Trying to find the vlaue of a UG Railrouter 1205

WhatYourWatchSay · Aug 27, 2020

A co-worker inherited one last year and she'd like to sell it but looking online I cannot find any previous sales to figure out the current market value for these.

I've included an internet pic showing what her watch looks like. I'd like to help her out but I'm stumped as to pricing.

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FREDMAYCOIN · Aug 27, 2020

I would suggest that you share actual pictures of the watch in question for proper evaluation. Good luck

WhatYourWatchSay · Aug 27, 2020

Thanks Fred. I didn't want this thread to be a "What's this watch worth?" thread because I believe those are not permitted. I was hoping more experienced UG collectors could steer me to resources to evaluate the watch.

Edited to add: I wanted to take pics of the watch but the owner wouldn't permit me to.

WhatYourWatchSay · Aug 27, 2020

Anyone? Ebay has been a bust as well as online resources. These don't seem to come up for sale too often for me to be able to figure out market value.

CaptainWinsor · Aug 27, 2020

She wouldn’t let you take pics? That’s odd.

WhatYourWatchSay · Aug 27, 2020

CaptainWinsor
She wouldn’t let you take pics? That’s odd.

That's not odd. Odd was her bringing a large wood box to work and then opening the box and taking out a smaller wood box. Then taking out of that box a leather wrapped package. Then unwrapping that package to show a smaller wood box. Then opening that box to take out a Birks box. Inside that box was a cloth pouch. And inside that pouch? The watch.

I have to admit, she knows how to put on a great show.

Rumar89 · Aug 27, 2020

Might be worth checking out Longines RR280 sales as well. I don’t know what the relative rarity of the UG is vs the Longines, but it might give you a ballpark estimate.

CaptainWinsor · Aug 27, 2020

Tell her you’ll give her $200 for it

DaveK · Aug 27, 2020

CaptainWinsor
Tell her you’ll give her $200 for it

You can flip it to me for $201 👍

janice&fred · Aug 27, 2020

Off the top of my head I think I have seen similar in NYC for around $800. I think there are various UG RR models.

Bill Sohne · Aug 27, 2020

Hi Everyone...

there are a few different versions.... dial configurations... 1205 , chronometre , etc....

i think there is chronometre example on ebay now... but the dial is has cracking of the dial paint. I have see alot of examples with cracked paint dials just fyi...

Good hunting

Bill

WhatYourWatchSay · Aug 28, 2020

I was able to take the watch home and take some pics. I have a couple of concerns with the watch, the first being that the case was polished at some point. The second is the dial does not say SWISS and all the pics I've seen of these watches have a Swiss marked dial.

MattF · Aug 28, 2020

I have or have owned every steel UG Railrouter variation. The market for fully authentic pieces based on condition and which variation it is (some rarer than others) is around $1000-$2500. The biggest issue I see with this piece outside of the overpolished case is the fact that it has a Chronometre movement (numbered 9136) but is not in its original case which would have the same number on the case back. It it was a Chronometre movement then the dial was swapped in its life to a Railrouter 1205 dial as opposed to the Railrouter Chronometre dial it should have. Happy to share more if you like, i've handled them all 😀

WhatYourWatchSay · Aug 28, 2020

MattF
It it was a Chronometre movement then the dial was swapped in its life to a Railrouter 1205 dial as opposed to the Railrouter Chronometre dial it should have. Happy to share more if you like, i've handled them all 😀

Thanks for your reply MattF, very much appreciate it. So this is a Franken?

I found this 1205 non chronometer also with a chronometer number on the movement:

http://ninanet.net/watches/others16/Mediums/mug1205.html

And another in this extensive write up on the Railrouter (go to the section called RAILROUTER 1205 MODEL):

https://thespringbar.com/blogs/guides/railrouter-universal-geneve/

Is the value badly diminished because of the incorrect case and dial?Please feel to add anything else you can with this watch.

The owner is hoping to sell to give her Goddaughter a nice wedding gift, so I won't be making anything from this sale. Just helping out a friend who has helped me more than once. I've also sent her the link to this thread so she can keep up with what's happening.

Edited to add: If anyone wants to PM me directly to give some opinions on condition and value please feel free to.

janice&fred · Aug 28, 2020

Well unless the God daughter is into winding up the watch and generally babying it since it's old, not to mention the expense of upkeep, your friend might be better off selling it and buying a gift with some of the cash.

WhatYourWatchSay · Aug 28, 2020

The owner is planning to sell it to buy the wedding gift. She asked me to assist since I supposedly know watches.

TexOmega · Aug 28, 2020

janice&fred
Well unless the God daughter is into winding up the watch and generally babying it since it's old, not to mention the expense of upkeep, your friend might be better off selling it and buying a gift with some of the cash.

yep, OP caught it.

dial has lots of crazing lines

TexOmega · Aug 28, 2020

WhatYourWatchSay
The owner is planning to sell it to buy the wedding gift. She asked me to assist since I supposedly know watches.

I slept at a Holiday Inn Express, once or twice.....now an expert in most things most people don't care anything about. Must have been a wrong location.

WhatYourWatchSay · Aug 28, 2020

TexOmega
dial has lots of crazing lines

This is true. As a pocket watch collector I look for how stable the dial is and it appears the glaze is showing crazing but the enamel itself is stable.

WhatYourWatchSay · Aug 29, 2020

I spoke with the owner this morning and only two people have owned this watch--her uncle and herself. I'm fairly certain it's all original and arrived on her uncle's wrist as we see it here. I'm still curious about the lack of Swiss on the dial.