Quote:
Originally Posted by SubKing
Not Naïve at all Roh, if you were implying my advise was..?
there are reasons one would patinate lume, to cover stains to the plots, or to get hands to match better.. Yes there are silly risks involved but it's being done. One HK dealer comes to mind that still does this practice.. But aside from the lume; when it comes to trusted dealers, there is trust.
Dealers can make mistakes and often do. Especially when it comes to a watch they are selling, so it's more personal to the collector buying because he/she plans on keeping the piece, so the collector will look at the said piece with more scrutiny.
As stated above; you need to have the watch in hand to determine many of the times..
You cannot always tell from pictures because sellers will always photograph the watches in the best light possible.
I have dealt with Jacek and once, I received a piece that I wasn't completely satisfied with and he took it back no questions asked and provided a full refund.
So in regards to my original advise, I stand by it.
Now if the OP's question was toward a different seller that wasn't well known, my advise would be different.
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Weren’t aimed at you at all.
Just highlighting the fact people often think watches are ok just because they come from dealer x, y or z. Watches nowdays travel through so many hands and I know from experience that information get lost in various steps. I know watches that I
know had changed parts, relumed hands etc that later found their way to reputable dealers where the watches were described as original, untouched etc. Some work nowdays is almost impossible to detect and thinking dealers only find new, untouched watches is naive. Most watches today are sold and sold again so the only thing to trust is your own knowledge. That said there are better and worse dealers around and Jacek is for sure great. It’s just not a guarantee as I doubt even he can tell sometimes.
For hiding damage you need to relume. To clean a dial is another topic which usually still leave traces. But yes, it happens. I do however think soya, coffee and oven aren’t a common way to make dials more desirable. At least not good dials. Already damaged dials might be touched up but they will still not look perfect just because they got treatment. As for our friend Ben I think his reputation is by far exaggerated. Many times his pics made watches look way more patinated than they actually were in reality. Perhaps some were altered but that creamy leather sofa, lighting and camera set up certainly helped the watches get that strong yellow patina. I also bet that many watches that Ben sold to collectors later found their way to Jacek and other great dealers. It’s just how the market works.
Speaking of Ben; the reason for him getting banned everywhere was not that watches were touched up. He got banned because he couldn’t describe watches properly. He still deals as far as I know and most watches are great. You just need to be able to judge for yourself.