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  1. Uncle Seiko Sep 9, 2015

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    Why do some sellers on eBay advertise "polished" in the title of their Omega listing? Do they think this is a good thing? :unsure:
     
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  2. VetPsychWars Wants to be in the club! Sep 9, 2015

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    Sure, if you're not a collector. Bright and shiny, done properly, will enhance the sale price.

    Tom
     
  3. wsfarrell Sep 9, 2015

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    There's a market for that kind of watch. Here are some Omegas from vividlilyPurchases made through these links may earn this site a commission from the eBay Partner Network. Many have repainted dials, most have been polished and/or replated. Not for all tastes.....
     
  4. Davidt Sep 9, 2015

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    I'd say the vast majority of people prefer polished watches.

    Collectors who want to see the original lines of the case, scratches, bumps and all, are far outnumbered by casual watch buyers who associate a clean polished case with being in good condition.
     
  5. E-diddy Sep 9, 2015

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    Agree with @Davidt3449. The general population are led to believed it's a positive term. Shinny, smooth case = a worthy buy.
    Collectors prefer thick, unpolished cases.
     
  6. VetPsychWars Wants to be in the club! Sep 9, 2015

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    Let's also remember that service centers and many independent watchmakers will refinish a case and bracelet with great skill that does not devalue the case or bracelet.

    On the other hand, I had a watchmaker I used to shoot rifle competition with tell me that he no longer polished gold watch cases because his customers kept accusing him of stealing their gold.

    Tom
     
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  7. devnull Sep 9, 2015

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    Stupid is as stupid does...

    I'm guessing that your average 18k gold dress watch is about 1/4 troy ounce of actual gold? At today's prices melt for that would be around $300. Say he goes crazy with the polishing and strips 1%, and manages to recover it all... sounds like a lot of work for $3 bucks.
     
  8. ulackfocus Sep 9, 2015

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    "Oooooo, shiny!" outsells "original" every day because there are more average Joes than OCD vintage collectors.
     
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  9. X350 XJR Vintage Omega Aficionado Sep 9, 2015

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    And that's not necessarily a bad thing.
     
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  10. Uncle Seiko Sep 9, 2015

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    Good stuff guys. Thanks. Makes sense.
     
  11. CajunTiger Cajuns and Gators can't read newspapers! Sep 10, 2015

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    any polishing whether professionally done or not removes metal which affects the value to most vintage collectors. I will pay a premium for a truly unpolished watch even though it has scars and nicks over a professional refinished case.
     
  12. CajunTiger Cajuns and Gators can't read newspapers! Sep 10, 2015

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    other than the fact that its helping make a truly unpolished watch harder and harder to find.
     
  13. happytapy Sep 10, 2015

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    I guess it depends on what extent of polishing they mean. If they have altered the watch by a long stretch (because of case damage, etc) then it's not doing anyone any favours, unless you don't mind that sort of thing.

    If polishing means applying a liquid polish and buffing to clean off marks grime, then that's acceptable in my book. Older watches (and newer ones that have had a bit of knocking around) might get back to something close to original appearance, however it's up to how you determine it as to whether it's a success or not. Or worthwhile.

    I see many examples of hard polishing, even without disassembly (good grief), that leaves me cold. Awful what some will do to a watch, and you can tell the skilled restorers from the novice restorer, on close inspection.

    So saying it in a listing means nothing to me. I need to see it to be convinced.

    Cheers
     
  14. Archer Omega Qualified Watchmaker Sep 10, 2015

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    Gold recovery from polishing is real of course. Taking the old buffs, or the matt you lay down in front of your polishing station, or the filter in the air extractor, and sending those to your gold recovery company can net you a significant amount of money, and really takes no time at all if it's sent in with your scrap.

    It is certainly odd for the watch owner to be concerned about this, but the people who polish gold regularly are certainly not being stupid about it...

    Cheers, Al
     
  15. Archer Omega Qualified Watchmaker Sep 10, 2015

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    I'm not disagreeing with you at all, but I really do wonder how anyone can tell a watch has never been polished, if it's covered in nicks and scratches. Yes if the polishing has been overdone the case shape will change certainly, but polishing can certainly be done without changing the case shape by a skilled refinisher. If a watch was lightly polished 30 years ago, and is all beat up with those scratches and nicks, I don't really believe people can tell as much as they think they can.

    I'm not saying there are not unpolished watches out there, but I think they are even more rare than people imagine.

    Cheers, Al
     
  16. happytapy Sep 10, 2015

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    The last case I received that had been obsessively polished showed up in distorted surfaces (you can see them under certain lighting conditions) on a frustrum conical pilot line case. They had actually moved the centre of the case surface about 0.5mm off centre of the movement aperture. Got that from probe measuring on my lathe.

    They half rubbed away the chrono pushers caps too. Yep, the person doing the polishing couldn't disassemble the screw in pusher tubes, so they polished the case with a rotary tool and the extended area of polishing ran over the pusher caps. One imaginary line from the case to the caps showed everything. Looked awful and was a dead give away. Could not see it in any pictures of course. Took a while to get it right too.

    That's a case when you don't need for anyone else to polish the watch for you. [emoji41]
     
  17. VetPsychWars Wants to be in the club! Sep 10, 2015

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    If it's done right, I defy you to tell that a case has not been previously refinished.

    Tom
     
  18. Archer Omega Qualified Watchmaker Sep 10, 2015

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    There are clearly a lot of poorly refinished cases out there, both from people doing their own watches at home, and from so called professionals who just make it shiny. Refinishing is a skill like any other, and as I've said before was generally not taught at watchmaking schools in the past, but was expected that you would learn this when you went to work with other watchmakers in a store somewhere.

    That is changing these days, and refinishing, plus many other non-movement related work is getting more attention at schools. Each brand also has their own techniques that apply to their specific cases. Rolex, as you would imagine, is very focused on process, from using their specific buffs and wheels, compounds made specifically for them, and right down to telling you what speed to use for each step of the refinishing process.

    With laser welding becoming more common, I think in the future it will be even more difficult to say with 100% certainty that a case has never been refinished.

    Cheers, Al
     
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  19. Davidt Sep 10, 2015

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    There's been a couple of 105.003 Speedmasters flying about recently, that have been refinished at a recent service by Omega. They do look good but while it might be the factory standard refinish, you can tell them a mile off as they are different to the original.
     
  20. CajunTiger Cajuns and Gators can't read newspapers! Sep 10, 2015

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    absolutely they are more rare. I would say that one of every ten that claim to be unpolished actually are. But as far as being able to tell, I can tell. Its not that hard if you know what to look for.

    If its been done at all, its obvious. How would a 50-60 year old watch look factory new? You don't simply look at the case, you look at the watch as a whole.

    this is unpolished:
     
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