MilDiver
847
Julian covered it well, I'll add my 2c.
Papers - its difficult to come by with. I'll not waste time over it. an archive is the way. (500SFR and few weeks).
As a general rule of thumb, unless a watch is described as NOS, and it is proven to be like that, I don't trust professional sellers' description (dealers, auction houses etc), I've learned that most of the time they use wording to highlight the best, ignoring the bad, and remove all legal responsibility from them.
I usually "calculate" a needed service by Patek into the price I'm willing to pay. ~1500-2000$ on avg for a Calatrava by Patek HQ.
Originality above all, and the dial (and hands) are the rarest item to fix / restore. so, on all watches my go/no go is the dial condition.
An amazing journey you got, good luck.
💰1731 Marketplace Listings for Patek Philippe›Patek Philippe Calatrava · 2 for sale · 8381 discussions›
Vintage Patek Collecting
Hi all, been a while but thought I popped in and get some much needed advice from this crew. I have spent a long time reading and enjoying learning more and more about Patekās history, Rolex history, general watch history, and movements history. For me it...
Good luck Its along road ahead
Like Cozmopak I also value originality and condition. Be aware that condition is very subjective and one man original may be someone eels redial or polished case or cleaned up dial Do not be in a rush to buy. There is always another piece down the line if...
9-90 is a beast!
Thanks much. Early on, I totally ate up all I could on the 9-90 and the shaped watches they made. So so cool. Love that 9-90 movement and the finger bridges! Honestly was going to go for a 9-90 at one point but the allure of the sweep seconds took over. T...
Julian covered it well, I'll add my 2c.
Papers - its difficult to come by with. I'll not waste time over it. an archive is the way. (500SFR and few weeks). As a general rule of thumb, unless a watch is described as NOS, and it is proven to be like that, I don't trust professional sellers' descr...
Everything has been said I would say. Regarding the size, I will share my own experience, my 1st (serious) watch was an IWC Portuguieser Rattrapante (42.9mm) diameter and for years could not imagine myself with less than 40mm...
Then I fell into vintage watches and bought a GP Gyromatic which was only 33mm ! I started wearing it even though I did not like the size, and after some time and many other vintages ranging from 32.5 to 35mm now I love them and could not consider an "ele...
Good luck with hunting for vintage Pateks ! My PuristS friends tell me that they represent a very
DEEP rabbit š° hole ! š¤£. Lot of fun that is. Please share wrist shots soon !
Conditionā¦Conditionā¦Conditionā¦ These are the 3 most important factors for me in buying a vintage watch but of course there is MUCH more to it than that.
You are at the start of an incredible journey. And you are certainly off to the right start by focusing on researching and learning. Knowledge truly is power. While I am generally not one to offer advice to anyone as to how they should do something I am h...
You are very welcome and thank you for your kind words of appreciation. I forget to include one very important factor which is ā¦
8) I will not buy a watch without supporting paperwork, either a Certificate, an Extract or both. And the description must accurately describe the watch. Eg, if the Extract says black dial and the dial is silver I know the dial has been replaced and will ...
Originality + Condition.
Try to see these in person before you spend your hard earned money. If you can, take time off to see these in the flesh. Go to auction previews. There are not a lot of vintage trade shows, but there are some. Schedule an appointment with a dealer and meet...