Some thoughts on the elusive Contax

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Tohz

·Jun 20, 2026

From a Hermès watch catalogue

 

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Mark020

·Jun 20, 2026·not the sharpest pencil in the ΩF drawer

Fantastic. Any idea about the year?

 

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Tohz

·Jun 21, 2026

Mark020

Fantastic. Any idea about the year?

There is no year mentioned, but probably 1936 I would think.

 

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nicola1960

·Jul 17, 2026

Mark020

Nice article on OF: https://orologi.forumfree.it/?t=80471837#entry674613437

https://neverseenb4.it/en/magazine/the-history-of-martel-watch/

 

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Tohz

·Jul 29, 2026

Contax with ref. 5124 and serial no. 665238 coming up for auction today:
https://bid.plymouthauctions.co.uk/...-details/4ba5ff63-7916-4d8b-935e-b48900d30ff2

 

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Mazoue

·Jul 29, 2026

Tohz

Contax with ref. 5124 and serial no. 665238 coming up for auction today:
https://bid.plymouthauctions.co.uk/...-details/4ba5ff63-7916-4d8b-935e-b48900d30ff2

I presume you're not bidding?

 

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marc92

·Jul 30, 2026

That Contax went for 4.9K GBP excluding fees I’m pretty sure. Was watching the auction yesterday.

 

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martinc

·Jul 30, 2026

marc92

That Contax went for 4.9K GBP excluding fees I’m pretty sure. Was watching the auction yesterday.

£4900 + 27.6 % premium + 3.6 % sales tax (+ additional taxes etc. if sold to someone outside UK).
That´s nearly 6500 pounds, or 7500 euro or 8700 USD.

 

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Anthor

·Jul 31, 2026

martinc

4900 sterline + 27,6% di premio + 3,6% di imposta sulle vendite (+ tasse aggiuntive ecc. se venduto a qualcuno al di fuori del Regno Unito).
Si tratta di quasi 6500 sterline, ovvero 7500 euro o 8700 dollari.

Not so much 😊

 

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marc92

·Jul 31, 2026

It is quite a bit for a Contax with no service history, unattractive yellowing of the dial, and a relatively grimy case to be honest.

 

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Carlton-Browne

·Jul 31, 2026

I suspect that the yellowing of the dial is mostly the ancient crystal. It's the wrong shade for tobacco staining - in my view.

 

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marc92

·Jul 31, 2026

I had a hunch that might be what it was but I couldn’t tell for certain. The write up in the auction stated, “plastic face has yellowed with age,” which I guess points to the crystal as the dial is obviously not plastic. Still wasn’t enough assurance for me to bid on it, especially with some of the corrosion I saw in the pics. Hopefully someone braver than myself from the forum snagged it and will clean up the case and install a new crystal. I’d be eager to see what it looks like cleaned up.