Yes it does happen sometimes, but not that often. We can debate how often till the cows come home, but from my experience as a collector there are huge amounts of watches from this period with no hand damage. The fact that this one has damage is a big problem because changing that hand is where the value is.
If you are happy to go with the damaged in service theory, well it is absolutely possible, but on balance of probability I would not feel comfortable with that.
Hello
@simonsays
First off, good morning. Before we start .. lets just agree to disagree...
You bring up your experience . "experience as a collector there are huge amounts of watches from this period with no hand damage."
I am also a collector and have seen cosmetic damage to hands and dials... on vintage watches... tail tale of a watch that a watch was used often and it owner would get the watch serviced periodically.
What type of watches do you look for ? Do you hunt out mint, NOS , minimal worn examples ? There is a good chance these watches didnot see a watchmaker too many time if at all.... so your sample ( "of huge amounts of watches... ") I would argue is not a random sampling of what is out there... .
I myself like to see honest worn watches... and I have wide latitude of what is acceptable to me as a collector.... My sample is not totally random either but I would think the sample I have seen would be more diverse...
Just like
@Archer sample set would be skewed to what his customers bring into his shop.....
--- so now back to your last statement...
"The fact that this one has damage is a big problem because changing that hand is where the value is.
If you are happy to go with the damaged in service theory, well it is absolutely possible, but on balance of probability I would not feel comfortable with that."
We are all in agreement that the hand was taken off and put on a watch and paint flaked off in the process....
The impossible call is did the hand come off the same watch that it is now on ?...... no matter if it has a chip or not... bottom line is we will never know for sure with the info that we have in front of us.
From your statements above , if the hand was not damaged you would be ok with the info provided... right?
I think your issue is more of the condition of the hand as opposed to the authenticity of the watch as a Ultraman... .
That is perfectly fine as well..... And as
@Archer pointed out , you vote with your money and you do not have to purchase the watch...
For me personally I already said I am not a buyer....
Good Hunting
Bill Sohne