This watch caught my eye on ebay. Dial looks like it has a lovely even patina. Case looks polished. Movement I think is pretty clean. What do you guys think?
It looks like a bog stock A Schild movement to me. Perhaps caliber 1624. I guess I was expecting something exotic as suggested by the name. Otherwise, decent. http://www.ranfft.de/cgi-bin/bidfun-db.cgi?10&ranfft&&2uswk&AS_1624 Image thanks to Dr. Roland Ranfft's movement archive.
Looks correct to me, and not over-polished. I have a steel UN auto from around the same period with a similar, albeit different caliber movement.
Thanks for your reply. I'm looking into whether or not UN ever used AS movements. I like a lot about the watch, but I'm thinking this might be franken.
They used that caliber. Here's mine; you can see the close similarity. As long as the case back is signed, I see no reason to suspect that the watch is not original.
Just a thought. The oscillating wheel is stamped with the UN branding and has the same finish/brushing/polishing patterns as the rest of the movement.
Thanks for all the advice! The seller wants 1k (seems steep to me). Here's the case back engraving. It says Argentina?
Yes, too expensive. While the watch is likely genuine, Swiss cased vintage watches are preferred by collectors. Also, UN tend to be somewhat overvalued in the market. They made top-class chronograph and pocket watches in the early and mid-20th Century, but their wristwatches were typically not extraordinary. I have owned a few, and with patience, it is possible to find nice quality and attractive examples without overpaying,
Tony, thank you for your valuable insight. I was going to offer 750 for the watch, but maybe should be patient if this is really far out of the ballpark.