Zenith Big Blue - Worth Saving?

[Scottd]

Any thoughts on this?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/112272728186

Is it worth saving or would it end up costing just as much as a decent example?

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[Wolfie]

If the dial isn't correct don't bother...

There is something nice about bringing watches back from the brink, but, the fundamentals need to be there

[MrMater]

Agreed, walk away. Potential money pit.

[Scottd]

Seems pretty conclusive. I'll start looking for one in decent condition then.


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[rasputin10]

Reminds me of this

http://forums.watchuseek.com/f457/sp...ur-498563.html

Never say never!

[walkerwek1958]

Even I wouldn`t take this on, and I (supposedly) know what I'm doing with these things. $1000!........he's having a laugh

I`d be hard-pressed to pay £200 for it........no I wouldn`t even pay that because I wouldn`t want to get involved with the thing. Serious money pit IMO, projects like this are best left alone.

Paul

[Eamon]

I was thinking the same, taking a punt on this old zenith, also sold for parts.
Looked mostly original, except for crown and sub dial hands.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/182413714259...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
Didn't expect it to reach €5000!!!

[IanH]

As above, I would stay clear. Bought mine and spent well over £1k with Zenith for a full refurb, although kept the original dial it had new hands, crown, pushers, glass, date spring etc and well pleased with the results. Condition of mine was pretty good, certainly compared to the above, and it was keeping good time so you could end up spending more than it's actually worth:

[Chris_in_the_UK]

Not worth a carrot TBH - there are better examples if you are serious.

[Scottd]

Not worth a carrot TBH - there are better examples if you are serious.

I am on the look out for one of these but they are fairly scarce, especially in the UK it would seem.

I initially saw this as an opportunity to get a watch I want while saving a sorry looking example. But if the numbers don't add up then it's no good!

Thanks all for the well received advice. Will keep looking.


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[walkerwek1958]

The big danger, apart from cost, of trying to rescue a scruffy example is the fact that it may never look great. Deep dings in cases are a non-no, laser welding can be done but it's likely to prove expensive and it's only practical if an otherwise good case has one or two deep dings. When I enquired about the buying a laser welding kit the cost (around £3K) put me right off, so it stands to reason that anyone who's invested in one, and developed the skills to use it, will charge a handsome fee for restoring cases this way.

I`ve virtually given up trying to buy fixer-uppers myself because the numbers rarely stack up, even charging myself zero for the labour!

As always, my advice is to find a good example and be prepared to pay a strong price. Good stuff is rarely cheap, cheap stuff is rarely good.

Paul

[Scottd]

Well I stayed well away but it appears someone took a punt on it for around £600.

I suppose there is every chance it will be parted out for spares rather than restored.

[JonRA]

Reminds me of this

http://forums.watchuseek.com/f457/sp...ur-498563.html

Never say never!

Wow, that is some story! (though not everyone might be so fortunate)

[Akajak]

750 dollars; sold