Fratello On Air: Questionable Vintage Watches

Welcome back to another episode of Fratello On Air. In this episode, we stray from our original topic and discuss questionable vintage watches. Lately, too many questionable watches have received universal praise from "noted experts." We get on topic after approximately 15 minutes.

Sorry for the aberration. We both love watches from brands that are non-mainstream. This means that shady activity is often afoot from unscrupulous vintage dealers. Ingrain yourself within a community and quickly find out what's correct and what isn't. Hear about watches that have been passed around for years, but somehow find a home with an unsuspecting buyer.

Handgelenkskontrolle

Before we get cranky, it's time to discuss the Handgelenkskontrolle. Mike is wearing his VPC Type 37HW Dove Grey. The watch just arrived, and it's fantastic! Balazs is still under the weather and is wearing his stunning new Angelus Chrono-Datoluxe.

Questionable vintage watches and dealers who need to disclose

We're not sure what put a bur under the collective saddles of our hosts. We started the show discussing an Angelus 250 that Mike bought and had delivered to Balazs. Balazs has an incredible spreadsheet of serial numbers, photos, and dial types. With this, he provided a bill of clean health before Mike bought it. Another Angelus 250 popped up on eBay, and Balazs checked the serial number. Someone, along the way, changed the dial and polished the case. This leads to a discussion about vintage dealers and a recent Movado Celestograph that sold in France for an eye-watering sum of €10,000. Unfortunately, the watch lacks a bezel, but many dealers and "experts" commented on its beauty. Further research revealed that this watch was offered to many collectors and dealers before finally falling into the hands of an unsuspecting buyer. To be fair, the watches simply needed more disclosure to allow fair consideration.

We hope you enjoy today's episode. Next week, we'll begin our year-end and holiday topics. If you have any suggestions for future shows, let us know!