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GarethS
·Greetings, forum!
A friend tipped me off that there was a rather lovely Zenith De Luca for sale at a local watch shop. We live in Brighton, where we’re lucky enough to have plenty of second-hand watch shops. However, being a tourist destination, prices tend to be at the top end of the market.
He described the watch as perfect and I, somewhat off-handedly, suggested I’d buy it if it were under £5k.
“£4,950,” he said.
So yesterday afternoon I toddled off down the hill, armed with a couple of potential PX candidates, to take a look at this supposedly perfect piece.
Well, it was certainly lovely in the flesh, but far from perfect.
The dial was in particularly fine condition, which was a big plus. The hands were near perfect too, although the lume looked fresher than that on the dial, making me suspect they might be service replacements.
The exterior showed honest signs of use, which is hardly surprising for a 30-plus-year-old watch. The bezel was OK, although someone had applied a rather heavy-handed spot of paint between the 40 and 45 markers. The case also had some unusual scratches around the bezel on the lower-left lug. Seemed an odd place to pick up that sort of damage.
Finally, the bezel rotated rather scratchily in both directions. I assume it should have a unidirectional ratchet mechanism?
All in all, though, it was a handsome daily driver, complete with box and papers, a NOS original bracelet and spare links.
As you can probably tell, I was tempted, but not quite enough to part with almost £5k for it. I was, however, interested in doing a PX deal involving a couple of watches that suffer from a rather poor wrist-to-drawer ratio:
He offered £1,600 for the Speedy and was struggling to put a figure on the Certina.
He also explained that the Zenith was being sold on commission, so there was no room for negotiation on the asking price.
I pointed out that I could probably get over £2k for the Mk40 on eBay, which he didn’t disagree with.
So, I’m now wondering whether to move the Mk40 on and go for the Zenith. However, I’m wary of the case condition and, in particular, whether the bezel mechanism can be repaired or serviced without too much trouble.
What do you reckon? Am I being overly cautious about the condition, or would the bezel and case issues give you pause for thought at this price? And does anyone have experience of servicing a De Luca bezel mechanism?
Thanks in advance!
Gareth
A friend tipped me off that there was a rather lovely Zenith De Luca for sale at a local watch shop. We live in Brighton, where we’re lucky enough to have plenty of second-hand watch shops. However, being a tourist destination, prices tend to be at the top end of the market.
He described the watch as perfect and I, somewhat off-handedly, suggested I’d buy it if it were under £5k.
“£4,950,” he said.
So yesterday afternoon I toddled off down the hill, armed with a couple of potential PX candidates, to take a look at this supposedly perfect piece.
Well, it was certainly lovely in the flesh, but far from perfect.
The dial was in particularly fine condition, which was a big plus. The hands were near perfect too, although the lume looked fresher than that on the dial, making me suspect they might be service replacements.
The exterior showed honest signs of use, which is hardly surprising for a 30-plus-year-old watch. The bezel was OK, although someone had applied a rather heavy-handed spot of paint between the 40 and 45 markers. The case also had some unusual scratches around the bezel on the lower-left lug. Seemed an odd place to pick up that sort of damage.
Finally, the bezel rotated rather scratchily in both directions. I assume it should have a unidirectional ratchet mechanism?
All in all, though, it was a handsome daily driver, complete with box and papers, a NOS original bracelet and spare links.
As you can probably tell, I was tempted, but not quite enough to part with almost £5k for it. I was, however, interested in doing a PX deal involving a couple of watches that suffer from a rather poor wrist-to-drawer ratio:
- Omega Speedmaster Mk40 Triple Date
- Certina DS-1
He offered £1,600 for the Speedy and was struggling to put a figure on the Certina.
He also explained that the Zenith was being sold on commission, so there was no room for negotiation on the asking price.
I pointed out that I could probably get over £2k for the Mk40 on eBay, which he didn’t disagree with.
So, I’m now wondering whether to move the Mk40 on and go for the Zenith. However, I’m wary of the case condition and, in particular, whether the bezel mechanism can be repaired or serviced without too much trouble.
What do you reckon? Am I being overly cautious about the condition, or would the bezel and case issues give you pause for thought at this price? And does anyone have experience of servicing a De Luca bezel mechanism?
Thanks in advance!
Gareth
