I wonder if UG ever played with the idea of watches for left-handed people? They might have produced a case which could have been drilled through for placing the crown on either side.
Just a thought.
no those are bad incandescent photos, misleading, it's a stainless case. At least I think it is and there are no hallmarks or other marks anywhere that I can find.
Is the case on the subject watch a gold shell model. Look at the image showing the movement, and scope out the apparent shell over the case. A white gold shell? I’ve never seen one, but I suppose it is possible.
Are you absolutely sure? If it's a capped case, it wouldn't need hallmarks.
I agree - it certainly looks like there is a layer on the lugs, looking at the picture of the watch here:
I guess the only way it's a capped case is if every trace of gold color has been completely removed ?
I'd suggest they turn the case 180 degrees instead of drilling an extra hole... 😉
Perhaps it's steel-capped 😁
But seriously - if it isn't capped, what is that layer on top of the lugs then? The welds you see on the back of some steel watches are very different; this looks just like the capping you'd see on a period Mido, for instance.
Gold shell models typically won’t have karat markings, or hallmarks. I’d want to have a real close look at the underside of the lugs if the watch was mine.
optivisor ready, what am I looking for?
side note, on one of the underside of the lugs, someone has hand scratched what looks like
W 10
9-536
this is turning into a real mystery 🙄
optivisor ready, what am I looking for?
side note, on one of the underside of the lugs, someone has hand scratched what looks like
W 10
9-536
this is turning into a real mystery 🙄
How an item that contains karat gold alloy is marked (if it is marked as such), will vary, depending on jurisdiction at its point of origin. Or depending on the jurisdiction where it is offered for sale. I don’t recall ever seeing a gold shell item with either a karat stamping, or a hallmark. But if there is a gold shell on the UG, and if it is hallmarked or quality marked, the mark would be discreet, and stamped onto the surface of the metal, when the case was made. If you don’t see any stamping on the bezel, I am not surprised. Official quality markings on precious metal items will never be hand scribed. The subject of stampings on precious metal articles is huge, and it is hard to generalize.
I would certainly keep it, at that price and the fact that it's a real curio.
The caseback is really intriguing, if it wasn't a screw on but a snapon I would have assumed the partial protrusion was to accommadate some part of the movement. Or is it an unusual way to fit a removal tool?
I can't find any case markings anywhere. But I'm not completely clear at this point, we are exploring if it might be a white gold cap? Because it's clearly not gold colored?
There are a few more things scratched on the inside case back, I assume probably watchmaker marks. (If the serial on the caseback is accurate, places the watch at 42-43)
WD 4 17 47 (could be a date?)
3 2 52 A (maybe another date?)
RLH 6 3 84 (could be another date?)
That case would not have left the factory with any hand scribed marks, anywhere, whatsoever. So disregard those hand scribed marks inside the case back. They were put there by watchmakers each time the watch was serviced, and they mean nothing to anybody other than the person(s) who put them there. These numbers might include some reference to dates, but nobody would know for sure.
