Reply With QuoteThumbs down on MWR.
here you go:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Smiths-Vin...item4adae2d419
Personally I'd have thought it was worth maybe (at a push) half of that amount, but I'm no expert.
Anyone?
Thumbs down on MWR.
Why? Can you post a link?Originally Posted by BillyCasper
Edit: found it. Here:
http://www.mwrforum.net/forums/showt...-AM-6B-on-ebay
Last edited by Rev-O; 27th August 2014 at 14:58.
I don't know about the back not matching the rest of the case but the movement has the right serial number (C33xxxx) for 1956.
One numbered C4xxxxx would make me suspicious though, and a slimline (i.e. post-1964) 27CS would be plain wrong -- and probably wouldn't fit without a lot of spacers and shims and fettling. But internally this looks fine to me. (N.b. I'm no expert. Doubtless one will be along shortly.)
The caseback and condition of the dial put me off and it’s a lot of money to gamble.
I’ve been looking for a few years and this seems to be the going rate. There was an Australian issued version on MWR in 2011 that was advertised at £2K and if memory serves the last one on eBay sold for around £2.5K.
The Deluxe would make a lovely ‘reissue’ in case anyone is listening ;-)
Smiths also made some watches for the RAF during WW2 -- I remember seeing a thread somewhere (MWR?) with one possible candidate identified, but can't find it now. IIRC it had a white dial, centre-seconds and poire hands but was unsigned -- nothing on the movement, case or dial. (I'm guessing that's in case an airman was shot down over enemy territory? "Smiths" is a bit more of a giveaway than "Swiss"!) Anyway, it was felt to "right" as the movement was similar to the Smiths pocket watches of the same era and also to the later, civilian, wrist watches.
Anyone know where that thread is?
What's wrong with the caseback? Condition -- or something more serious and sinister?
Personally, I think it looks "right" as a Smiths, but mil watches are not my area.
You could always just offer £1, 100. It's got to be worth that and you'd get your money back if it you decided not to keep it. (I've had a few grails that were 100% "right" as watches but I just didn't bond with. Years of wanting this one or that one led silly expectations that it would be THE watch and then they didn't live up to the hype I'd created. I'm learning not to do that.)
Go on, stick a lowball offer in.
For a watch in excess of 55 years old, that has been kicking around, maybe worn or in a drawer, serviced or opened up by anybody it looks about right to me. I'd be more suspicious of a perfect one than this.
Roger
Funny thing is the high serial number -- 970. This suggest there's was quite of few of them (a thousand?) made and issued. Yet they almost never come up for sale. Were they recalled and scrapped after a time? Or returned to Smiths to be cannibalised for parts?
Just odd is all.
Good point, but who knows what it's history is. I'm sure stuff left the factory or Hurstmonceux unofficially. I don't think one thousand pieces is much in the grand scheme of things. There are only supposed to be less than 1500 Grana www watches but you do see them up for sale.
I'd be happy to take it as genuine, not sure I'd like to pay for it though!
Roger
Maybe the Smiths shared a serial number with whatever other watch(es) were being issued to the RAF at that time -- so the "970" is part of a multi-watch run across other makes? After all, the RAF only needed watches that fitted the standard specifications -- I'm sure who made them and other finer point of horological interest were irrelevant. So there might well be a lot less than a thousand RAF/ MoD Smiths De Luxe. Remember, Smiths were already making them for the Australians (and maybe others, too) so when you consider that 1.) Cheltenham was tooled up for a military watch which was in production and 2.) the MoD / RAF needed some then it might be that 3.) the MoD / RAF asked Smiths to supply a few to make good a shortfall or undersupply from Omega or whoever. Just a thought. Or else the RAF bought a few to try out and compare with the other supplier(s) on price and quality.
There's a thread running on MWR that was collating 6B TA / FA serial numbers. The '56 FAs were almost all in the late 12ks.
You need to ask this question, or rather float your theory on MWR, Oliver, I'm sure there will be an answer - there are some seriously knowledgable folks over there.
Yeah, I can't seem to log in there. Haven't been there for ages, forgot my password, asked for an email . . . but nothing.
Edit: OK, I've joined again under a new username with my second email account.
Well that thread over on mwr has exploded!
Lots of interesting info and opinions.
Looks like the watch is basically 'right' with a few issues or question marks (maybe a mis-matched caseback)
If I had the money . . . . I still wouldn't buy it. (Although if anyone wants to buy it for me and send to the Vicarage I promise I will love it and look after it.)
I thought both these and the recased Omega 6b/159 used an unbadged Dennison Aquatite case and so would be identical?
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