Hi there, I'm in the process of buying the following Polerouter following an ad on Chronocentric. But checking here about how to do a safe deal (as far as this is possible) out there, a dear fellow OF member pointed out that the same person have had a franken watch spotted earlier last year. But I imagine this could happen. Here are the pics and some details To my questions, I received the following answers "1) refrence nbr is engrave on the backcase on this particular model & it is Ref 204503-2BD.. refer to pic of backcase as attached.. Movement is Microtor 2) yes all parts original as it is 3) the only refurbishment is the missing original bracelet & comes with OEM leather 4) movement is keeping accurate time but service history unkown.." I did check on some different sources and everything looks ok to my eyes but not through a thread here. So please let me know your views before I push the red button !
There are three issues that would stop me from buying this one: - corroded dial surface - corroded case - marks inside the case back where the rotor has been rubbing It would also not be straightforward to find the correct crystal with trapezoidal loupe but I could have overlooked that had it otherwise been ok.
Thanks for those advices. Now that you point it out, and that I look closer : the case could be damaged by corrosion (I can't see it clearly : I mean the damage part not the corrosion). Does the case could not close properly anymore and leading to your 3rd observation : the rotor rubbing the case back ? I did not even think this could be possible. Looking at the gallery on https://universalgenevepolerouter.com/galleries/204503-204504-104503-polerouter-date/ I thought the crystal was ok (I mean without the trapezoidal loupe). I guess I was assuming too much. Well it looks like I would be better stepping back... Not such an easy one to find in a good state... and for what I consider a decent & fair price.
I would guess that the dial is from a late serial 204610-2... I don't recall ever seeing a 204503-2BD without MICROTOR on the dial before and they have a very short serial range.
Ok : I think it is becoming clearer & clearer. Thanks @CafeRacer & @Mazoue Too many red flags. It appears that I've ventured to close to the edge of the cliff with this one... I will definitely step back ! Thanks for avoiding me loosing money here. I have not yet the skills to see all this so I should stay in safer waters or at minimum not taking any rush decision. It serves me well. So here I am again, still looking for a nice polerouter...
