So Let's look at a Sherpa Graph Mark 1b over at the Bay . . .

[Joe_A]

This one just popped up:

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What's to like?

The parts all seem to be the correct ones, though I doubt that the subdial hands were red at any time until the watchmaker put it back together. Nico can weigh in on this.
The case back says it was made in 11-61 and the 409xxx serial number is consistent with a Mark Ib as well.
The movement looks correct and has obviously been serviced.

What's not to like?

Those red subdial hands make me want to avert my glance.
There is an unfortunate smudge on the minutes counter.
The watch has been polished. Is there ever any reason to polish the back of the lugs as well?
The lume must have been unattractive radium at one time and now we are seeing Superluminova. This alone would not bother me.



The movement looks OK:



I'd say it was serviced recently. ;-)




The images are overexposed and that may cover up some otherwise more obvious blemishes?




Here is the back after a quick Photoshop "adjustment."



Overall, if the price were right I can appreciate the attraction.

 

[JimJupiter]

Let's see were it ends. Its all correct, except for the color of the hands. But this is an easy fix

 

[Joe_A]

Fourteen bidders so far at $2,000.00 with eight days to go.

Lively bidding. It'll be interesting to see how it turns out.

 

[SteveHarris]

Would love one of these one day

Still at $2,000 but will keep an eye on it. Should be interesting.

 

[kazrich]

With nine hours to go, nobody's getting exited about this. Yet.

 

[Joe_A]

There are 18 bidders and 34 bids though . . .

Apparently a few unsophisticated bidders bid the watch up to the 3,000 USD level. but the sharp bidders who want it are holding back until the last few seconds, I'd guess.

I am not suggesting that I am a sophisticated bidder, far from it, but I sometimes time a bid to show up in the last 5 seconds - bidding my max then,

I'm not bidding on this one. I am getting very fussy now that I have a small collection of nice watches.. As it is, some are getting very little wrist time and I am beginning to question my sanity.

 

[SteveHarris]

$6,500 in the end. I must admit, I thought it would go a little higher but perhaps people were put off by the hands?

 

[Joe_A]

The dial blemish bothered me, but I readily admit to being fussy. Many are not put off by such things.

There were signs of radium burn or something that caused a similar effect on the upper right side of the dial. One wonders what the watch will look like in the flesh as opposed to how it appears in the washed-out photos put up.

There were 22 bidders right up until the end, then the 23rd bidder made the winning stealth bid.

I sometimes wonder about the strategy and tactics employed by regular Ebay bidders and whether they use devices or services to snap up what they want.

The winner had made 968 previous buys:



By the way, I was unable to get to this site yesterday, but all is well this morning.

~ Joe

 

[JimJupiter]

$6,500 in the end. I must admit, I thought it would go a little higher but perhaps people were put off by the hands?

My feeling is this is a strong result for this condition. I expected a way lower price.

 

[SteveHarris]

Ah OK that's interesting. Very few of these around though aren't there? How many do you have in your database?

 

[Joe_A]

When I observed that there were 19 bidders early on, I expected the price would go higher than any value I would put on the watch. $7,500 would not have shocked me.

Had I not owned two good Sherpa Graphs myself, and had I been looking unsuccessfully for a few years for such a watch, perhaps I'd have been tempted to bid as well, but not that high due to concerns over the dial.

It is fortunate for the seller that there were 23 participants in the auction. I do hope for the sake of the buyer that the watch exceeds expectations.

I find poor photos to be a red flag. In our time, there is rarely any good excuse for poor quality photos.