Thoughts on this 6694?

[vintagewaferthin]

Considering this black dial 6694. The black dial seems quite hard to find for these. Any red flags?

https://theclockmanfullerton.com/col...products/r0356

[Mark020]

The price

[offrdmania]

4 grand for a basic entry level 2 grand watch. Ouch. Those prices are 2 years too late.
A lot of fake dials on that site. I would avoid. Who knows how many other aftermarket parts were used.

[winst]

Way overpriced with a 7835 folded bracelet and not the later solid link 78350.

[hayza]

Legit. With other parts though.

[vintagewaferthin]

Thanks all for the opinions/advice. Going to pass on this one. Any thoughts on the best sites to look around for one of these (that's not priced ridiculously high and is in decent shape)?

Most of the ones I see either have a silver dial, or a refinished dial unfortunately. The silver isn't bad, but since I already have a silver Air King, it would sort of feel like having two of the same watch. The black with the steel markers is rather striking.

[offrdmania]

6694s were made in such abundance, dont worry about the color of the dial, just find a nice overall watch. Dials are everywhere. Dials pop up on eBay all the time and any competent watchmaker can swap out a dial.

Just be careful and find a genuine dial. There are many fakes.

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fro...+dial&_sacat=0

[vintagewaferthin]

Originally Posted by offrdmania

6694s were made in such abundance, dont worry about the color of the dial, just find a nice overall watch. Dials are everywhere. Dials pop up on eBay all the time and any competent watchmaker can swap out a dial.

Just be careful and find a genuine dial. There are many fakes.

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fro...+dial&_sacat=0

True. Ive seen a few (already sold) examples with a black service dial and hands which look great. Half tempted to get a beat up one and give it the RSC treatment.

[winst]

Originally Posted by vintagewaferthin

True. Ive seen a few (already sold) examples with a black service dial and hands which look great. Half tempted to get a beat up one and give it the RSC treatment.

A word of warning, if you want to do that through RSC only buy one with a 1225 movement on NOT a 1215. 1225 Service with new Dial & Hands is about £1250 BUT a 1210 Service is classed as Vintage, so with new Dial & Hands it would be close to £3000. Also, they will only service a watch with an original bracelet that they class as in good condition or otherwise you will have to pay an additional £900 for a 78350 Service Bracelet! I speak from first hand experience having had 2 6426’s restored by RSC last year which use the same base Caliber, Case and Bracelet.

[vintagewaferthin]

Ironically I came accross this one: service dial and hands, with the service card. Any thoughts? Price seems a tad high for one on a rivet bracelet with service parts, but I have to say I do like the look of the "fresh" service dial. Thoughts?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/18671555588...3Avlp_homepage

[Ricardo77]

A word of warning, if you want to do that through RSC only buy one with a 1225 movement on NOT a 1215.

Good advice!
Slower beat 1215 (18000bph) vs 1225 (21600bph) escapement parts are getting hard to find and high $$. I found out the hard way.

BUT a 1210 Service is classed as Vintage, so with new Dial & Hands it would be close to £3000.

My 6694 is serial number Rxxx and is in essentially same as new condition. I bet RWC Service would try to charge 'vintage price' on it too and an Rxxx serial number is really not that old.
For many reasons, I get a bad feeling on their 'vintage service' prices. I vote for a trusted indie for service.

I paid $925US OTD for my 6694 new in box from an AD so a $3k service is out of the question, even at today's inflated prices. Iirc, that was the list price at the time, and it had been at the AD for quite a while.

Word of caution...there are a lot of vintage watches for sale that look very good on the outside but can have moderate to severe case corrosion, especially around the case back gasket area. Beware if pics do not show the watch with the case back removed and ask for a pic with the CB gasket removed to see if the back is corroded.

[Ricardo77]

Made a mistake:
Serial number is 882xxxx. Purchased in June 1989.
Memory ain't what it used to be...

[vintagewaferthin]

Originally Posted by Ricardo77

A word of warning, if you want to do that through RSC only buy one with a 1225 movement on NOT a 1215.

Good advice!
Slower beat 1215 (18000bph) vs 1225 (21600bph) escapement parts are getting hard to find and high $$. I found out the hard way.

BUT a 1210 Service is classed as Vintage, so with new Dial & Hands it would be close to £3000.

My 6694 is serial number Rxxx and is in essentially same as new condition. I bet RWC Service would try to charge 'vintage price' on it too and an Rxxx serial number is really not that old.
For many reasons, I get a bad feeling on their 'vintage service' prices. I vote for a trusted indie for service.

I paid $925US OTD for my 6694 new in box from an AD so a $3k service is out of the question, even at today's inflated prices. Iirc, that was the list price at the time, and it had been at the AD for quite a while.

Word of caution...there are a lot of vintage watches for sale that look very good on the outside but can have moderate to severe case corrosion, especially around the case back gasket area. Beware if pics do not show the watch with the case back removed and ask for a pic with the CB gasket removed to see if the back is corroded.

Thanks for the info. My 5500 Air King had/has a similar issue. The original Ebay listing photos (back in 2016 when I bought it) showed the movement and caseback, but I somehow did not notice the pitting/corrosion on the case lip. I ended up bringing it to RSC in NYC to get a service estimate (gave authenticity peace of mind as well). They obviously noted the corrosion and would only service it if I let them replace the entire mid case. Obviously, I declined as a new mid case would have made it no longer feel like the same watch. Grand Central Watch later did the service and was able to make it water resistance fortunately.