So I’m the proud new owner of a vintage Bathyscaphe. The hands and dial are original and have some major oxidisation / patina, which I like. The case has clearly been polished and I knew that before buying. But on closer inspection, it looks like the case was once in a seriously bad state - rusted up, badly. My theory is that they reconditioned the case, polishing out the rust and grime as much as possible. But there are some areas they couldn’t reach, which betrays what happened. What do you guys reckon, how would this affect your view of the watch? I think it’s not too bad considering the age etc. Not 100% original, but not too far off.
If the case was so badly damaged then surely everything else must have been damaged at the same time. So maybe the dial, hands, movement, etc aren't original to the case ? If it was built from original parts I wouldn't personally mind but I'd want to know and pay accordingly
Well, to me the dial and hands do look like they came from a beat up watch - they look original to me. It’s just the case that has been reconditioned. The movement as well potentially, but who knows. No history with watch.
How bad is the case? Can you take some pictures that show the whole watch? Some moisture intrusion can cause the oxidation and bubbling...reminds me a Seiko lume and numerals.
Thanks, much appreciated Case is basically fine, polished at some point. There are just some indications that it was previously rusty - looking in the nooks and crannies, and one place on the case that has a pretty big patch of rust (well I say big - can’t see it with the naked eye!), which is already shown in the pic above.
Looks pretty nice to me. Don't worry about rust in between the bezel/case and crystal. My Red Sub as a little on the retaining washer that shows up by the crystal. Nice piece!
Very cool. I love the thinner bezels on these. The bezel on the fifty fathoms looks too fat to me, reminds me a bit of this...