Svend Andersen Triple Calendar Moonphase Purchase

Mkt33 recounts a challenging online watch purchase that took an unexpected turn, highlighting the risks of buying from unverified resellers. His experience with a Svend Andersen triple calendar moonphase watch underscores the importance of due diligence and the invaluable support from the watchmaking community, including Mr. Andersen himself.

I'm not sure about all of you but I've not had much success purchasing watches off EBay.

I've been burned twice by small brick and mortar resellers who sent me malfunctioning watches.  Each time it took a few months to resolve the issues and after the second time, I swore I would never buy another watch off the site.  I've been able to keep this promise for the past five years.

However a few months ago I noticed an auction for an older Svend Andersen watch, a triple calendar moonphase with a flyback function for the date.  I've always had a soft spot for Mr. Andersen's watches.  This started many years ago after reading an interview on ThePuristS by Thomas and Curtis:

http://www.thepurists.com/watch/features/interviews/andersenoct01/

Since that time I've been lucky enough to own another Andersen Geneve but the watch up for bidding was one of his earlier models.  This was important for me because at that time, Mr. Andersen was known as the "Master of Calendars" and not for his erotic automaton watches.  In fact it reminded me of a piece unique minute repeater which was made for Lord Arran.

A quick search showed minimal information but I was lucky to find another example in Antiquorum's database.

 I did my research on the reseller, a business which had a rather savvy online presence.  They seemed legit. Yet the communication was spotty and they were slow to respond to questions.  That should have been the first warning sign. 

They said the movement was serviced by their onsite watchmaker but when I spoke with this watchmaker he misidentified the movement.  That should have been the second warning sign.

After I brushed aside all these misgivings and agreed to buy the watch, the reseller asked me to wire money to a business at another address.  Yikes! I should have stopped the transaction but instead I convinced myself to forgo the "cash discount" and pay a slight premium...Yes my lust for this watch was so foolish in hindsight. 

I received the watch 72 hours later and like my previous EBAY experiences, the watch is not in proper working order.  The seconds hand was moving erratically, the pushers were stiff and date indicator was stuck and did not advance.  Of course, repeated emails to the reseller were never returned. 

This is where the story takes an unusual turn.

So I reached out to Mr. Andersen to get some more information on this watch and see if he could help me restore it.  Mr. Andersen was more than gracious.  He told me that this watch was made in a very small series in the 1990s and it utilized a similar calendar module which he developed exclusively for Chopard. 

 Interestingly he also said that he had another example of this watch in his shop for restoration but that he had no spare parts and was re-fabricating everything  needed from scratch...the dial itself took the work of 4 specialist! My watch could be serviced and repaired but it would have to wait.  He recommended that I take my watch to a trusted watchmaker because it could be a simple fix but he warned that if more "expensive" repair work was needed, I should contact him again

Now I usually turn to Curtis Thomson for help but he was busy so he kindly referred me to another trusted watchmaker.  To be honest, I didn't know what to expect but I was pleasantly surprised.  Within a week of sending my watch, the problem was diagnosed.  An additional two weeks later, the problem was fixed, movement serviced, and back on my wrist.  Great communication all the way and appropriately priced. I wish all my aftersales experiences were similar.

Here is the biggest twist of all...the watch was not just a simple calendar but a full perpetual as well! 

I guess Mr. Andersen didn't place a leap year indicator on the dial for this model so the owner would either have to wear it all the time or keep it on a winder...even Antiquorum made a mistake on its catalog description

So I got very very lucky this time...I found a "hidden" perpetual calendar from a AHCI member that I really like and a watchmaker close to home who is worth his weight in gold! 

Thanks for reading and sharing in my happiness.  Wishing you all as much luck as I had with your next purchase.

Best, Mike