Caveman's Watch Forum
Avatar Is Happy Day! The vintage Bucherer automatic has arrived.
Ricky Lee
February 10, 2009 09:25PM		 Registered: April 2005
Posts: 1,740 (2009-02)

Got the watch on Monday afternoon and, while I pretty much had this report ready to go last night, I decided to sleep on it before posting it. Why? Well, frankly I was initially a bit disappointed with the Bucherer. Biggest problem was the strap - without a doubt the lowest-quality most foul piece of feces I've ever seen. Scary! But, of course, I'm interested in the watch, not the strap, so I'm over that now. I am smiling...

Still, even discounting the execrable affixment, there are some niggles. The one that caught my eye first are some scratches on the crystal;

Click HERE for larger photo or HERE for supersized photo


The worst one is just barely visible at 7 o'clock in the above photo, and there are several others near the center of of the crystal. Indeed, there are so many light scratches on the crystal that they show up in the photo as a kind of a general "haze". No big deal, though - it's an acrylic crystal, so with a little elbow grease I'm sure it will polish up very nicely.

On the bright side, I'm quite pleased with the condition of the dial and hands. Mind you, the "Bucherer" and "Automatic" text could be more crisply wrought. It looks OK to the naked eye, but under the loupe (and in the XL photos) it's something less than laser-sharp. I've got Alphas that have much crisper printing! I am confused... On the other hand, the Bucherer logo appliqué is exquisite, even under the loupe, and the glossy black dial paint seems yards deep. Thumbs Up! And, while it's not readily apparent in the photo (that darned hazy crystal), the indices and hands are quite nice, too.

Another big plus is that I did get the good movement..

Click HERE for larger photo or HERE for supersized photo


..the adjusted 25J auto, Bucherer-branded. Yippee! WIS honeymoon And, while it's not quite what I'd call "mint", it is..

Click HERE for larger photo or HERE for supersized photo


..a very clean movement. Thumbs Up! One minor disappointment here is that the caseback gasket is well and truly shot. Scary! Thankfully, while there's a bit of corrosion around the periphery of the gasket channel, it appears that there was little if any any moisture penetration. Given the age of the watch, I hoped to see at least one service date inside the caseback..

Click HERE for larger photo


..but, alas, this is not the case. Which doesn't mean that it's never been serviced, of course. Again, given the vintage, I'm betting that it has had a COA at some point, and the watchmaker simply didn't mark the caseback. Can't blame me for hoping to see a recent date, though! Wink, wink ... One nice touch on the caseback is the "accordion" style spacer/washer - very effective, and something I've seen only once before. The business end of the caseback is quite nice..

Click HERE for larger photo or HERE for supersized photo


..though it could use a good going over with a Cape Cod cloth. As could the case itself, come to that. Though there are no major dings or dents, there's a plenitude of fine scratches, and one pinhead-sized ding on the side of the case that probably won't polish out, at least not easily. Put it this way..

Click HERE for larger photo or HERE for supersized photo


..had I been the seller, I would not have described the case as "unmarred". That's much too strong a term, implying a level of pristine perfection this watch, nice as it is, does not possess. That's the biggest bother to me, I reckon - the fact that the seller overstated the condition of the watch, albeit not outrageously. When I hear "beautiful condition", I expect a much cleaner crystal, for instance. Heck, he even described it as having a "17J movement" Crazy, man! which is just plain erroneous. Mind you, I'm glad he was mistaken on that point Laughing! and, indeed, was rather counting on it. Wink, wink ...

One thing he didn't exaggerate, thank goodness, was that it's "keeping very accurate time". I synched it to the Mondaine GMT quartz last night, and after 12 hours it checked +4 seconds. Very nearly within COSC specs, so I'm well pleased on that score. And, it must be said, the signed crown is much better than I expected. His photo was ever so slightly out of focus, so I expected it to have significant wear. In fact, it's still very crisp and cleanly formed - one of the nicest crowns in my collection, actually.

So.. all in all, I'm pretty darned happy with this one. WIS honeymoon I reckon I was wise to "sleep" on the review, or I'd have been overly harsh on both watch and seller. Oops! My goof! For, in the end, none of the "issues" is a deal-breaker. After investing an hour or two of sweat equity, this should be an honest 90% watch. Heck, I could probably flip this thing on eFlay as-is for at least a 50% profit, right now. Wink, wink ... Not that I would! Laughing! No, methinks this one's going to be a keeper. Thumbs Up!

Thanks for lookin' y'all.

-Ricky


It's a happy day today. The new watch arrived! The vintage Bucherer automatic has arrived. Post contains photo(s) Post contains linked URL(s) (views:109)
Ricky Lee -- February 10, 2009 09:25PM
Wow. That is superb Ricky. Love those vintage Bucherers... (views: 4)
Kelly -- February 12, 2009 05:31PM
Like the new ones too. Congrats. You'll be the only one on the block with a Bucherer that's for sure.
Looks pretty good for its age, Ricky >>  (views: 1)
Chance -- February 11, 2009 04:36PM
I can't remember what you said you paid for it, but I know YOU certainly wouldn't pay but so much. Wink, wink ... So it's fair to say the price was right.

Looks to me like it's been redialed at some point. Whomever did it probably pulled the logo and the indices and replaced them once the dial was repainted. I only guess at that because of the difference in the shape of the R's in "BUCHERER" and the irregular spacing of the hash marks around the edge of the dial. Still, it's not bad looking at all...I've seen some older watches with redial jobs that were truly atrocious, much much worse than this.

If it keeps running as well as you say it is, then you did fine indeed. Congratulations!
Thank You Very Much Colby! (views: 3)
Ricky Lee -- February 12, 2009 10:30PM
    Quote
    Chance
    Looks to me like it's been redialed at some point.

Yeah, I suspect you're right. In addition to the artifacts you describe, there's also a bit of 'dishing' in the paint immediately surrounding the indices. It's as if they were set in place while the paint was still tacky. A very subtle thing, and only visible at all from just the right angle and with the light just so.. but it's definitely there.

    Quote
    Chance
    Still, it's not bad looking at all...I've seen some older watches with redial jobs that were truly atrocious, much much worse than this.

Same here. Heck, I've seen other Swiss watches from the era that had less-than-razor-sharp OEM text on the dial. My own Erdi, for instance. Or a better example might be the Eza movement I used in my DIY watch (OK, it's German.. I am smiling... but still).

    Quote
    Chance
    If it keeps running as well as you say it is, then you did fine indeed. Congratulations!

It is indeed still keeping excellent time.. {checks} Call it +20 seconds after 3 days. Hard to beat that. Wink, wink ...

-Ricky

All in all I think you a sweet old Bucherer Ricky,congrats! Thumbs Up! (n/t) (views: 3)
Bock -- February 11, 2009 11:46AM
Oops ... my mistake! you *got*,of course I am smiling... (n/t) (views: 2)
Bock -- February 11, 2009 11:47AM
U not a sweet old Bucherer! Rolling on the floor laughing my a$$ off! Laughing! (n/t) (views: 1)
Bock -- February 11, 2009 11:50AM
My Bucherer says congrats! I'll drink to that! Cheers! Post contains photo(s) (views: 6)
Thorax -- February 11, 2009 05:52AM
Photo by Thorax

Good deal. Congrats! Thumbs Up! Thumbs Up! (n/t) (views: 3)
Dave Murphy -- February 11, 2009 02:21AM
I give it my approval Ricky, regardless of your buzz-kill issues. I am smiling... (views: 8)
Chris L -- February 11, 2009 01:19AM
I fully see your point about the condition not being accurately described. That's not the watch's fault so much as the seller's.

An honest review of the watch in my eyes: A nice vintage watch working very well, with only exterior cosmetic defects that can be cleaned up pretty easily. The dial printing issue is not that uncommon for watches of decades past either.

After you polish up the crystal and case, we want to see some pics paired with the Bucherer spoon.

I'm impressed -- understated elegance. Congrats! Thumbs Up! Thumbs Up! (views: 3)
Paul76 -- February 10, 2009 11:47PM
Looks pretty good, Ricky, you shouldn't complain too much for the price.... (views: 10)
MCV -- February 10, 2009 11:16PM
BTW, the biggest POS strap I ever encountered was on a brand new Limes I ended up returning. Total piece of crap, with glue streaks everywhere, lousy quality leather, etc. The entire watch was crap as well and that's when I took Limes off my list forever.

Sorry to digress, just wanted to add my opinion.

-Marc
Yeah, I know 'twas a good deal at the price I paid. Maybe I'm just gettin' picky in me dotage... Post contains photo(s) (views: 9)
Ricky Lee -- February 11, 2009 12:43AM
..but, bottom line, when you describe a watch as "beautiful condition" and "unmarred case", it ought to look a little better'n this one did. I am sad...

Truth to tell, the thing that really chaps my nether cheeks is that this is the first watch I've ever purchased through TimeZone, and I was let down. Let Down gently, yes, but still Let Down. I mean, TZ, being TZ.. well, I guess perhaps their "legendary" rep caused me to place too much faith in the seller's description. I am sad...

Am I the only one that finds irony in the fact that we must assign a 'TimeZone Rating' to all watches offered on the Sales Corner, yet on the actual TZ Sales Forum you can simply say "beautiful condition, unmarred case" with no specific TZ Rating specified? Crazy, man!

I dunno. All's I'm sayin', The Dude abides..., is that I've sourced three watches through the PMSC, via direct purchase and trade. And all 3 exceeded my expectations. Thumbs Up! I buy ONE from the TZ sales forum, and it's borderline. Scary!

Coincidence?

You decide. But this may well be the last watch I ever buy off TZ's sales forum. I just ain't that much of a gambler, ya know? Plus, something in my nature just rebels at the snobbish, holier-than-thou and, apparently crooked nature of the place. Piss on 'em.

-Ricky

I feel your TZ pain, Ricky... (views: 1)
Chance -- February 11, 2009 04:31PM
deceived and attempted to fleece me was when I purchased a Sumo from a seller on the TimeZone Sales Corner. He flat-out overstated the condition of the watch, and when I called him on it he insulted me and implied I was the deadbeat, refusing to offer any relief or compensation for HIS error. Luckily, I was able to HONESTLY relist the watch mere hours after receiving it, as well as the additional bands he threw in (a gesture I later should have correctly interpreted as a red flag for the whole transaction), and lose just a few bucks in the process. Still, the arrogance and behavior of that clown was something I NEVER would expect--and haven't to date encountered--from folks doing business on PMWF's sales forums. When I have encountered issues with purchases made from sellers on PMWF, I have been greeted with understanding, compassion and a willingness to make the buyer--me--happy.

"Caveat Emptor" are DEFINITELY words to live by when shopping TZ's Sales Corner.

Very nice, I like it! (n/t) (views: 3)
FloridaSam -- February 10, 2009 10:56PM
I like it. Thumbs Up! (n/t) (views: 3)
DanB -- February 10, 2009 09:57PM
NICE vintage Ricky! Thumbs Up! I am smiling... (n/t) (views: 3)
cmoy -- February 10, 2009 09:36PM
Looks nice Ricky, congrats on that score. Sounds like you did OK. (n/t) (views: 5)
Mark C. -- February 10, 2009 09:33PM
Nice! Congrats! (n/t) (views: 3)
Micha -- February 10, 2009 09:28PM


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