18038 DayDate w dent...how is value affected?

[desmomini]

I bid on a 1980's vintage 18038 18k gold DayDate on eBay.

No box, no papers, leather strap, German text.

Price was good after negotiations, once all that was taken into account.

Now it's gone to an authenticator, who red-flagged a dent in the 18k caseback that wasn't apparent in listing photos.

The default in this case is for my funds to be returned. I have three days to decide.

How much does this affect value?

[rkny]

A good goldsmith should be able to minimize this dent. If you love it otherwise, maybe see if the seller will cover the repair.

[77T]

While it could be fixed, and if is the only damage, and you would keep it forever, you might ask for a serious final value adjustment.

Ask the Authenticator to open it and verify the caseback hasn’t deformed into the movement. If it has, then get your money back.


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[zapokee]

Originally Posted by 77T

Ask the Authenticator to open it and verify the caseback hasn’t deformed into the movement. If it has, then get your money back.

Agree. Not such a big deal as long as the movement isn't damaged.

It shouldn't be too difficult to source a replacement caseback or have that one repaired if the dent bugs you, but you might have to open your wallet. This should be factored into the price.

Maybe ask Rolex how much a replacement would be. Good luck with it!

[CTech]

Repairing the dent looks to be a fairly simple job for a skilled goldsmith and I would expect to pay up to about $250 if it included refinishing of the outside surface.

Used yellow gold Day-Date case backs turn up occasionally and are usually sold for anything between $1000 and $2500 depending on the model and condition.

The last one I remember seeing for a 18038 was one with damaged threads on ebay, and it sold for about $550 including shipping from the UK to the US.

[crowncollection]

All depends on price


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[carwashchris]

If the movement is ok and you can live with it, I would say $700. - $1000

Chris

[joli160]

I would give it back and buy one without a story.
Seller has not disclosed this, cannot be trusted, what else is wrong you don’t know yet and find out later ?

Buying cheap many times isn’t

[Haywood_Milton]

One might consider that to be recent, crude graining over the case-back to try to disguise the dent, apparently done by scraping house bricks across it.

There are a number of bodged repairs that can be found on 18038s which one might not spot so quickly, so this correspondent would quietly take advantage of the option for a refund.

[George58]

give it back seller not trust worthy how in the hell can you dent a case back like that ?

[1William]

I would send it back for a lack of transparency and disclosure. Too many older DD's on the market to take one that is dented.

[1675-David]

It could be a dent or it could be the metal has distorted due to over polishing. If you have a deep engraving you want to remove from a case back it's better to laser weld the engraving and then remove the excess metal rather than removing all the surrounding metal until the engraving disappears. If you remove too much material the inner tension in the material can cause weak spots to deform. Either way this watch hasn't been treated well or professionally, your call OP.

[214270Explorer]

You can't REALLY be serious about buying that watch! Who knows what sort of obvious or latent damage is inside.

That case back has "obviously" been sanded down in an attempt to 'remove' the dent. I would run fast and far from this potential nightmare.
And just look at where the 'sander' slipped and scraped up the shiny beveled area. Really? You want to take a chance?

Hard pass, or you may possibly learn the hard way. Too many other ones out there. Keep searching until you eventually find a GOOD one.

[Jerrocop]

If the movement checks out and the dent doesn't affect anything visually while wearing then I would take the watch as is, if you don't already feel you're paying a premium that is. For a 30-40 y.o. watch I really wouldn't sweat it.. If you want to use the dent as leverage to gain a further discount then maybe $100-$200 seems reasonable, anything over that seems exploitive.

[desmomini]

OP here.

Thanks for the input. I let this one go, as per the default of the eBay authenticator. PayPal/Amex credited.

Did get a phone call from the vendor, which surprised me. He told me he thought the eBay authentication program was "bullsh*#." Said the authenticators didn't know anything about watches. Insisted that in 30 years in the business, their rating has been stellar. Went on to say this particular DD is one of the nicest watches they currently have.

I offered to forward the photos and communication from eBay, which he said was not sent to him as a seller.