Full set, condition, service: reading a watch before buying it

Two examples of the same reference, the same year, can be worth very different sums — and the difference is almost never visible in a photograph. It lies in the set that accompanies the watch, in what has been done to its case and dial over the years, and in what the paper trail does or does not say. This is how we read a watch, before the client decides.

The set

"Full set" means the watch as it left the dealer: the original box, the warranty card or certificate with the serial number that matches the case, the booklets, the hang tags, sometimes the sales receipt. Each missing element is a question. A missing card on a recent reference is a significant one, because the card is what proves the watch was sold through an authorised channel. For older pieces, where sets are often incomplete, an extract from the manufacture's archives — stating the reference, the serial, the dial and the date of production — restores much of what the lost papers would have told.

The case, and the question of polishing

Nearly every watch that has been worn and serviced has been polished at some point. The question is how much. A light refinishing by the manufacture's own service leaves the geometry of the case intact: sharp edges, flat facets, bevels of the original width. Repeated or heavy polishing rounds the edges, thins the lugs and softens the lines the watch was designed with. Collectors pay for unpolished or lightly polished cases, and the difference can be considerable. We examine the case against reference photographs of an untouched example and we say plainly what we see.

The dial

The dial is the face of the watch and the component most often replaced. A service dial — supplied by the manufacture during a later repair — is legitimate, but it is not the original, and on vintage references the original is what the market values. Printing, lume colour and texture, the font of the text, the position of markers: all of it can be compared with the known characteristics of the reference and the year. We do not present a watch as original-dial unless we are satisfied that it is.

The movement and the service history

A watch that has been serviced at the right intervals, by the manufacture or a recognised specialist, with invoices to show it, is a watch whose next years are predictable. One that has not been serviced in a long time may run perfectly and still need work that costs real money. We ask for the service record, we look at the movement when the seller allows it, and we note what the next service will likely involve.

Putting it together

None of these points alone decides a purchase. Together, they tell what the watch is, what it has been through, and what it is reasonable to pay for it relative to comparable pieces that have changed hands recently. That is what our summary note contains: the exact piece, what has been verified and how, where it stands, and what remains open. The client reads it in a few minutes and decides with the full picture.

If you are considering a particular reference, or already have one in view, we are happy to read it with you.