Help with possible Tre Tacche purchase

thedave
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Hi all! I have been offered a glossy black dial 35mm Tre Tacche with extract that I'd love to own. I'd like to humbly ask for your help before I pull the trigger on what is to me a rather expensive purchase.

I currently own a white dial 35mm Tre Tacche (photo attached) and would love to add a black dial. I'm looking for any red flags anyone might see. Also, at around $9500, I'd also be interested in opinions on price.

I thank you all in advance - here are the pictures I was given: edit: removed, because people are people.

Thanks so much in advance!
Edited:
 
X350 XJR
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Please post the photos not just the link as they become part of the history of the discussion and it makes it easier for members offering their free advice.
 
thedave
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X350 XJR X350 XJR
Please post the photos not just the link as they become part of the history of the discussion and it makes it easier for members offering their free advice.

This totally makes sense - I'm just not sure these pictures are mine to post in perpetuity.
 
Dan S
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Looks like a nice watch, but at $9500 there is a pretty large opportunity cost.
 
thedave
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X350 XJR X350 XJR
IFIFY

Perhaps you missed where I was explicit about not being comfortable posting these pictures. You didn't fix it, you put me in an uncomfortable position.
 
thedave
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J_pilot J_pilot
I’ll refer you to an earlier thread, below, where this subdial configuration was discussed at length as possibly being an indication of a convex sei-tacche dial being fitted later in the watch’s life:

https://omegaforums.net/threads/longines-tre-tacche-35mm.137899/page-3

It is hard to tell from the pics, but does the dial have downward curvature at its perimeter?

Thanks, this is great. I'm going to read through this whole thread and ask the person holding the watch, it will be easier for them to see. I'll let you know what they say.

I took a look at my sector dial TT and the dial is flat. It was also cool to see the logo treatments and compare them to both my TT and the one I'm considering purchasing.
 
thedave
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X350 XJR X350 XJR
You posted a public kink.

To an album I could edit and remove when done. I don't know that the owner would want these pictures here in perpetuity. That's why I didn't attach them.
 
Tony C.
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The same watch was "passed" (i.e. unsold) in a 2022 Antiquorum auction:

https://live.antiquorum.swiss/lots/view/1-6OWIS8/longines

I don't know what the reserve was, but it may have been the low estimate of ~€7600

Even if the dial and hands are completely original (as claimed by the auctioneer), and I am not certain of that, I would consider the asking price to be well inflated.
 
thedave
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Tony C. Tony C.
The same watch was "passed" (i.e. unsold) in a 2022 Antiquorum auction:

https://live.antiquorum.swiss/lots/view/1-6OWIS8/longines

I don't know what the reserve was, but it may have been the low estimate of ~€7600

Even if the dial and hands are completely original (as claimed by the auctioneer), and I am not certain of that, I would consider the asking price to be well inflated.

Wow. What a find! Thanks for this. I've been quoted in the ballpark of $10k for a few different 35mm TT recently, I don't know if that's the premium that's been added in the past two years, or if it's just dealers inflating prices and hoping.
 
seekingseaquest
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thedave thedave
Wow. What a find! Thanks for this. I've been quoted in the ballpark of $10k for a few different 35mm TT recently, I don't know if that's the premium that's been added in the past two years, or if it's just dealers inflating prices and hoping.
I would think prices should be down vs 2022? Haven’t followed tre tacches specifically though.
 
Tony C.
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thedave thedave
Thanks for this. I've been quoted in the ballpark of $10k for a few different 35mm TT recently, I don't know if that's the premium that's been added in the past two years, or if it's just dealers inflating prices and hoping.

You're welcome. In my opinion, dealers have long been taking advantage of the "oversized tre tacche" craze. I'm not suggesting that they aren't nice watches (though 35mm isn't really oversized), but the premiums added for a particular type of case back, are, in my view, absurd.

To be fair, stepped cases are quite nice, and are much more meaningful than the number of notches on a case back. But it would be easy to purchase an outstanding chronograph for that asking price, let alone many extraordinary time-only watches.
 
thedave
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Tony C. Tony C.
To be fair, stepped cases are quite nice, and are much more meaningful than the number of notches on a case back. But it would be easy to purchase an outstanding chronograph for that asking price, let alone many extraordinary time-only watches.

So it doesn't help anyone that stepped cases are what I'm after, as are a lot of people. I do have a soft spot in my heart for these TT because aside from the stepped case, the lugs are, in my eyes, about perfect. So that leaves me conflicted - I have no idea how to hunt down these pieces on my own, which lets dealers set whatever price they want. Do I suck it up and pay it, and get the watch I want (and potentially be stuck with it) or do I pass? I might be able to talk $500 off the price, but that's nominal at these prices.
 
J_pilot
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thedave thedave
So it doesn't help anyone that stepped cases are what I'm after, as are a lot of people. I do have a soft spot in my heart for these TT because aside from the stepped case, the lugs are, in my eyes, about perfect. So that leaves me conflicted - I have no idea how to hunt down these pieces on my own, which lets dealers set whatever price they want. Do I suck it up and pay it, and get the watch I want (and potentially be stuck with it) or do I pass? I might be able to talk $500 off the price, but that's nominal at these prices.
Unfortunately, these are the questions we are doomed to wrestle with as collectors of the old and uncommon. The answer is in your heart! (Or wallet, if you lack the patience)
 
Dan S
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thedave thedave
Perhaps you missed where I was explicit about not being comfortable posting these pictures. You didn't fix it, you put me in an uncomfortable position.
This is not your personal forum. The thread will have no educational or archival value without photos posted. Now there is a history of this particular watch (thanks to @X350 XJR and @Tony C.) that may be valuable for other people's research. If you want private help, reach out by PM.

Regarding finding the watch you want at a fair price, that's called hunting, and we all do it. And certainly not by the quick and easy path of viewing dealer websites. It involves networking with other collectors, looking through countless lots at obscure auctions, etc.
Edited:
 
thedave
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Dan S Dan S
This is not your personal forum. The thread will have no educational or archival value without photos posted. Now there is a history of this particular watch (thanks to @X350 XJR and @Tony C.) that may be valuable for other people's research. If you want private help, reach out by PM.

Regarding finding the watch you want at a fair price, that's called hunting, and we all do it. And certainly not by the quick and easy path of viewing dealer websites. It involves networking with other collectors, looking through countless lots at obscure auctions, etc.

Copyrights don't belong to you just because you want them to.

I wonder if everyone realizes you had the option of not commenting.
 
X350 XJR
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thedave thedave
Copyrights

Unless they are hidden really well, I don't see any copyrights on the posted photos.

Perhaps it's time for you to find another forum more to your liking offering free advise by some to the top experts in the world.
 
thedave
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X350 XJR X350 XJR
Unless they are hidden really well, I don't see any copyrights on the posted photos.

Perhaps it's time for you to find another forum more to your liking offering free advise by some to the top experts in the world.

In the USA and many other countries, copyright is automatically implied and assigned to the creator, unless explicitly transferred. It does not require a copyright notice. You need permission to use copyrighted content.

I've been a member here since 2018. I'm good. Before tonight nobody has been quite so flagrantly disrespectful. The images were not yours to post. Full stop.
 
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