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  1. madjestikmoose Can’t bat, can’t bowl May 5, 2019

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    Been eyeing up this Cone... firstly is it real or fake? Anyone else familiar with this model and anything to bear in mind about it? Pics attached. Thanks :)
     
    s-l1600.jpg s-l1601.jpg s-l1602.jpg s-l1603.jpg s-l1604.jpg s-l1605.jpg
  2. jimmyd13 May 5, 2019

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    From memory, 198.0008 ... F300. I am always wary of these because so few people service them. That's not to say those people aren't good at what they do but it's not like a mechanical watch where you can see much of what's right and wrong with it. If it's shown to be working, that alleviates many of the concerns.
     
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  3. madjestikmoose Can’t bat, can’t bowl May 5, 2019

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    Thank you! Seller assures me it's in full working order, what would you say is a good price?
     
  4. jimmyd13 May 5, 2019

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    Last one I saw sell was at auction. The dial had no flaws; case in a similar condition; bracelet was correct but missing a spring bar. It was not shown to be running, but the movement looked clean. It had an estimate of £250-400 (plus 24%) and sold at or close to the reserve. If this one's working and serviced ... finger in the air time ... £5-600?
     
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  5. madjestikmoose Can’t bat, can’t bowl May 5, 2019

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    Pulled the trigger; got it for £240.
     
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  6. peterkirk01 May 5, 2019

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    I bought one a while back and everything worked perfectly , for a short while. It cost me 400 euro shipped and the bracelet was full size plus plus. Recently stopped working so got my watch guy to change the battery but to no avail. Looking to replace movement is like looking for a needle in a haystack. 500 euro plus if you can find one. Beautiful to look at but beware of running costs.
     
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  7. 77deluxe May 5, 2019

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    Score. Good work.
     
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  8. padders Oooo subtitles! May 5, 2019

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    The movement is an Omega branded ESA 9162/4 with copper instead of rhodium plating. The ESA original can be found at £100-200 so aren’t actually as pricey as you may think. You can either swap movements outright or cannibalise the ESA one to get the poorly Omega one working as it’s only the plates that differ in look, the actual movements are the same.
     
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  9. madjestikmoose Can’t bat, can’t bowl May 5, 2019

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    That's really useful info - thank you :)
     
  10. madjestikmoose Can’t bat, can’t bowl May 5, 2019

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    Cheers! My first foray into vintage...
     
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  11. 77deluxe May 5, 2019

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    It won’t be your last...
     
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  12. jimmyd13 May 5, 2019

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    I don't think that's unreasonable and probably a good place to start.
     
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  13. madjestikmoose Can’t bat, can’t bowl May 9, 2019

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    OK. So. Bear with me...

    You can imagine I'm a touch excited about acquiring the above last Sunday. First vintage watch, now (perhaps tenuously) I can say I've started 'collecting' etc. I get home yesterday and it's arrived well ahead of schedule. I can't wait to see it yet I need to be careful when opening the packaging and... it's NOT WORKING. Seller said it was. I'm fuming so I ping him irritably and let him know. He says it was when he shipped it, it was well-packaged, battery must have run out en route, but he'll pay the cost of a replacement. I'm starting to get suspicious.

    So I go out today to get a battery fitted. Bloke says I can hang around and watch the action so I do so. He's really into the watch; hasn't seen the tuning fork movement before. Neither have I. What get us both is its Bulova markings as well as Omega; presumably something to do with the patent. It looks clean, except... the old battery has leaked slightly... luckily on the side furthest from the movement. He cleans it up; I'm getting excited again now. New battery goes in and.... STILL NOTHING.

    By now I'm beyond angry. I've been scammed. I can feel a eBay 'Dispute' coming on. I'm throwing this into the sea and never again shall I venture into vintage watches because I'm officially one of 'those' idiots. By now my friend with the tooling is getting worried but he 'doesn't want to see me leave here without it working,' however I'm readying myself for the worst. He tries a different new battery. Still nothing. Pokes and prods a bit. He turns the crown a couple of times and.....suddenly…. off it goes!! Guy is so blown away by the sweep movement of the second hand he hangs onto it for ages, smiling like a drunk monkey. It's taken him nearly an hour but he's made my day and I suspect I've made his. We have the obvious watch-chat as I'm paying the bill; he's in the market for either a Piaget or a BMW M3; can't afford both. I tell him the Piaget would last longer but I'd ask you lot your thoughts on the matter.

    In the meantime, the new watch is humming away like a cheerful pedestrian as I type this. I'm thrilled with it; it might not be particularly valuable but it's interesting to me. I hope you enjoy the pictures :)
     
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  14. jimmyd13 May 9, 2019

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    I don't like that. I can't imagine a charged battery (as the seller claims the watch was running) would go from working fine to leaking in a matter of days. Still, good news that the watch is running now. There is a movement (delving into the deepest recesses of my memory) that you need to set and depress the stem to restart after a battery change ... I didn't think it was the 1250 though.
     
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  15. madjestikmoose Can’t bat, can’t bowl May 9, 2019

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    I agree. The seller said he'd pay for battery replacement; I've sent him the receipts but not heard anything back. May yet flag as a dispute. You *can* set/depress the stem, but whether this is what got it working is unclear. The repair guy seemed to think it was a couple of crown turns. Anyway - happy ending, and lesson learned.
     
  16. madjestikmoose Can’t bat, can’t bowl May 16, 2019

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    OK.

    I accepted eBay seller's refund of the battery cost and left it there.

    A day after the repair guy got it working again, it's now stopped completely. It was running fine, then I noticed the date was clicking over at midday so wound it on 12hrs, pushed the crown back in and... nothing. You can hear the buzz of the tuning fork but it's not engaging with any of the hands. It's been like that for a week now. I've tried pushing, pulling, winding, poking, prodding, but nothing makes any difference.

    So. Feeling like a TOTAL idiot, but at least it hasn't cost me four figures to work that out. This vintage game isn't for me. I'll stick to hifi and drone ops!
     
  17. padders Oooo subtitles! May 16, 2019

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    It clearly needs a service. Can you not still force a return on Ebay?
     
  18. Uscjake87 May 16, 2019

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    The reality is that tuning fork watch coils can go bad at any time. It is plausible the seller was telling the truth. If they didnt warranty the watch and didnt offer returns then its just an expectation of old watches to get them serviced. I even had a freshly serviced watch have coils go bad a few weeks later. You should have rob berkavicious tune it up. He does excellent work.

    http://members.iinet.net.au/~fotoplot/acc.htm
     
  19. padders Oooo subtitles! May 16, 2019

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    Since the OP quoted the buy price in GBP I would suggest Paul at electric-watches would be a more local and easier choice of repairer. Its likely repairable but could cost £100+ to get it serviced. I would be tempted to force a return, I agree stuff can go bad at any time but the leaking battery suggests a lack of care and honesty on the part of the seller.
     
  20. Uscjake87 May 16, 2019

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    The crown not functioning right is something a seller should indicate in the listing. If they just put as-is for parts and hums, then it can be a bit deceptive for people who dont collect tuning fork watches. I buy these watches with zero expectation of them running due to the many issues that can go wrong.
     
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