# Smiths De Luxe



## Bluewater (Jan 14, 2014)

New to vintage and was considering an Omega which seems like a minefield when I came across a 1955 gold Smith's de luxe in excellent original condition other than the strap its boxed (not great condition) with an inscription on the back (for company service) though apparently this will polish out if required.

The blurb says these are currently undervalued in the market and it looks fantastic but is it priced at almost Â£900 as an investment piece. Any views on this?


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## JD6150 (May 23, 2013)

I am no expert and I stand to be corrected, but from what I see sold at auctions that seems way too expensive to me.


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## AVO (Nov 18, 2012)

I would say that's pushing it...I have a suspicion about where you saw that. If it's the site I think it is, then you won't find anything cheap.


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## Elliot_243 (Jan 15, 2014)

That's way too expensive!


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## greasemonk (Oct 4, 2012)

hi,i agree with the above comments regarding price,i have a small collection of gold watches but am in no way an expert.one thing i picked up on your post was the well worn words i have read many times on fleabay "has an inscription but would polish out".polishing out inscriptions leaves many gold watch backs so thin that it only takes a very slight pressure to buckle or dent them.some of the old cases by dennison the british watch case maker would be heavy enough to take it but not many others.far better to live with the inscription but if you cant i would find another watch. garrard the crown jeweller made some beautiful gold watches which i feel are under valued at the moment and some really nice examples can be found on fleabay from Â£250 to Â£500 and because they dont suffer from name hype they are less likely to have been messed with,hope this has been some help to you,cheers..greasemonk


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## mel (Dec 6, 2006)

In the day, SMITHS goldies were very popular with British companies as long service and retirement pieces. This was when British companies not only made stuff here in the UK, but also supported each other. IMO inscriptions are part of the provenance of the watch, and should NEVER be polished out for the reasons already outlined, but of course they also help to date a watch.

They cannot be relied upon completely, but they are an excellent guide! The price guide you've quoted is too much, end of!

ldman:


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## pugster (Nov 22, 2004)

The last solid gold smiths i had cost Â£90 , 900 is a joke.

They may be a bit more expensive now but still if you buy that you might aswell throw Â£750 in the river.


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## AVO (Nov 18, 2012)

Now, forgive me if I am mistaken, but I suspect the Smiths you have been looking at has this on the description: "Of all the Smiths variants, we would pick the one here, the Deluxe, for investment, simply because this was the exact model worn on the wrist of Edmund Hillary when he reached the summit of Everest."

This is clearly wrong. To begin with the Everest expedition did not take gold watches. This model has a small seconds, but all 12.15 watches did (my own Astral does).

I've seen Hillary's watch in the Clockmakers' Museum. It is quite different, and watches with this exact dial pattern are almost impossible to find. There are always variations in the hands and seconds track particularly. "Close approaches" do command high prices, but the one I think you are looking at, though a lovely and immaculate piece, is nothing like it really. I toyed with buying it before I did the research...about 18 months ago! And apparently it's still available.


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## Guest (Jan 19, 2014)

Bluewater said:


> New to vintage and was considering an Omega which seems like a minefield when I came across a 1955 gold Smith's de luxe in excellent original condition other than the strap its boxed (not great condition) with an inscription on the back (for company service) though apparently this will polish out if required.
> 
> The blurb says these are currently undervalued in the market and it looks fantastic but is it priced at almost Â£900 as an investment piece. Any views on this?


Â£900 is insane! I know some people have their own ideas on what site you found that watch but even there I have never seem a Smiths watch going for that much. The most I have seen was about Â£600 and that was pretty much as new, box in mint condition, solid gold, no inscriptions on the back and from a trusted seller.

Smiths watches have gone up a bit over the years but even one in excellent condition and serviced should only set you back about Â£2-250 at most not Â£900. They come up all the time not serviced at around Â£90 - Â£150 ok solid gold ones may be a bit more but that sounds very excessive.

Just a note on engravings, personally I am not fond of them and if anything its a reason for me not to buy. I just think that watch belongs with the owner or his family not me its almost like I am buying someone else's history.


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## AVO (Nov 18, 2012)

robert75 said:


> Â£900 is insane! I know some people have their own ideas on what site you found that watch but even there I have never seem a Smiths watch going for that much. The most I have seen was about Â£600 and that was pretty much as new, box in mint condition, solid gold, no inscriptions on the back and from a trusted seller.


Insane or not, it's there. Â£875. Google this and it will appear:

"Smiths Deluxe gold boxed Everest dial 1955"


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## Elliot_243 (Jan 15, 2014)

I've got it I know why it's that much......

It's to pay for the labour for writing all that up!!!


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## Bluewater (Jan 14, 2014)

Cheers guys guess I'll pass up on that one then


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## AVO (Nov 18, 2012)

robert75 said:


> Just a note on engravings, personally I am not fond of them and if anything its a reason for me not to buy. I just think that watch belongs with the owner or his family not me its almost like I am buying someone else's history.


On the whole I would agree - certainly if I had anything like that handed down I would keep it. On the other hand, a decision has been made to sell it, and can sometimes indicate a watch that has been reserved by a careful owner for special occasions.


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## Julian Latham (Jul 25, 2005)

Agree4 with Elliot_243. Reads like a script for a QVC pitch. Plenty of flannel to hide a dearth of fact. Way, way over priced. :yes: :yes:


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## pugster (Nov 22, 2004)

this was my last one that cost 90 quid - solid gold case -de luxe , it was scraped as the back case split - i still have the movement which works fine and is a 27cs.

.....think i just found that website - it has a lot of smiths watches at stupid prices :lol:


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## Elliot_243 (Jan 15, 2014)

I brought a gold astral a couple of years back for Â£80. Yeah they have gone up in value in recent years but I can't see them being worth more than a few hundred pounds


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## Bluewater (Jan 14, 2014)

Think it was the same dealer that a 2007 Mido commander caught my eye at Â£345 , is that too much too


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## Elliot_243 (Jan 15, 2014)

Yeah that seems a better price tbh


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## Guest (Jan 19, 2014)

AVO said:


> robert75 said:
> 
> 
> > Â£900 is insane! I know some people have their own ideas on what site you found that watch but even there I have never seem a Smiths watch going for that much. The most I have seen was about Â£600 and that was pretty much as new, box in mint condition, solid gold, no inscriptions on the back and from a trusted seller.
> ...


Interesting I put Smiths Deluxe into google without the Â£875 and came up with the Smiths watches site which has gold Smiths watches with presentation box and serviced. Most expensive one there was Â£650. Average price was Â£400 many of them don't even have an engraving on the back!


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## AVO (Nov 18, 2012)

My lovely gold Astral - same movement as the Â£875 watch at a fraction of the price. As it came from a member of this forum, I won't say how much, but let's just say I was happy with the deal!


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## Bluewater (Jan 14, 2014)

That's lovely


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## AVO (Nov 18, 2012)

Thank you. It's interesting what a strap can do. The black one it came on was just wrong, so I had this Hirsch Merino in the box and stuck it on. Perfectly nice...










Than I found this amazing dark chocolate crocodile, and it transformed it from a lovely watch into a stunner!


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## Bluewater (Jan 14, 2014)

Agree on the strap makes a big difference guess you're planning on hanging on to it?


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