It's already been polished poorly… Refinish?

[TimeLord2]

Curious what the forum members think. My watch has clearly be "polished" and not well. From a purely collectors stand point, there are already problems. No papers, and no receipt from Tiffany & Co.—whatever… I'm not selling it, as it is a gift from my Dad. This is a purely an aesthetics question. Since the polish is less than satisfactory, would you just say WTF and go with a little sympathetic laser welding around the lug holes and some of the deeper dents plus refinishing to reconfirm the chamfers and what not? Or just leave well enough alone? I am inclined to have it refinished but I am curious how much this triggers the WIS mentality and if there would still be a consideration to not polish even if the deed has already been done—and again, poorly. Thank you all for your comments. BTW I can still see some remnants of the original chamfers. Lastly, I did just recently have it serviced by Philip Ridley and he has offered to refinish the case. I am extremely tempted to bring it back to a very new (looking!) case configuration. What say you? BTW in addition to the e service I recently grabbed a new insert (and kept the original! Yes I did. And that, through the RSC.)

[Andad]

Looks ok to me.

End link looks different in those two pix?

[MrGoat]

I’m no expert but I think the case looks alright. No one notices that your watch has been polished except some on this forum. I’d keep the case as is and enjoy the gift from your daddy.


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[rmurphy]

I also think that it looks good but I’m also the guy that wants my vintage watch to look as brand new as it possibly can. I have a vintage Datejust that I pamper for this very reason. Now I’m not using cape cod clothes and such, nor would I ever but I wouldn’t hesitate to laser weld and have the chamfers recut if I had a watch that had chamfers. I’m all for doing whatever you want to do to a watch that you love, especially if it means that you’ll love it even more. I wouldn’t hesitate to recondition my Datejust, especially seeing as how I want my 6 1/2 year old daughter to keep it when she’s grown up. Well I rambled on a bit but you can clearly see I’m glad that these cases are able to be refinished to such a high level.


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[Dan S]

I've had watches refinished, but they were in worse shape than yours. But really my opinion is irrelevant. I say do whatever will make you enjoy the watch more; the threshold is different for each person.

[mineral]

I won’t be worried with the current case condition and look ok still. Once you refinish the case and you know it is not original case anymore. However it is really personal taste but for purists we really value the original condition than the refinish like new one.

I hope you keep it as it is


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[Dr.Smellody]

I would not touch it! Beautiful piece.

[Onequik135i]

I would leave it alone. Doesn’t look that bad overall.

[brandrea]

If you do choose to have it done your in good hands with PR

[1665fan]

Leave it alone…..

[Oyster Perp]

Your choice entirely. If it was my choice I'd leave as is and wear the memories.

[JustinK]

Looks good to me, I would let it be.

[GoingPlaces]

I'd leave it alone.

[joli160]

I doubt it needs any welding. Holes look good, lugs plenty fat, not much wrong with it. A sympathic polish would be enough to have it shine and luster imho

[fmc000]

I will do it. Those badly polished lugs would bother me much.

[dhknola]

Leave it be, looks amazing to me!

[Verdi]

Leave it as it is and enjoy it!

[TimeLord2]

Thank you for all the responses. I go back and forth on this issue…

[Ferrari308]

Leave it - I think it is a fantastic piece just as it is!!!



PDG

[charlitos]

Dont touch

[MorningTundra]

That has not been “poorly” or “badly” polished. It’s in good shape for being half a century old.

[winst]

Looks great to me for its age and would no doubt look great on your wrist as opposed to looking at it with enlarged pictures.

[drockadam]

Looks gorgeous to me! Enjoy it and keep it the way it is.

[zapokee]

Originally Posted by MorningTundra

That has not been “poorly” or “badly” polished. It’s in good shape for being half a century old.

Agree. It's not bad at all.

There's plenty of meat on that case, and there are visible original chamfers. It doesn't need anything. Wear and enjoy.

[SAAS]

Looks ok to me but no harm correctly polishing a case that’s already been polished.

[Wahlberg]

Originally Posted by fmc000

I will do it. Those badly polished lugs would bother me much.

How is this badly polished?

I can show you worse examples. What are those then?

[fmc000]

Originally Posted by Wahlberg

How is this badly polished?

I can show you worse examples. What are those then?

The one at 7 o'clock IMHO.

[TimeLord2]

Thank you all very much for your responses. To be honest, it never bothered me until I joined this forum. I’m sure many of you will not find that surprising. Hahahaha! Most likely will leave it as is for now. Again, thank you all for sharing your opinions.

[MorningTundra]

Originally Posted by TimeLord2

...it never bothered me until I joined this forum...

It's all too easy to become hyper-critical as you learn about the minute details. While it's true that condition is important, most of us are collecting in the "middle market" and own pieces of average condition. With time you'll learn to tune out often overly harsh criticisms. You have a nice GMT - enjoy it!