Evening gents,

I've been contemplating purchasing a vintage Longines conquest for some time, but don't know too much about them or where they generally price, so I'm concerned about my ability to spot any potential issues before purchase. I don't necessarily need a perfect specimen to enjoy owning/wearing the watch (as evidenced by the vintage AP I listed in private watch sales), but I'd at least like to be aware of any issues before purchasing.

I have linked to 3 options below that suit my tastes and was hoping to get some feedback on their authenticity/condition, price, etc.

https://www.chrono24.com/longines/l...age-conquest-automatik-ca-1958--id5464416.htm
https://www.chrono24.com/longines/conquest-automatic-9001-enamel-caseback-18k-gold--id4225900.htm
https://www.crownandcaliber.com/buy/longines/longines-conquest-vintage-wan21736

On the first, I recognize that it has a SS case back vs the gold case. Was this typical or is this likely a franken and that and that's why its priced so far below the others? Separately, are the other two above market or is that generally where good examples price?

Lastly, I'm located in the US and haven't purchased a watch from outside the US before. As far as I can tell, the last two options look very similar in condition, except the one located in Italy is obviously cheaper. Will the savings end up disappearing if I have to pay import duties? Would also likely be waiting longer right?

Thanks for the help, greatly appreciated!

 

Not sure if you're committed to these models, but vintage Conquests can be had for sub $1K

 

Nope, I have not inquired about or committed to any of them. The first one is the least expensive one of this particular make that didn't seem to have any obvious issues (I found one for closer to $1.2k but the hands were fairly rusted), but glad to know that's generally more of where they price. That said, short of searching on Chrono24, I haven't seen many of the vintage watch dealers that I checked regularly carrying one of these.

 

I realize now you meant committed to this particular reference / style vs others that price sub $1k. This is the particular style I'm interested in - effectively the original version of the Heritage Conquest re-edition they came out with recently (but without the ugly date addition).

 

Does anyone see any issues with the first one outside of the case back? Additionally, were these sold with a SS case back and gold case or is the case back likely foreign to the watch? I've only seen all gold or all SS.

Thanks for the help.

 

Case is not gold, it's kind of gold plated (Goldhaube in German). Personally, I would go for steel or pure gold.

 

Actually, it's gold capped (with a layer of gold on top), which typically is much thicker and longer lasting than plating.

I can't say for sure, but the first one seems to be redial to me. I think there's supposed to be rectangular lume at 12,3,6,9 on this model. I'm pretty sure I've seen the gold capped, all correct versions go for a little less.

 

Got it, thanks for the feedback guys. So if you've seen correct versions of the gold-capped go for a little less than the first, than the second two are priced way above market?

Thanks again.

 

These 19AS / 19ASD Conquests came in a few versions: steel, gold capped, solid gold cases with normal dials and solid gold cases with gold dial.

Non solid gold cased examples can be found for under 1k usd. Here's a few examples I own, including some early pre Conquest versions

 

Great watches! Those are right up my alley...also helpful reference point for dial details. Do you have a guess as to the market price range is for the gold capped and solid cold case variants?

 

Thanks for the clarification. As a non native speaker, I didn't remember the correct word.

 

Thought I would close out this thread with a quick update on the resolution. After seeing this post, @Barking mad was kind enough to reach out and offer to sell me the exact reference I was looking for from his collection. Within a week of beginning my search, I was able to obtain a great example at a great price and was, in the process, spared a potentially long search and all the headaches that go along with it. This for me is one of the reasons I think this forum is so great and why I check it almost everyday (even if I don't post much). Thanks Pete and thanks OF and mods for making it possible and keeping this place going.

I already posted this in WRUW on Sunday the day after it arrived, but thought I'd provide a little more detail here since I am quite pleased with how it turned out. Wrist shot below:

 

Very nice Conquest! Congrats!
...and DIBS please if you are ever going to sell it.

 

Oo-ooh, nice!

Pete sold you a beauty! Congratulations!

I didn't see your WRUW post, but I'd love to see the caseback/medallion...

FWIW, I posted one of mine earlier today in WRUW:

https://omegaforums.net/threads/wruw-today.567/page-3473#post-693074

 

Wow! That's gorgeous. Stuff like this is why I love OF.

 

Great looking Conquest, congratulations!

 

Awesome watch! Big fan of the black dial and Longines bracelet. I have included a caseback/medallion shot below (apologies for the lighting), as requested, as well as another wrist shot on the new B&S strap that I ordered for this watch. Thanks all!

 

That medallion is awesome. Coolest one around in my opinion, even more so than... dare I say it... the Constellation