Frankenwatch purchased from active seller: Patrick Pieper: vintagewatches87 on this forum and Ralf Pieper Internethandel on Chrono24.
I bought a vintage Omega Constellation from Patrick. He sold me the Constellation as all original parts in good working order, but long story short, (though happy to explain to anyone in detail), the watch he sold me is a Frankenwatch with a condensation problem.
Patrick promised the watch had a 1 year warranty and I sent the watch back to Germany for him to repair, (before I learned it was a Frankenwatch). After a long time Patrick returned the watch to me, but it still has the same condensation problem as before.
In hopes of finding an easier solution than shipping back to Germany again, (which took forever due to Patrick taking well over a month to pick it up from customs, repair and return), I took the watch to a vintage watch dealer near me, (Second Time Around in Beverly Hills), to troubleshoot. They showed me the Constellation was a Frankenwatch. Without taking it ou of my sight or opening the case back up, they pointed out that the dial size and case size do not match. Who knows what's inside...
I wish Patrick would do the right thing and take the watch back, but in spite of the 1 year warranty and his assurance before purchase that the watch was all original parts and could withstand basic hand washing or a walk in the rain, (his words), he hasn't responded to my requests to return the watch for weeks.
I bought the watch through Chrono24 in June and have spent untold hours trying to deal with all of this. I am new to vintage watches, so maybe I'm the fool for all of this, but I'm heartbroken to have been cheated out of $1500 on this piece.
Patrick, if you're out there... Why not come clean on this and take the watch back? It's the right thing to do.
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