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1 October 2020, 10:18 AM | #121 | |
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1 October 2020, 10:20 AM | #122 | |
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Let me be the first to welcome you to TRF |
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1 October 2020, 10:34 AM | #123 |
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Hi all, after careful consideration with Stephane and many supportive friends of the forum I have decided to address this thread.
The 1675 came to me in January of 2020. The dial had been relumed as disclosed by the seller. Shortly thereafter I sold the watch as is. In August of 2020 I received the watch back in trade. The watch had been out of my hands for several months and it did not cross my mind that this was the identical watch with an altered dial and several swapped components. As a dealer, I handle dozens of watches on a monthly basis. Often times more. This was a fatal oversight on my part and I accept nothing less than full responsibility. As a dealer I understand that collectors place a great deal of confidence and trust in me and I do not take that for granted. Once the issue was brought to attention (thank you @watchknut) I immediately refunded Stephane. His buyer was notified and refunded as well. I have been an upstanding member of the forum for nearly a decade and have completed numerous transactions; many with members of this thread. Anyone that has dealt with me knows that I take my business very seriously and conduct every transaction professionally. I stand behind each and every watch I sell. This remains unchanged. In the future, however, I will take considerably greater measures to vet any of my purchases prior to them being offered publicly. I am thankful for the platform RolexForums has given me to start and grow my business and felt that an explanation was owed to all of you. I sincerely hope we can use this situation as a learning experience to both strengthen our knowledge and the community. Thank you. Michael Morgan |
1 October 2020, 10:59 AM | #124 |
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I have known Michael for over ten years and completed many successful transactions with him over the years. I have always found him to be knowledgeable, fair and honest. Its actually a bit of relief to know now that he’s not perfect. But its not surprising to me that he would immediately refund the buyers money because that's just who he is as a person. I won't hesitate to do business with Michael again in the future. They say you should always "buy the seller", will I would buy from Michael every day of the week and twice on Sunday!
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1 October 2020, 11:03 AM | #125 | |
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Million dollar question. Who did the relume? |
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1 October 2020, 11:19 AM | #126 |
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Must be nice to have access to countless full set OCC 1675s.
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1 October 2020, 11:21 AM | #127 |
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1 October 2020, 11:34 AM | #128 |
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Hmmm, just because you have a record of every serial number that you've ever owned, doesn't necessarily mean that the software you're using is going to automatically point out a duplicate...
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1 October 2020, 11:35 AM | #129 |
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well, if this was a ratty daily wearer 7021 Tudor with a zitty dial and it needed touch ups... okay. But the difference is quality of the relume on a very expensive piece. It was bound to fall into someone’s hands and create a legitimacy issue.
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1 October 2020, 11:48 AM | #130 | |
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But as btinl pointed out, how many occ 1675 full sets can someone come across within a couple months that wouldn’t raise some doubt? |
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1 October 2020, 11:59 AM | #131 |
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I wonder what's caused the current witch-hunt culture on the forum...
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1 October 2020, 12:05 PM | #132 |
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Well, as suggested above, one of the stories is more plausible than the other, but I sincerely appreciate both parties giving their sides.
I think it has come about organically in response to an increasing number of unsavory events; it is not the fault of the forum members IMO. Some members are certainly taking a very aggressive line, but I don't really blame them. The explosion of values in the vintage watch world has led to a Wild West situation, with dealers coming out of the woodwork on a monthly basis. There is real money involved now, and greed is a powerful driver.
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1 October 2020, 01:05 PM | #133 |
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These are both highly respected and experienced industry players. I see no motive or incentive — and enormous risk — on either side to try and scam.
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1 October 2020, 01:39 PM | #134 | |
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Thanks for take it time to clarify since many of us are following and wanted the truth. We need more sellers like you. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
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1 October 2020, 03:43 PM | #135 | |
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Being mislead in the vintage market
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First of all, I would like to thank each and everyone who attends this forum and the love you have for vintage/current Rolex watches; hopefully it remains. I have thought about this situation over and over again, then just read the comment by MM. IMO, his response is a blatant disrespect to this community. As one who sells some serious pieces and one I have dealt with, the excuse of simply overlooking is inexcusable by any means, especially if one returns the watch after purchasing it. It is ones duty to confirm and authenticate as best as possible before handing it over to the next owner. Not to mention, it is a FULL set OCC dial which is nearly impossible to find. So...to me...I would be ecstatic to find such a piece and do my due diligence. Based on this incident and another one from the past, I have trouble relating to this being some accident. Let's talk about factual evidence - https://www.rolexforums.com/showthre...1031&highlight This link shows a 5512 where the one dial foot was missing, then re-attached. Shortly afterwards, MM contacted my via text asking if I would be able to alter the dial feet to fit a Rolex 1530 caliber movement. The 1500 caliber movement never had dial feet in any position other than what you see today, regardless of sport, date, day-date, perpetual or any other... each 1500 caliber dial fits the movement. I thought to myself this had to be a one-off and left it to that. But after seeing what was clearly not a mistake made me feel that it be necessary for me to share this. As I mentioned, I am seeing and dealing with vintage owner's becoming discouraged and disenchanted about buying these watches. I would like for this to change and continue to appreciate watches that we so proudly wear.
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1 October 2020, 03:52 PM | #136 |
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I’m not naive enough to believe this is a one-off. I’m also not accepting an oversight on a multi-thousand dollar watch by a watch-expert, particularly when it was a watch he’d previously sold. I have no dog in the fight and these pieces are way above my pay-grade, but I enjoy looking and learning.
As far as who the re-lume expert is, we’ll probably never know, but I’ve often wondered how numbers of 369 dial Subs suddenly appeared from nowhere a few years ago.
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1 October 2020, 04:13 PM | #137 |
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Thank you for sharing Phillip. I can see why enthusiasts may not want to dip their toes into the vintage Rolex market. I am glad that the mods have allowed members to discuss and debate this issue.
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1 October 2020, 04:47 PM | #138 | |
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Does anyone find the timing strange that this endorsement comes right after MM made his post? |
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1 October 2020, 04:52 PM | #139 | |
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Well apparently two members know who this Lume Picasso is and are not divulging his/her identity and given the current circumstances I don’t blame them. Not sure what knowing who it is accomplishes other than not being able to have one of your own pieces relumed so expertly. That dial was shear perfection which should have Set off alarm bells. What would worry me if this master of lume decides to do dials with small imperfections such as moisture dark spots and a small chip here and there which I have no doubt is beyond his/her capabilities. Let’s hope such an incredible talent never goes to the dark side. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk |
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1 October 2020, 05:12 PM | #140 |
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Wow. Interesting. We're all human, we make mistakes. However, Just sharing my thoughts:
1. I dont think theres one dealer that does not keep track of serial numbers and full details of who he/she sold to and bought from. 2. I dont think dealers accept watches without checking them out. Regardless who they have received it from. There are no friends nowadays. Everything gets checked as everyone wants to protect themselves. Let alone an $80k watch. 3. Some of the statements here are different from the comments on the IG post. 4. On IG, I believe someone mentioned he was aware there was a dial swap. Different story here? 5. The buyer's lucky he didn't receive the watch. Who would have taken responsibility for the altered dial then? It could have been changed by any of the 3 parties and impossible to prove. so this one was saved by a watch enthusiast..... Thank you watchknut. Just randomly picked up. Imagine the consequences, if this wasn't discovered..... Anyways, just my thoughts and I hope this does not drive current collectors or newbies away from buying vintage watches. |
1 October 2020, 05:24 PM | #141 | |
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Well I can say this newbie vintage lover is not encouraged. And now this revelation by Philip is even more disheartening. Even though I have no clue as to how such a radical dial alteration would not stick out like a sore thumb I’m sure there was some nefarious reason for wanting it done. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk |
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1 October 2020, 05:28 PM | #142 | |
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1 October 2020, 05:30 PM | #143 |
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1 October 2020, 05:42 PM | #144 | |
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I am just following and learning a lot from this thread.
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1 October 2020, 05:58 PM | #145 | |
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Edit: Two different projects. Still an interesting request even though dial swapping (even between references) isn’t anything new. :)
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1 October 2020, 06:38 PM | #146 |
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I have been a keen follower on this site for a little while ,and am happy to be learning..it seems to me that early vintage watches with radium or tritium lume on dials,have not held up the best over time..the lume seems to have a corrosive side effect let alone break down over time..therefore I believe that if someone has the talent to rejuvenate these old watches,making them look glorious again,that is desirable in my view..it shouldn't be disguised though. Deception is
Not an envious quality imho. |
1 October 2020, 06:56 PM | #147 |
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Having read this saga , it would be most interesting to find who actually did the relume work , and then to understand their level of activity in this work. The relume is pretty damm good and its a worry so many watches will be out there with similar work .
I also finding it hard to believe a dealer would take back in a full set 1675 Gilt and not check it over especially when it originally had such a poor lume job in the beginning and youd be thinking about how to sell an obvious stand out relumed piece and move on. or maybe youd be looking at other options.... |
1 October 2020, 08:17 PM | #148 |
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Thank goodness for TRF and people like @watchknut to be able to shine a light on this activity and bring it out into the open. It looks like TRF was able to tease out most of the salient facts for readers to form their own judgement.
I suppose nothing should surprise me anymore... It does make me reassess who I buy my vintage Rolex from. |
1 October 2020, 08:21 PM | #149 | |
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So who owned the watch before you Michael? Are you going to get your money back?
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You buy a watch, you log the serial and information, you sell the watch. If the watch is ever offered to you again you do a quick search and you have your information within seconds. I don't get you. |
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1 October 2020, 10:51 PM | #150 | |
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So you have known him since he was 12? Because he’s 22 years old now... |
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