This was a gateway drug to get my lady into mechanical watches- she loves hers and it's mesmerizing. Runs and stops- needs a service, but priced accordingly.


https://www.ebay.com/itm/193710731194Purchases made through these links may earn this site a commission from the eBay Partner Network

 

Here's one for our European members; a very uncommon diver, with a dial that looks like a Sandoz Typhoon. Listed as 35.5mm, which is a little small for me, otherwise I would buy it. The crown is pulled out in all the photos; I don't know if this is a problem, or just an odd choice by the seller. One might want to ask. It is in a no-reserve auction, so we won't know if it's a "good value" until the auction ends.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Silberfarbene-Sandoz-Automatic-25-Jewels-Kal-90-5-Armbanduhr-70er-Jahre/392974222405?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649Purchases made through these links may earn this site a commission from the eBay Partner Network

 

Nice texture on this Aquamatic. Crystal is scratched but the dial is consistent. https://www.ebay.com/itm/264889465361Purchases made through these links may earn this site a commission from the eBay Partner Network

 

Cool Mondaine. https://www.ebay.com/itm/154119291590Purchases made through these links may earn this site a commission from the eBay Partner Network

 

Similar dial layout to my Benrus

 

That is a cool watch!

Here's another cool Mondaine diver. No offers and priced maybe a bit high (bezel is in poor shape), but the dial, hands and lume look gorgeous. Would make a lovely beater.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/114393810488Purchases made through these links may earn this site a commission from the eBay Partner Network

 

I asked the seller- he said the crown can't be pushed in for some reason. May be easy, may not

 

Do you need me to get that for the mrs. Dave?

 

And wow- I guess I didn't see the sunburst on that dial!

 

Did anyone get the Helbros? It's gone
https://www.ebay.com/itm/284045544407Purchases made through these links may earn this site a commission from the eBay Partner Network

 

A lot can hide behind a scratched crystal

 

That's unfortunate. If it's a normal crown that won't push in, it's probably not a big deal assuming the buyer is expecting to service the watch. However, if it's a screw-down crown that won't stay engaged, that could be a problem.

 

The dial has some damage above the 'Lobster' text

 

Ah, not easy to see on the pictures and don't think it would make that bad of an impression in person. The size, style, and pretty lume are what make it attractive to me. If the watch were priced at $150 or even $175, I would have already bought it.

 

Put it on your watch list. You will inevitably get an offer to which you will be able to propose a counter-offer

 

Stem too long? As in someone attempted to change the stem but didn't size it correctly?

 

Got this for 25 usd recently. Steel case and 21 jewels and working. But realised the crown sticks out even though functioning OK. Oh well, guess it could be good as a hobby one day when I learn basic watch making and have a play.

 

I was trying to find words like this to make a post on the "Anybody else done buying?" thread.
The problem with this situation, well with hobbyists like me anyway, is that I now get trigger happy with any good looking watch in the $100 to $600 range (subject to ticking off a few criteria; size, all steel etc).
If something makes me go "Wow" then I have tended to just grab it recently rather than do all of the research and comparisons. In the past I was very focused on a small set of watches and knew exactly what I was looking for. As I've been priced out of those models I've had to become more opportunistic in my buying to get my "fix".
For someone who eventually got reasonably comfortable spending $2,000+ on a watch and has now returned to a few hundred dollars purchases I guess I'm more worried about missing out on something (potentially scarce?) than possibly overpaying by $50, $100, or $150.
Thinking this over, and writing it down, makes this now seem stupid as in this range I'm now possibly paying double market value, but it's that fear of missing out (FOMO*) that takes a hold.

* I'm coming up to my 52nd birthday later this month and can't believe I've been sucked into this nonsense.
I'll admit that I am far from the saviest collector in this thread and would say that I'm more of an addicted accumulator/hoarder of shiny things.
But I'd guess my buying habits or thought processes aren't too dissimilar to a fair proportion of other eBay watch buyers out there. I hope we don't price ourselves out of another section of the market again.
As for me, I'm flat out of cash! One more incoming but otherwise my market manipulating days are done.

 

A lot of us are in the same boat. Got my '72 Speedy when they were worth $800, GMT when they were worth $2k, Navitmer when they were $2k- and this wasn't in 1965, this was during the Bush years!
Although I know how it feels to have watched this hobby go from fun to frustrating, it doesn't mean we can't apply what we have learned to another segment of the market.
I have found just as much joy researching everything I can about the Bulova 666 series as I did the Rolex sport lines. Buying my grail Oceanographer for $700 yeilded just as much pleasure as if I had landed a $50k watch- I waited and studied and finally found it.
I have three pre-reboot Zodiac Seawolfs now and hope to eventually have one (in each color) from each generation (of which there were technically 5). I couldn't dream of collecting the whole set for the Seamaster Proffesional line now.
Part of the benefit of swimming in this end of the pool is we can truly be picky when it comes to finding the best of the best.
One of the things I love about this thread (and this forum) is how excited we can all get about watches regardless of value- if it's cool, it's cool.
Even if you only have an expendable income of $100 a month, you could become the most knowledgeable and astute collector of Elgin Shockmasters. Look at @DaveK - he will soon be our resident Benrus scholar