Ebay "IWC" Vintage Wristwatches

[BeefSteak]

This particular seller is liquidating what appear to be 'large century old IWC wrist watches' typically for under $1000 with completely bogus movements. He has over 3000 feedback comments... how is he getting away with it? Enjoy. 

 

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mens-RARE-1892-IWC-INTERNATIONAL-WATCH-Co-SCHAFFHAUSEN-Vintage-Watch-CALIBER-52-/360610081461?pt=Pocket_Watches&hash=item53f6092ab5

[lhooq]

I always wonder how many of those bidders are shills, and how many are actual suckers.

 

Ooh!  Check out this hilarious "Longines Ingenieur": http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mens-MASCULINE-1889-LONGINES-FACTORY-Vintage-AMAZING-Watch-ENGINEERING-DESIGN-/140927493708?pt=Pocket_Watches&hash=item20cfeee64c

[BeefSteak]

yikes

[panerai153]

look at where the seller is from!!! These old watches are all over Ebay. usually coming from Eastern Europe. What these guys are doing is taking old pocket watch movements (There must be millions old of unused pocket watches lying around). they decase the movements, and since most of the cases are either silver od gold, they melt the cases down for scrap. Putthe movement in a new case, a new dial with a famous watch company's logo and lettering and sell it on ebay to unsuspecting folks who think theyare gettin a genuine IWC. Patek, etc. for pennies on the dollar. They are pretty straight forward and honest that these are "marriage" watches. Not much of a bargain as they are all huge, impossible to waterproof, pretty difficult to find parts if a movement problem occurs, I bought one years ago, never ran, sent it off to a watchmaker and he basically told me to throw it away, it wasn't worth fixing.

[lhooq]

They are pretty straight forward and honest that these are "marriage" watches.

 

It wasn't always so.  The little blurb about marriage watches at the top of the item description is a relatively new development.  Until recently, it was up to the bidder to sift through the long, flowery text filled with photos and cut-and-pasted history lessons about the brand.  Even then, there was no guarantee that the seller would mention that the case/dial/most parts were modern replacements. 

 

Even with the definition of a "marriage watch" up top, and an itemization of the watch's components, these sellers are targeting low-information watch enthusiasts who have little to no idea about what they're looking at.  They look at a something that appears appropriately vintage to them (it staggers the mind sometimes), and think, "Hey, I know that brand!  Maybe  I could actually snag this honest-to-goodness antique for less than a thousand.  Why, the bizarrely heated bidding hasn't even cleared $600 with a day to go!"

 

For example, how can the following be considered anything but deceptive: "I proudly offer for sale this REGULATEUR timepiece example made by Omega Factory with TWO separate dials, ORIGINAL SIGNED by OMEGA CASE and original pocket watch CLEAN HIGH GRADE MECHANISM with CHATON of REGULATION SCREWS in RED GOLD, BI-METALLIC MICROMETER REGULATOR & BLUE BREGUET BALANCE SPRING." (171002216925)

 

Omega never made a regulateur--ever.  Yet somehow Ukrainian sellers have sold hundreds (thousands?) in the last few years.

[fraggle42]

Any EBay auction that is a private auction (one where you can't see the bidders at all) I always avoid like the plague!

 

99% or 100% of the bids will be shill bids.

 

I have to laugh at the bar poking out the side of the watch that you have to pull out to set the time. Just a bit of bent steel with absolutely nothing holding it in!

 

And that "Longines Ingenieur", isn't that a big crack running along one side of the movement? And it looks like an automatic winder has gone walkies too.