Movado Polyplan 18 carat white gold watch with repainted dial

May 12, 2016,11:50 AM
 

NOTE: This is the first post by a newly-registered visitor. I have edited this copy to remove insinuations and unsubstantiated accusations, while leaving the substance here. 
Let me say clearly that this site is not a place to pursue personal grudges or vendettas. 
A brief statement of the facts by the people directly involved, and not third parties, is tolerable. Cazalea, Editor

I just want to warn the community about how bad thing things really could could be when you are dealing with well known Auction house and ultimately an unscrupulous dealer.


STEP 1
A rare Movado Polyplan in 18 carat white gold, with ref 4009 and case number 401`034 was sold at bonhams in New York 19th june 2008. Here is the link:  www.bonhams.com /

You will see how damaged the original dial painting is by corrosion and erosion. If you enlarge the pictures at Bonhams you can really see  the heavily injured dial, with regard to rust, corrosion, erosion damage etc. 

Nontheless, serious collectors prefer OF COURSE original dial, and not the stigma that a repainted dial means. Also the heavily damaged dial also will tell you what the movement silver plates directly under the dial most likely are damaged also by corrosion and rust. So a original dial with such a bad condition also has something to tell about the overall condition of the wristwatch, especially the movement.

When the back of the case of this wristwatch was opened, there was something that did not end up conclusively with a claim that the dial was not repainted. Namely,  the silver plated bridges at both end of the movement, towards 6 o'clock and towards 12 o'clock,  were damaged by corrosion, so that the silver plating vanished, exposing the brass material of the movement. But this was logical, given the condition of the original dial ...

STEP 2
Dealer James Dowling, know for Rolex pieces, buys this Movado Ployplan at Bonhams 19th june 2008. But since then something has happened to the dial, as you can see for yourself ...  it appears the dial has been repianted. But due to the heavily corrosion of the original dial, even then newly repainted dial has some corrosion, corrosion/rust spots, if you look very closely. But this is an consequence of the original dial under the surface having deep corrosion, and ultimately it is also seen to a minor extent in the newly repianted dial. 

This is how the same wristwatch looks when James Dowling had the watch out for sale.   ukwatches.com l

James Dowling says on his web-page its good great condition and that all is original and that the Movado Polyplan Wristwatch is in perfect condition - even say dial condition is 95% .... 

STEP 3
James Dowling did not sell the Movado Polyplan wristwatch through his own business. Collectors who approached the item and showed interest, may have discovered that the dial had been repainted during James Dowlings ownership. Or perhaps they spotted something else and did not purchase the watch.

We all know that an original dial vs a repainted dial is a total different price story. Serious collectors would never buy a repainted  dial connected to an antique wristwatch, especially not at the asking price-level of this wristwatch, when it was for sale through James Dowlings own web-page. Serious collectors want original dial, not a repainted one.

But at 12th of april 2016 the same wristwatch was out for sale at Auctionata in Berlin. Nothing was mentioned about the repainted dial in the description of the wristwatch.

Now Auctionata have deleted the information about the object, since the buyer (I know him) filed a complaint about the fact that the Movado Polyplan dial had been repainted. 

As for Auctionata, they payed full refund to my friend and a deep apology for the fact that they missed to discover that the dial had been repainted. 

But the original description at the Auctionata Auction 12th of april 2016, is at the bottom of this post.

I want to warn other serious buyers not to deal with James Dowling. Stay away from him.



AFTERrepainting of dial - appearance at Auctionata auction sale 12 april 2016
AFTER repainting of dial - appearance at Auctionata auction sale 12 april 2016



BEFORE repainting of dial - how it looked originally at Bonhams sale 18 june 2008
BEFORE repainting of dial - how it looked originally at Bonhams sale 18 june 2008



See how the silver plating at 6 a clock and 12 a clock have been lost and now exposing the yellow brass base material.
See how the silver plating at 6 a clock and 12 a clock have been lost and now exposing the yellow brass base material.



Auctionata - auction 12th april 2016 in Berlin - lot 72 - the lot has been deleted now by Auctionata
Auctionata - auction 12th april 2016 in Berlin - lot 72 - the lot has been deleted now by Auctionata


This message has been edited by Hans5 on 2016-05-12 11:59:02 This message has been edited by Hans5 on 2016-05-12 12:00:19
This message has been edited by Hans5 on 2016-05-12 12:03:19 This message has been edited by Hans5 on 2016-05-12 12:12:26



This message has been edited by cazalea on 2016-05-12 20:31:37


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Thanks

 
 By: mpg13 : May 12th, 2016-12:00
For taking the time to document something that probably happens fairly often.

Thanks for sharing

 
 By: alphabeta81 : May 12th, 2016-13:47
Indeed this is what makes vintage watches so hard -- many have been altered without documentation or provenance and one "can never know"

It's a real amphetamine injected snake pit......

 
 By: ant : May 12th, 2016-14:40
I am sorry to hear your sad story. !n the recent past I bought some vintage pieces that were supposed to be NOS, or virtually that. They certainly looked original, but when shown to a true expert the inconsistencies were shown to me. I felt such a fool, b... 

Movado watch comments

 
 By: Catious : May 12th, 2016-15:25
Dear Catious, Our website is not the place to pursue a personal vendetta. As you have stated your case adequately in your first post, I am removing your repetitive comments here. Cazalea, Editor ...  

I hope Mr. Dowling sees this.

 
 By: Spangles - Dr. Tabby : May 12th, 2016-19:42
I feel like Mr Dowling should have a chance to respond to these accusations. He is a very well-known figure and author, so perhaps someone can contact him.

I certainly didn't mean to imply that I had purchased from Mr Dowling

 
 By: ant : May 13th, 2016-00:01
On re reading my post I can see that it could appear to say that I had bought from Mr Dowling, this is not the case. In fact I thought that the original posting was so serious that I forwarded a link to a colleague of his. To be quite clear: I have never ... 

how certain are you

 
 By: eterna-fan : May 13th, 2016-09:22
that the dial at the bonhams auction wasn't an older repaint?