I’ve seen a vintage Rolex I like the look of on Watchfinder, but they are basically very slow with additional photos and don’t know much info - they say ‘it’s all fine, you can just return it if you’re not happy’, but I’m slightly wary as once I’ve paid this might not be as simple!
Has anybody bought vintage from them? It’s obviously not their specialty - I do trust it’s a genuine watch, but they can’t answer whether dial/hands are service replacements etc.
I can sympathise with Watchfinder on this point, its not always easy to give definitive answers. If you're that fussy perhaps it's better to handle the watch and inspect it before committing? If they're happy to take it back and give a refund that's as good as you'll get other than arranging to see it at one of their shops.
I’m not sure asking for a photo of the dial on a 5 figure watch is especially fussy tbh. I am happy to judge condition myself but only can with the right info.
I’m happy to view in person but need to give them the full price first and then travel to see it, so I’m basically buying it unseen, so might as well just have it couriered to me.
Are the refunds that straight forward?
I do enjoy owning watches but buying them turns into a right pain.
I've bought several and their service is great. Have it delivered, inspect it yourself, don't remove the paper tag they attach to it and if you want to return it they'll even collect it from you and give you a refund. Hassle free in my experience.
Great info - thank youOriginally Posted by TaketheCannoli
Pay on cc ,extra protection.
There's only one way to properly assess a watch and that is to handle it yourself, the older the watch the more scope for variations in condition. Watches are all different unless brand new, the current tendency to treat them as commodity items is unwise. I would prefer to see the watch in one of their shops before parting with the money.
Same, I'd have no issues trusting their returns system.
Sent from a technical device.
If you are based near a store for a small deposit (£100) WF will normally take a watch off the market and have it shipped to your store of choice for inspection.
I have bought a few watches off them that when they arrived were not up to the standard I was expecting. As others have said they make the return and refund process very easy and I had a full refund within 7 days of making the original purchase.
Thanks everybody. I pulled the trigger for delivery tomorrow.
I can take to a shop myself or courier it back - hopefully I won’t need to!
What did you go for? 😊
Explorer 1016. It’s coming tomorrow so I’ll post some photos.
1016? Good luck
I believe that if you post some good pics of the watch and tell the forum the price you paid, you can expect honest feedback to help with your decision.
1016
Careful with those lugs
Toothpicks on a lot of them.
My experience of vintage watches with them has not been good. Getting any kind of decent information out of them is difficult. Ask a simple question like are the hands the original tritium ones and they struggle to answer. Trying to establish if a bracelet is original to the watch is also hard, I asked for the clasp code and they sent me the bracelet number.
Imagine considering a vintage 1675 and asking if the bezel insert is a red back or a blue back, I don’t think you would get far with that conversation.
I tend to not bother with them now, too much like hard work.
Yeah this one might have had a decent polish but can’t really tell… spring bars may be the wrong size. Tbh I concentrated more on the dial/hands when deciding but will see tomorrow anyway.
Last edited by maxf; 18th May 2023 at 20:35.
If its the one they had in the Royal Exchange store earlier this week you will be in for a pleasant surprise. The watch, dial and hands looked amazing.
I'm interested to hear peoples views on this organisation. A couple of months ago I did an online valuation request and was given a really silly estimate on my GMT 2, today they sent a revised estimate of over two grand more. Obviously they are in business to make as much as they can on a deal but the former gave the impression they are lowballing dodgy dealers.
Last edited by Harry Smith; 18th May 2023 at 22:47.
Well it arrived, well packaged and on time as promised.
Case isn’t as polished as I’d thought it might be - I’m pretty sure it has the wrong spring bars in though which makes it look worse and the dial is lovely.
Unfortunately the hands glow faintly, so are unlikely to be original. The crown/stem also seems to be slightly bent. Shame because it’s a lovely watch otherwise.
It’s supposed to be from 1973 but the 2.1m serial number suggests 1969 which is a little strange.
I’ve no idea what else is hiding if the bent stem wasn’t picked up - the crown doesn’t screw down anywhere near as cleanly as my vintage datejust - so it looks like it’s heading back. £10.5k, wasn’t a bad price I don’t think, but add the hassle and cost of a service in and it’s not so good.
Last edited by maxf; 19th May 2023 at 14:14.
Some pics below as promised… any comments welcome!
Last edited by maxf; 19th May 2023 at 14:28.
It appears to be neither the best nor the worst example of a frog's foot 1016.
Not brilliantly presented and that spring-bar popping out if its flies is laughable, but the price isn't bad.
I don't believe they are the best of sellers for product knowledge or indeed standing behind a watch if it hits the fan later. Their size and advertising presence does not necessarily count for anything.
If the spring bars are wrong, and it isn’t just very over polished, I can’t understand how a professional seller could supply a watch looking like that. It’s amateurish, put the proper size spring bars in before you ship it!
The amount of crud in the thread of the crown tube suggests it’s not even been cleaned up!
It’s got submariner spring bars in for some reason - easy to sort, but that and the bent crown tube (plus the crud in the threads) makes me think it needs a full service at best to bring it up to scratch… I’m probably better finding another example.
Buy off someone who knows what they are doing. A very nice one listed here:
http://www.theoldwatchshop.com/rolex.html
That’s sound advice. With these vintage Rolex the expertise of the seller is all. I’m fairly tempted myself
D
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
+1, can't go wrong dealing with Mike. Better to pay strong money for a top example like this. I`ve still got the 18ct pie-pan Constellation Mike sold me in 2009, thought it was expensive at the time but it's been a great buy.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
