Collecting vintage watches is a growing hobby in most parts of the western world. Men, particularly, are attracted by the romance and novelty of having a micro-engine on their wrist as both a time-teller and an image statement.
One of the most frustrating aspects of collecting vintage watches is the number of fakes, frankenwatches and fraudsters one encounters in pursuance of this noble, but increasingly costly, passion.
Watches
The comeback of the mechanical watch has drawn out all sorts of insects from under their rocks. The pursuance of one's passion for old timepieces will inevitably lead to numerous encounters with rogue repairers who payment house prices for inferior work, linear decendents of horse theives who palm off fakes as the real thing, doctor Frankensteins who originate sought-after models from parts of other watches, the usual bevy of shonks, crooks and tricksters out to convince the gullible and the unwary to swipe their well worn prestige cards.
A Collector's Guide to Buying Vintage Watches
In a new seven day observe and follow-up I completed on the listing of vintage Omega Constellation watches on a major on-line trading site, more than 50 percent of all listings were of watches that were inauthentic in some way - that gives you some idea of what collectors are up against.
Caveat Emptor, rarity and goods knowledge steer the purchasing behaviours of astute collectors in any collecting field and these three principles are particularly leading when purchasing vintage watches on-line and straight through bricks and mortar dealers.
Frankenwatches present the institution of taking parts from different watches of the same calibre series and 'creating' a new or best pedigree of movement. In some countries of Europe they are called 'Wedding' watches. This institution is especially prevalent in middle and higher end timepieces that are most sought-after by collectors.
In tandem with the determined deception of Frankenwatches, there are a number of other intentional and inadvertent frauds that occur:
1. Housing a different movement in a genuine case or re-dialed model. If you are curious in collecting a particlar brand of watch, get to know the calibre numbers of movements that power single models. Calibre numbers are different to serial numbers and can best be described as the motor type(similar to cars: eg. 2.5-litre Dohc V6 describing the motor in a current X Type Jaguar). Some calibres of a single brand are more collectible than others, so it pays to know what's under the bonnet.
2. Using a similar movement series and replacing the part that has the calibre number. This is prevalent in watch brands that have numerous models and where the top line models fetch higher prices that the economy models. Often you can tell a fraud of this type straight through colouration contrasts or newness of the parts that contains the calibre number.
3. Placing a high end dial and movement in the wrong case. Many of the higher end vintage watches have case back numbers that can be checked with serial numbers to see if they match.
4. Replacing worn hands and crowns with non-genuine hands and crowns and claiming the watch is 100 percent authentic. A coarse problem with many vintage models that reduces the value of the watch. Before buying, build up a library of pictures of watches that you know are genuine and match a prospective buy against them. On-line forums are a great way to gain and swap pictures.
5. Badly executed dials and re-dials. Ask for super-sized pictures so you can observe the capability of the printing and also the placement of lettering. A bad re-dial will wipe as much as 30 percent off the value of the watch. Again pictures and the help of other collectors is invaluable in development sure you have an authentic watch.
6. Replacing numerous worn parts in a genuine models with genuine parts. While this is a perfectly acceptable practice, it does indicate that at some stage in the life of the movement it was neglected or damaged. Knowledgeable and pernickety collectors look for signs of colour distinction on the movement and often avoid watches that are not of one colour hue.
Look for scratches or gouges on the non-replaced parts, and look for corrosion or other signs of wear and tear. Ask the seller for a detailed narrative on the history of servicing of the watch and its current condition. If the seller cannot supply such data it is best to let the watch go rather than touch the dissatisfaction of acquiring a watch that has suffered abuse in the past and having to deal with the ongoing symptoms of that abuse.
7. Claiming an old warrior is a handsome prince. Many vendors use descriptions like 'minty', '100% authentic', 'very clean', 'this one is a keeper', and so on. Most of these descriptions are useless if not backed up by evidence.
When examining a good capability photo of the watch movement, and all the time ask for pictures if you are buying on the internet, look for any discolouration of the surfaces of plates and bridges. Look for any signs of corrosion or parts of the watch that do not match in colour, particularly rotor bridges and the part of the watch that contains the calibre or serial numbers. Look for new additions that show themselves by their shininess. These are all indicators of inauthenticity, parts swapping or at least major repairs.
8. observe the movement for burred screw heads and scrapes and damage to the movement plates or bridges, which are sure signs of inexpert work, or at least indicate the movement was separate from the case for some time before a case was found to match. Checks for outside discoloration on the movement plates, blotches, corrosion, or parts that don't match the rest of the movement patina.
9. observe the case back to rule whether the watch has had a hard life. Beware of excessive polishing that takes the sharpness away from the edges of the watch case, as that again indicates principal wear and tear full, and devalues the watch.
10. A watch that has obviously had a hard life indicates carelessness towards its maintenance and irregularity in servicing. Ordinarily speaking, mechanical watches should be serviced every three to five years, and it is not difficult to detect a watch that has been neglected because the signs of neglect are determined to the naked eye.
Badly discoloured watches with scratches, gouges to the movement, very polished case backs and inexpertly refinished dials are sure signs of the amateur watchmaker at work and should be avoided. They can also point to a tired old movement jazzed up for sale and marketed with great hyperbole to the unwary Internet shopper.
11. Look considered at the dial to see if screws have caused minor or major indentations on the dial. This indicates that incorrect or inauthentic screws have been used in the movement.
Look for corrosion on the dial or flakes that have come off the dial. This can indicate that a watch has spent some or all of its life in the tropics and was not serviced as ordinarily as it should have been. It can also indicate immersion in water.
Watches that are ordinarily serviced will have their seals replaced at aid and should show few signs of moisture having entered the case. Remember rust under a dial cannot be seen and flaky dials can be a sign of incommunicable problems underneath.
12. Rust cannot Ordinarily be removed from watches and at best can be neutralised. A sure sign of neglect is corrosion on or near the threads of the case back or the area where the case back meets the case. These are signs of irregular servicing and signify the possibility of excessive wear of the movement.
Watch collecting is a rewarding past-time for thousands of collectors worldwide. Fortunately they congregate in varied forums on the Internet and are Ordinarily very happy to share their knowledge and passion for single brands. Build up and use your knowledge to best rule the value of the watches you collect.
An evenly coloured movement, retaining much of its traditional sheen and showing signs of quarterly aid demands a higher price and improves its value far best than a poor cousin that has been straight through the wars.
(c) Desmond Guilfoyle 2006
A Collector's Guide to Buying Vintage Watches
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