I thought I'd write a little thread sharing a great experience I had with WoK, especially as a foreign (US) first-time buyer (both at WoK and auctions in general) that didn't get to go to the auction in person. I'd been looking for a very specific watch for the better part of this year, and while I'd found about 6 examples of them, I wasn't able to convince the owners to sell to me. Long story short -- just as I'd given up, I saw it listed at the most recent WoK auction and I immediately jumped on the chance to acquire it. Every step of the process -- from registration, to asking for more pictures, configuring payments, and shipment, was unbelievably smooth (I say this as someone who's never gone to an auction before). The watch I specifically wanted had excellent photos listed on their site (provided you had an account). Most importantly, the images were honest. They showed the few flaws from various angles (mostly signs of age, nothing "bad" per se), and were overall an accurate representation of the watch. It's always nerve wrecking because there was a feeling in the back of my mind that the photos might have been "touched up" to make it more enticing. In the ideal world, I'd have handled it in person prior to purchase but in this case, it wasn't necessary. I have to say, if anything, the photos highlighting the flaws meant that I was pleasantly surprised upon its arrival . EDIT: As it turns out -- here's why honest pictures are important: http://www.chronocentric.com/forums/heuer/index.cgi?page=1;md=read;id=94962 The staff was very communicative, polite, helpful, and thorough in their responses so I have pretty much no complaints. Would definitely recommend it to others . But be careful because their selection this time had a lot of goodies, and I can see it getting dangerously addicting. Anyway, a little bit about the watch itself! This is a Series 2 Lemania issued to officers on nuclear submarines in the British Royal Navy. Because luminous material might throw off readings on the submarines, the MoD repainted the dials (silver dial/white subdial/black markers) so it wouldn't be an issue. The dial on this one aged so it kind of has a pearl color to it, depending on the lighting. Result is a really beautiful military watch that has some dress watch vibes. Really light to wear, and sits really comfortably on the wrist. The later Series 3 Lemanias have an asymmetric case, but were issued in the same spirit. Some pictures: And a group shot of my issued Lemanias. On the left, a Lemania 1872 issued to Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm Pilots. In the middle, a Lemania 5012 issued to South African Airforce Pilots And on the right, my Lemania Series 2 Nuke Sub. I'll take better pictures later with better lighting Cheers, Ashish
Lemania rules! Thanks for sharing. Excellent piece(s), especially the 5012 SAAF is a graal to many collectors
That’s an encouraging story. Only ever bought at Fellows Auctions previously. WoK will be on my radar next time