Oh darn! Just opened up a can of bad memories. I rarely don’t do vintage watches and here’s
yet another perfect example of why. Of course it’s all about doing your homework before buying anything and you
should be fine. That rule is to be concerned even more when buying a vintage watch. But I got this 1968 Rolex Datejust from a friend and I felt pretty confident
that everything with it was OK. It turned out that wasn't the case and sadly I found out about it later when I was
selling it. The buyer, who obviously knew how to do his homework, wanted us to
meet at a local Rolex AD to have it checked. Not to verify if it was genuine or
not but to check the condition of the movement and if it needed a service. The watchmaker came
out after a couple of minutes shaking his head while saying, with his German
accent, “Uh uh, this watch is not good. It has a lot of pitting and the threads
for the case back are very worn down. It also has signs of rust inside the case
from taking in moisture." So the deal was therefore cancelled. The buyer
probably walked home happy knowing he didn’t stepped on that mine, while I
walked home being disappointed but also angry thinking about how my friend
could have sold me something he obviously hadn’t controlled the condition of. I
told him about what had happened and he wasn’t too happy to take it back. He finally agreed on it but it cost me $250. Expensive lesson! We haven't talked much since.
But before all this happened we still had a good
time together. It was a cool watch. I wore it loose on the stretchy jubilee and
felt like the stereotype of a tacky car salesman. Its gold linnen dial was very beautiful and
glowed really nice in the sun.
 |
| #181 - The Rolex Datejust 1601 from 1968. |
 |
| Preparing some BBQ together with my dad. |
I have had a couple of vintage watches since this incident. As I said, you always learn new things; what to look out for and what to be extra aware of. EVEN if you are purchasing from friends! And of course, the more you do it the the higher the chances are that you avoid falling into an unexpected pit of shit.
© All pictures by a Watch Flipper's Diary unless noted.
