Yet another Catawiki misrepresentation...

[Tony C.]

For the benefit of those who aren't familiar with CATAWIKI, this type of misrepresentation is all too common, and as I have mentioned previously, the reason that it is such appalling corporate behavior is that they highlight their use of "experts" (bold emphasis mine):

Our experts carefully curate each auction to ensure that only the best timepieces are included.

Our professionals check and select all submitted items to ensure that only original watches that satisfy our high standards and have a specified minimum value make it into our auctions.

"original silver dial"



https://www.catawiki.com/en/l/85177551-longines-conquest-men-1950-1959

 

[TexOmega]

"Say it aint so, Joe! Say it aint so!"

 

[Pvt-Public]

The dial may well be original, the bird droppings were added later.

 

[Tony C.]

Pvt-Public

The dial may well be original, the bird droppings were added later.

Having owned and handled many vintage Conquests, I would respectfully disagree. The quality of the signatures is not up to Longines' standards.

 

[Tony C.]

A follow-up.

The examples that I used above were of the first generation Conquests, and while they do illustrate the differences in quality of the signatures, they were not the ideal examples to use.

The CATAWIKI watch is a second generation Conquest, with the cal. 290 movements (291 w/ date), and distinctive hands and indices. Having reviewed many examples of those versions, I am even more certain that the dial is refinished. I say that not only because of the dubious quality of the signatures, but also because whoever refinished the dial must have used an earlier generation dial design as a template.

An extremely high percentage of the cal. 290/291 versions with those hands and indices featured the "Conquest" and "Automatic" signatures on the lower half of the dial. "automatic" was also printed in all lower case, with a distinctive font and style. See the examples below.

I am unable to find a single example that featured "automatic" above the center pinion, and below the Longines wings.

For these reasons, I have no doubt that the dial was refinished, and incorrectly, as well.

Edited: Jun 17, 2024

 

[Gabguzro]

I've been looking to get a Conquest or an Admiral, but it's hard for me to identify some of the original signatures and tell them apart from the redialed ones. I need more training in that regard!

The 'Conquest' in the OP would have fooled me, although the 'Automatic' looks wonky to me.

 

[Tony C.]

Gabguzro

I've been looking to get a Conquest or an Admiral, but it's hard for me to identify some of the original signatures and tell them apart from the redialed ones. I need more training in that regard!

The 'Conquest' in the OP would have fooled me, although the 'Automatic' looks wonky to me.

It's always a good idea to put any questionable dials into context, even beyond comparisons to correct, original examples. What I mean is that if you look at the photos of the other parts of the watch in the listing, it is clear that it had plenty of use over the years. The case has been polished, and shows some signs of oxidation, the rotor shows some scratches, and the crown is an incorrect replacement. Given all of that, the dissonance of such a "clean" dial is strong, and should be considered a red flag. The poorly done re-lume is yet another red flag, and would be completely out of place on a good, original dial.

If you are considering any particular examples, feel free to create a thread and post them, and experienced members will chime in on originality.

 

[LesXL]

Yeah, Catawaki "experts" can be a joke sometimes...

Gabguzro

I've been looking to get a Conquest or an Admiral, but it's hard for me to identify some of the original signatures and tell them apart from the redialed ones. I need more training in that regard!

The 'Conquest' in the OP would have fooled me, although the 'Automatic' looks wonky to me.

Additionally to Mr. C's response, I'd encourage you to spend time and to read the Longines subforum, and the Vintage Longines on Wrist thread where you can see many conquest and admiral dials to train your eyes.