# Vintage gold watches. Verification?



## OlanMcGowan (Apr 2, 2017)

Greetings, vintage watch experts.

I hope somebody can help. I live in Dublin, but I will be in London over the summer, and I wanted to pick up a vintage gold watch. 1940s/1950s/1960s, maybe Rolex or Omega. Something very simple and classic.

I've come across that few companies, including this one.

http://www.vintagegoldwatches.com/product/rolex-precision-18k-1957-oversize/#lightbox[product-gallery]/14/

Not being an expert, the watches seem absolutely perfect. They are selling for anywhere between £2000 and £4500.

However, doing further research, there are other companies selling similar watches for £7000 upwards.

Example

http://www.watchclub.com/watch/rolex/precision/18ct-yellow-gold-rare-lugs/w5625

How can I verify if something is the real deal?

Olan


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## Graham Osborne (May 15, 2014)

I have not had personal experience of lots of luxury vintage watches but I have seen a few Longines including the 30L Cal as in the 9K 'Explorer'. This one looks absolutely genuine to me. The other seller seems to me be overselling the lugs on that Rolex  .


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## scottswatches (Sep 22, 2009)

Alarm bells sound when they state

"100% Genuine & All Original"

and then say

"Beautifully Restored 1 -12 Silver White Dial with 1950s 'Leaf' Hands"

so if the dial is repainted it is not 100% original, and the dial is the part of the watch you look at. I try and steer clear of redials as something can only be original once


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## gimli (Mar 24, 2016)

A few words if I may:

- brick and mortar shops and online stores that sell vintage watches have prices that are at least 2 times the value of the time piece (sometimes it can be 3-4 times the real market value)

Pros of such shops:

- watches are cleaned and serviced (theoretically)

- you get a receipt and warranty (important in case of issues) and the chances of getting a fake are smaller

Cons of such shops:

- they sell A LOT of reconditioned/redialed watches which are not as sought after by true collectors and are worth less than an untouched original watch (even if it might not be in pristine condition)

Both of them are really beautiful time pieces.

The first one has a redialed dial, that's for sure, not sure about the 2nd one but they claim that it's original... If that's true than that's one hell of a condition for such an old watch.

I don't know whether the buckles are original... Don't know if they had Rolex branded buckles at the time and I have a feeling that if they did they may have looked a bit more different as this style was also used in the 60s...

If I had to chose between the two I think I would go for the 2nd option but I would only pay that price if it was indeed 100% original and not redialed/reconditioned.

They sure did put some effort into option 1 and the quality seems good but you should research the model and see whether it's identical to the original one or they just improvised here and there as they often do with redials.


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