller, who was top notch by the way, ship directly to ABC, and Edvi and Beau restored the case the best they could, and I think did a right nice job. Because of the previous polish, they decided to apply a satin finish on the case sides--they are the pros, and I went with their recommendation even though it is not considered "factory".

The first two pics are from ABC, and they dialed down the exposure to show off the sharp case lines, which look amazingly close to factory. The case sides look much more satin in real life (the remaining pics).

While not a perfect example, it fits well in my collection, and is a placeholder for the reference. Hopefully I can find a better example or an a277 in the future, but who knows with this market. It looks killer on the wrist, and the cream patina on the subdials has a real "wow" factor.

 

congrats! came out amazing!

 

Looks fantastic! Congrats.

That domed plexi is pretty sweet.

 

love the age on the sub dials.

 

Congratulations to this Movado SSS first execution

If I'm not mistaken, and I mean the same watch then they did a really good job

As LouS said the watch is for the moment underrated but in the near future i'm pretty sure this will change (see A277).

 

Thanks guys, I am glad y'all approve...makes me feel better about my decision to buy.
I will say, this sucker is really hard to photograph.

@Zuke the crystal is amazing, reminiscent of the T19 super dome. @CajunTiger the subdials are a beautiful cream/light copper color in real life--I had no idea of this based on the sellers pics.

I came across this reference on IG and instantly fell in love. After opening a dialogue with a collector in HK, he gave the great advice to hop on an example, as they would most likely become super hot in the near future. About the time I purchased this, Rolex Passion Report's 2016 market outlook had Movado chronos as one the "to watch" brands for 2016. Not that I have bought a watch because it was considered popular, but it always helps to know that it is well appreciated.

 

@watchknut why not a new bezel from Abel?

 

I like the patina on this one Plus, I am tapped out for the time being, and have my a3818 restoration I have to complete. A $1k bezel is not in the plan right now, but thanks for the tip.

 

Ow i didn't know that he wants 1k I thought it would be cheaper but you are right it fits better to the patina of the dial

 

Someone told me they were $1k...I should probably ask.

 

Looks really good.

I recently got my (ex @LouS ) A277 back from service and I too love them.

I feel for you on the A386 as well. I should be getting mine back soon after 11 months and nearly £1,000 of work and parts (the worst two parts, I sourced myself and that accounts for £300 of the cost)

All I will say to owners of both the early El Primeros and the 146 movements is, do not neglect the maintenance, or if you do, do not wear them.

 

Noted on the maintenance...will not treat them like my Rolex, which similar to a red headed stepchild.

I heard back from my watchmaker on the a3818, and he said the movement looked great, nothing big was needed, so that leaves me with sourcing a crystal and sending the watch to ABC (my new best friends) to repaint and lume match the sweep hand. Fingers still crossed on this one, as I am anticipating a horrific bill for some reason.

 

Very nice, and one of the best designed case back logos ever, IMO.

 

I couldn't help myself, had to take a few glamour shots this morning. The subdials have a great patina, and I have found that the indice lume degradation in essence "blacks out" the dial, unintentionally simplifying the layout.

 

nice save, great everyday piece.

 

Thanks, that was my goal with this watch

 

Congrats! Looks outstanding!

 

Nice pickup and thanks for sharing. I haven't seen ABC's work on anything but Rolex, but looks like the y did a very nice job on that sympathetic case restoration. Loving the patina on this one, especially the way the color of the subdials almost matches the tritium on the hands.

And agreed with Tony C. above, that caseback design is awesome! A bit of a sleeper feature that one.

 

Perfect strap choice.