I've just been looking at pics of an ostensibly nice condition 1966 Connie 167.005, 18kt dogleg case, Cal 551 with an especially good serial of 24,4xxx,xxx. But the caseback has clearly been attacked with a six-bladed can-opener - serious brute force and ignorance. Advice, please - I know how I feel, but maybe I'm wrong - are there any circumstances this would not be a no-no? Or is a 24.4 mil too good to pass up over aesthetic hangups?
This thread is useless without pictures. Afterward, if we ask @mondodec nicely, perhaps he will offer an opinion per your thread title.
Sure, never post on the fly - here, from base, is the pic. But invoking the Authority is more about elevating an abstract question though - I don't flatter myself this specific instance is quite in his league!
Apart from the gouges, the case back has been seriously polished. I’d be interested in seeing the front if the back is that bad. On the matter of the continuous run of tested watches. I wouldn’t get too hung up about it as there is nothing particularly special about these watches that would make a collector buy a sub standard specimen. (The continuous runs were simply an exhibition of how good the movements were) It’s just a bonus ‘nice to have’ for WIS collectors - more a case of “I've found a nice watch and by the way it’s from one of the continuous runs”
Seriously, thanks @Peemacgee. As I said, I know how I felt, then I wondered if it was just me throwing a hissy-fit. It's good to just check the calibration sometimes!
Touching up a mangled case back can be done in such a way that it can improve previous damage somewhat, this is not the way to do it, I'd pass. Don't like the back of the lugs either.