Most people in the watch forum flipping game (and a game it is) are familiar with the terms dings, scratches, and swirlies. Constipated consumers find themselves driven and enamored to have you disclose every “character” mark a watch has on it before they consider buying it. It has some merit and nobody wants a watch that has been skipped across the road. But the fact of the matter is that a watch surface, for most pieces, is easily restored to like new for about $100. The easiest game in town is to take a secondhand Rolex with 904L steel for example, tape it off and polish it back to excellent condition. Regardless of the mechanism this watch is going to be appealing. In the business it is called “If it’s shitty make it shiny” rule. Many have been taken by this scheme and the vanity of it all.
As a buyer, don’t be swayed by the exterior first. Most regular collectors don’t have a facility available to them to have a watch polished like new. They take good care of the watch but live in the country and have bought their pieces on trips, etc. They then post and get railed by forum trolls for condition forcing them to sell low, or they don’t sell at all because of unfair low-ball offers. So go easy when looking over forum watches, knowing you are about 100 bucks away from a perfect polish. Now let’s really talk business… Has it been serviced and can you throw away the box and papers before sending are good secondary questions. As for the cases of PVD and gold plated watches, there isn’t much you can do to gussy those up, so buy new or be realistic. Keep Flipping.
Wow…you had me there for a quick minute.
Going by the title and the picture I thought this was going to be a piece on some fast & easy watch maintenance that anyone could do.
You know, some helpful tips for those of use with minor scratches and light dings. Maybe even some tips on “How to” or “What to use” in keeping our watches looking good or restoring the shine to bracelets, clasps and cases.
You really fooled me.