Thoughts on this 2990 ranchero

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Dsplash

·May 24, 2022

Hi all!
In my quest for a nice ranchero, I was offered this one locally by a fellow collector. He bought it 10 years ago from the first owner who was a sailor. Everything is original but the unsigned crown (I guess…). Donny have a movement picture yet as these are a pain to open in the wild.
It’s very patinated and has a nice « explorer » feeling of a real tool watch, the case looks unpolished to my eyes (and showing its life!). Some corrosion on the hands and dial.
Definitely not a museum piece but a nice daily! Seller is asking 3.5k€
Anything I’m missing?

 

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Deafboy

·May 24, 2022·His Holiness Puer Surdus

No expert by any means but the logo is thick-lined. Here's a specimen from @tdn-dk

 

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speedyben

·May 24, 2022

Thick logo but if it is a redial it's very well done IMO
My concern would be the case lines, they seem very soft

 

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gbesq

·May 24, 2022

Hour and minute hands both look too short to me and the subsecond hand is definitely a replacement (wrong shape and it should be white). As you note, the crown is incorrect. Case is in fair shape and the dial has seen better days. Also impossible to evaluate without a movement photo. I think that you could do better by paying a little more for a better quality example. I don’t recommend buying any Ranchero without an extract and a Geiger test. I’ve attached a photo of mine for comparison.

 

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Dsplash

·May 24, 2022

It’s probably from my pictures then, I didn’t manage to take good macros of the lug and should have taken plenty. Honestly the case has a very strong « unpolished or at least not-in-a-very-long-time » feeling with a lot of dings 😁

 

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Dsplash

·May 24, 2022

gbesq

Hour and minute hands both look too short to me and the subsecond hand is definitely a replacement (wrong shape and it should be white). As you note, the crown is incorrect. Case is in fair shape and the dial has seen better days. Also impossible to evaluate without a movement photo. I think that you could do better by paying a little more for a better quality example. I don’t recommend buying any Ranchero without an extract and a Geiger test. I’ve attached a photo of mine for comparison.

Hmm! You’re right about the hands, they are shorter than the examples I can see…Where could they come from then?

 

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gbesq

·May 24, 2022

Dsplash

Hmm! You’re right about the hands, they are shorter than the examples I can see…Where could they come from then?

Hard to know where they came from, but they definitely don’t look right to me.

 

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speedyben

·May 24, 2022

If you look closely at the monute hand the centre looks packed with some type of adhesive as the hole is massive compared to the pinion it sits on

 

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speedyben

·May 24, 2022

Also the pinion isn't centred in the hand either

 

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gbesq

·May 24, 2022

S speedyben

Also the pinion isn't centred in the hand either

Good catch. I agree.

 

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MSNWatch

·May 24, 2022·Vintage Omega Aficionado

Look at the “9”

 

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Sa Calobra

·May 24, 2022

gbesq

Hour and minute hands both look too short to me and the subsecond hand is definitely a replacement (wrong shape and it should be white). As you note, the crown is incorrect. Case is in fair shape and the dial has seen better days. Also impossible to evaluate without a movement photo. I think that you could do better by paying a little more for a better quality example. I don’t recommend buying any Ranchero without an extract and a Geiger test. I’ve attached a photo of mine for comparison.

Ah I see you've added the BoR - best combination in my opinion!

 

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gbesq

·May 24, 2022

Sa Calobra

Ah I see you've added the BoR - best combination in my opinion!

Yes, I did, courtesy of OF member JwRosenthal who is a terrific guy. I know that a flat link is the recommended bracelet for the Ranchero, but I think that the BOR just shines with it.

 

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speedyben

·May 24, 2022

It does look killer with BoR!

 

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gbesq

·May 24, 2022

Thank you, gentlemen. I have been questing after a good Ranchero for years. This one was a double bonus because not only is it an excellent example but it was manufactured during the same month and year that I was born - and I have an extract from the archives to prove it.

 

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speedyben

·May 24, 2022

Very cool, I'd love a birth year Rolex personally - I love the vintage subs but can't justify the cost

 

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Dsplash

·Jun 11, 2022

Hey!
Thanks to all your comments, I didn’t go with the watch previously showed here!

Now I found this one locally, sold by someone who doesn’t seem very into it (thought it was from the 70’) so getting uv pics, an extract and such is going to be tough…The numbers on the dial are damaged, the hands are those of a seamaster (maybe some rancheros had these? It’s a 16.6M serial), the minute hand has a different lume color, etc.
Does the lume look original?
Could it be a nice project watch though if it can be obtained at the right price? The owner is asking me to make him an offer

 

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Dsplash

·Jun 12, 2022

Any thoughts on this last one? 😀

 

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gbesq

·Jun 12, 2022

Dsplash

Any thoughts on this last one? 😀

Subsecond hand is wrong and it will be difficult to find an original correct replacement. Dial numerals and hands would need to be relumed. It might be a decent project watch at the right price.