Week 15

To Polish or Not to Polish

To Polish or Not to Polish …? That is the question. If Shakespeare was a watch collector this is what he would have been thinking. A watch’s exterior condition and whether or not to have it polished has become a contentious issue. Seemingly calm, responsible, reasoned, grown adults can lose their shit over this!

The problem is thus: Condition is king when it comes to buying and selling, and collectors will scrutinize over a watches condition until the sun comes up as this will affect the price. It’s not uncommon now that collectors will get their watch serviced and polished before they move it on, or just really look after it or never wear it to preserve it’s condition. Polishing/refinishing done right can increase a watches sale value. But, done wrong it can devalue a piece.

Remember that every time you get a watch polished you are removing metal, and if you look at some of the best vintage pieces that have fetched crazy high prices they have been unpolished, have normal wear and tear as the person has worn the watch and enjoyed it.

As more and more people strive to keep their watches in pristine condition, we will find not just one or two examples of watches that are in great condition but hundreds and thousands. How will this affect the value? Who knows. But for me, I like buying watches knowing that people have enjoyed them and that the watch has some character. Not that it has spent twenty years in the box so they could just sell it on for a profit.