Zenith's From The Holy-land

Posts
29,744
Likes
35,702
Posts
348
Likes
1,317
Caveat Emptor.

Do be very careful if dealing with this seller. There is another Israeli seller who may or may not be connected with him who takes individual pieces and creates "NOS" watches. The seller noted above seems more legitimate in the sense that his watches are authentic, but what you get is likely to be slightly less than what you see.

I bought a watch from him recently. It was one that sold on eBay Germany nearly two years prior for €500. I know about it because I wanted to get that watch but was still living in the USA: I did not have a German bank account, so no sale possible. Within two months, this seller was trying to flog it for $2000. I occasionally made reasonable offers, no responses from the seller. It finally was put up for regular auction and I got it for €600. Not too bad, except the movement was missing a necessary spacer ring and washer, allowing the movement to rattle around in the case. I asked the seller if he had those parts. The seller seemed to not understand my request, asking if it was a screw I needed. He further explained that he paid much more for the watch than I paid, so it was a bargain.

He was reasonably nice in communications, but on the other hand, he also failed to provide the documentation I explicitly requested in order to clear German Customs. Deutsch Zoll are very picky with non-EU imports. I ended up having to go to the customs office personally, a much bigger hassle than it sounds like. All because the fellow could not follow directions.

It is a shame that some of the nicest pieces end up with some of the least scrupulous seller. Luckily, this fellow's watches are often in obviously mediocre condition—they will probably be no better in person.

Avoid temptation and wait to find truly good examples of what you want!
 
Posts
6,713
Likes
18,556
Agree fully with danomar. Much part-swapping and frankenizing going on with this seller, and watches are generally in poor shape. There is the occasional winner in the mix, but priced very aggressively and the track record forces you do go through the pics and listing with a microscope to look for irregularities. Tiresome. In years of obsessive Zenith browsing (and he posts a fair number of Zeniths, many over and over), not one of this seller's watches has made it into my watchbox.

I do recall he had an angled tonneau case in what he claimed was 18K about two years back, that he claimed was a prototype, which I found very intriguing, but again, with this type of track record, one hesitates mightily before acquring a 'prototype.'
 
Posts
173
Likes
145
I, too have dealt with this seller. He has advertised some frightening pieces, but as Lou says, some good ones do occasionally pop up and I have satisfactorily acquired a couple. You really need to know what's what. "Original" means, e.g., a genuine Zenith crown/ strap/ whatever - not necessarily the one that left the factory with the watch. Thus what should have been a 1989 31 jewel cal. 400 movement was instead a 17 jewel cal. 41.0 with a later 31 jewel cal. 400Z rotor switched in - all genuine Zenith, but a total frankenmovement that did into belong in the De Luca watch it inhabited. Be careful, be inquisitive and bargain hard.