Is a heavily engraved case back an issue?

[RogerOP]

I have been looking for a 9 or 18k 1500 for a while and I came across a decent one online.

I don't mind sharing the lot on eBay as I am still not sure if I am going to bid on it, but does the fact it has a large case engraving affect the price?

At the moment it is around £2700 with no bidders, and I am not sure if it has a reserve.

[Old Expat Beast]

It might take a bit off, but to me it makes it more interesting than an anonymous piece. I'd be Googling the original owner and company names.

[Pete_mcC]

I love the engraving, adds real character & history and shows it’s a nice, honest, genuine watch (who would fake that).

It will suppress the price a little, but if it bothers you then The Watch Polisher is based in Dulwich and could laser weld that and recut easily. His work is superb and prices are very reasonable.

[RogerOP]

Oh wow I didn't expect anyone to reply just yet! Thanks for the info.

Yeah I am interested in knowing the history so I'll do some Googling.

Here is the link to the full lot on the Bay: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/364110584610

Any red flags?

[Pete_mcC]

The only thing I see, and I would rely more on experts here than me, is the worn circle on the case back suggests an issue with the rotor. It may have been a historical issue and may be fixed now. Again, I’m not an expert so may be talking out of my hat and I don’t know if that circle is actually a feature of these watches….

[Dan S]

It's just personal taste when it comes to a personalized engraving like that one. It might make it slightly harder to sell overall, but many people (including me) are totally fine with them. The reason that nobody is bidding IMO is that it's a 9k "gold" 34mm date without a bracelet with some spotting on the dial, and the starting price is more than a rational person would pay. The listing talks a lot about "solid gold" and compares to the price of a new gold Rolex, but 9k doesn't have much intrinsic value and is not really considered gold by most people TBH. Nothing wrong with the watch, it's the price. I'm sure it would be appealing on the wrist, and the dial would look fine from a distance.

[CTech]

I think Dan is correct in that the initial bid for this watch is too high at US$3400. A better looking 18ct version on a leather strap is available for about US$4000 so, in my opinion, a 9ct presentation watch should be around US$2800 to US$3000, or around GBP2400 to GBP2500.

The dial is not attractive, a lot of people do not like the dauphine hands and the 9ct (0.375 gold content) alloy cannot be sold as gold in the US, so overall it is not a viable proposition for most buyers.

The only good thing about presentation watches like this one is that they were nearly always sold on a leather strap and so there are no wear marks on the back of the lugs from the end links of a bracelet.

Rolex discontinued the use of dauphine hands on watches for sale through the normal retail channels in 1964 so this one is a bit of an anomaly in that it has the earlier design of hands but has London hallmarks for 1966/67 and also has a 1966 inscription.

[baumare]

Nice to read so many info in just few post, and I agree with all have been said.
As personal taste I actually like engraving on the case back, makes me even more curious about the past of the watch, but I think there are some difference on the meaning and especially on the engraving style, and I don’t find this one very appealing

[NickD1975]

For the US guys posting about the price, US prices do not equal UK prices, plus any tax is already included in the listed price.

I wish we could get used watches for the prices they go for in other countries, but that generally isn't the case, and we'd pay 20% plus more if importing.

To the OPs question, it wouldn't put me off necessarily, but it would always feel a bit like I was wearing someone else's watch.

[Nickn]

Engraving on watch backs doesn’t normally bother me but as been said make them harder to sell on
I once bought a 9ct gold 6605 with an inscription that was very deep and ugly
A few weeks after the purchase a back appeared on eBay with a buy it now price of £300
Or a good jeweller could flood the engraving
The watch is back on eBay with a buy it now of £2950 !

[Dan S]

Originally Posted by NickD1975

For the US guys posting about the price, US prices do not equal UK prices, plus any tax is already included in the listed price.

I wish we could get used watches for the prices they go for in other countries, but that generally isn't the case, and we'd pay 20% plus more if importing.

To the OPs question, it wouldn't put me off necessarily, but it would always feel a bit like I was wearing someone else's watch.

Well, it doesn't appear that we were wrong about the opening bid price being too high on the OP listing.

More broadly, I read this claim about UK market values quite often, and can't really verify it based on my own observations, at least in the context of collectible vintage watches. Perhaps retail asking prices are higher in the UK, I don't know. And maybe it is a smaller market so you need to be more patient with respect to uncommon vintage watches coming to market at fair prices. But I follow UK auctions as well, and I don't find the actual hammer prices to be as different as people often claim. In fact, I have made some good buys in UK auctions.

[NickD1975]

It’s not even uncommon watches - take a 16600 for example. Average price on C24 £8,500 or so, US and Japanese listings starting at £6-7k, the cheapest U.K. one is over £8.6k.

Sure, the values are overstated on C24 but the percentage differences still stand.

And it is (used) retail prices I’m commenting on. With auctions you may well be right. I don’t watch them closely enough to know. I’d be interested if auction prices have changed much post Brexit, it makes buying used goods outside the U.K. a no go for me now due to the amount of tax and duty I’d have to pay.

[Ironworker]

I would think an engraving like that is part of the allure of a vintage piece

[Stan Cooper]

I think it depends on the watch, what's engraved, and the buyer.

I purchased this Sterling cased 1915 Rolex trench watch last year, and even though I have no idea who "Mr. G. O. Brown" was, which U.K. "St. Andrew's Church Congregation" awarded the watch to Mr. Brown in 1918, or why the congregation deemed Mr. Brown was deserving of this very nice gift, but to me it actually added value to the watch.

[baumare]

Originally Posted by Stan Cooper

I think it depends on the watch, what's engraved, and the buyer.

I purchased this Sterling cased 1915 Rolex trench watch last year, and even though I have no idea who "Mr. G. O. Brown" was, which U.K. "St. Andrew's Church Congregation" awarded the watch to Mr. Brown in 1918, or why the congregation deemed Mr. Brown was deserving of this very nice gift, but to me it actually added value to the watch.

That's an interesting and well done engraving!

[Paul]

1918 was very late in WW1 of course but an engraved watch was quite a common gift for a (usually) young man
heading off to war. Here in New Zealand, watches regularly pop up with engravings dated around the years of WW1, and less occassionally WW2, often with the best wishes from sports clubs and similar. Late in the WW1 years was when we first saw men wearing wrist watches too, rather than pocket watches also making for a popular fashionable gift . I think it's kinda sad that these nice personalised keepsakes sometimes get sold off by subsequent generations but it happens.

Originally Posted by Stan Cooper

I think it depends on the watch, what's engraved, and the buyer.

I purchased this Sterling cased 1915 Rolex trench watch last year, and even though I have no idea who "Mr. G. O. Brown" was, which U.K. "St. Andrew's Church Congregation" awarded the watch to Mr. Brown in 1918, or why the congregation deemed Mr. Brown was deserving of this very nice gift, but to me it actually added value to the watch.

[Jdslay]

Originally Posted by RogerOP

I have been looking for a 9 or 18k 1500 for a while and I came across a decent one online.

I don't mind sharing the lot on eBay as I am still not sure if I am going to bid on it, but does the fact it has a large case engraving affect the price?

At the moment it is around £2700 with no bidders, and I am not sure if it has a reserve.

Have to imagine it's a turn off for most people, but I think with a vintage watch anyway, it only adds to the character of the piece and makes it even more unique.