This is an actual story of what happened to good friend of mine; and I am putting it out there as a lesson to those people (or so called collectors) who demand sealed watches and keep them that way without enjoying them for what they are!
Here goes! a little over 3 years ago, a friend who demands all of his Pateks to be sealed when he acquires them; bought a sealed watch with open papers and paid a handsome premium for it. This guy actually keeps them sealed and has pieces in his collection that have never seen the light of the day :-((
The case in point is a 5970P; bought from an after market dealer, "sealed" with open papers (no name! no date!). For some unknown reason, after more than 3 years, he decides to cut open the seal and check the watch out. Lo and behold, the chronograph failed to work and lugs had gouges on the inner surfaces, probably indicating that the strap was replaced unprofessionally.
Eventually the watch was sent to patek for a very expensive service / overhaul.
Lessons to be learnt;
please, please do not leave thses watches sealed for eternity; the oils do dry up and will cause the watch to malfunction
The sealed watch gives you a false sense of security that all is well and everything is perfect
Open papers, to me, indicate lack of provenance
Lastly, and I am just speculating, that perhaps some of these watches have been "resealed" to fool the buyers
My advise; always buy the buyer.
I look forward to other opinions in this regard.