Need advice on buying this 4-month-old ROC with scratches ... pics

[jag32]

Looking to buy a rose gold 26331OR and I was offered one that was purchased new just 4 months ago with box and papers, but there are some troubling scratches on the face of the bezel. The watch has not been listed for sale yet anywhere and was offered to me privately, the gray dealer said that “the scratches will be gone when you get the watch” and I asked if that meant they are sending it to AP for polishing. He said no, “were just going to throw it on the wheel here at our shop and get them out, they’re only surface level hairline scratches they’re no big deal.”

Below is a photo. Normally I would never consider a watch with scratches like this, but it is an only 4 month old watch and the price is about $4k under market value for this piece.

Three identifiable options here-
1) buy it but tell the dealer to not remove the scratches and I’ll send it to Clearwater (not sure what the cost would be)
2) buy it with scratches removed and have the dealer send me high resolution pics after it’s done before I pay to evaluate.
3) hard pass

I keep coming back to this and am having a hard time passing because it is just a four month old watch and besides the scratches is basically brand new.

The scratches only seem visible in one of the photos, indicating they’re likely hairline and not deep at all.

What do you guys think?











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