Nice Little Cyma From Ebay Item Not As Described !

[wls1971]

Hi everyone,

 

Thought I would share a recent ebay purchase with you all. I've been after a Cyma for the collection for a while mainly because all I have read on various forums say they are typically under valued good quality watches. So whilst busy at work on a night shift I had a quick look on Ebay to see what was on offer and was drawn to a listing for a 9ct gold cased Cyma Watersport.

 

The listing description was as follows,

 

 A very rare original 1950s cyma swiss watersport, has subsidiary dial  sold as spares or repairs works  but winder has seized as has been unused for some time,9 karat gold,classic Gentlemans timepiece,will make a very nice watch ,strap in good condition.

SOLD AS SPARES REPAIRS

 

Looking at the pictures the dial looked to be pristine and in far better condition than most watches of this period, the case looked very clean and tidy too. The watch was on at £100.00 buy it now, so far so good I thought the only worry in the description was the seized winder, waying it up I thought okay buy it if it turns out to be a dud I will recoup most of the money on the gold content of the case. So I went ahead and took a chance.

 

So this is what arrived yesterday in the post

 

 

The watch on first inspection is in excellent condition, out of the package it was ticking away nicely, first thing to check the winder, which to my surprise functioned as it should it wound freely and clicked outwards and set the hands as it should, I am though pretty certain the crown is not the original, but it does look good on the watch, how the seller had come to the conclusion it was seized I don't know. The case itself is of very high quality with a srcrew in caseback free from marks or scratches the watch has the appearance of having a separate bezel but is in fact a two piece case.

 

I then decided to have a look at the movement, at this stage I suspected from the overall condition of the case and dial it would be in a good state of repair,but on removing the case back another surprise was waiting to be discovered,

 

 

The listing had stated the watch case as being 9ct gold and on one of the lugs of the watch there is a hallmark which is too small to see clearly with a loupe, so the seller must have just assumed it to be 9ct. So the swiss 14ct hallmarks where a pleasant surprise the hallmarks also indicate that the watch case was manufactured by C.R.Spillman a quite notable case maker who manufacture the early oyster cases for Rolex, this explained the overall quality of the case.T The watch head without strap weighs 29 grams so I would guess that half that weight will be gold content.

 

The movement was protected by a gilt metal dust cover and just as I thought is in a excellent state of repair, I think its a cal 414 KA but I could be wrong as the calibre numbers are obscured by the balance wheel. It is in very good condition with a scratch where someone as removed the dust cover a little carelessly in the past , I would also add I think this dates the watch to the mid 40's.

 

 

Over the last 24hr it has lost about 15mins so a service is in order, so I will send it off to my usual watchmaker for a service, I don't know enough yet to have ago myself and its too nice a watch to get my clumsy hand on.

 

So overall this item was not as described but all in a good way, I also received another surprise in the package the seller also sent me another watch as a freebie, he had sold it a few weeks ago and the buyer had failed to pay for it and he didn't want to list it again. Its a Ebel with a eta 2824 auto movement, it is something I don't want so I will offer it as a project ( It has a Broken stem ) on the parts page for the cost of postage later today.

 

Wayne

[Ishima]

Woah, that is a beautiful piece! 
for £100, what a steal, especially given that it's carat was incorrectly identified! ha. I feel kind of bad for the seller, but he made that conclusion and that decision... so what would be the seller's version of caveat emptor?

Do you mind me asking how much it's costing you to get it serviced? (what ever it is I'm sure it's worth it)

[wls1971]

I use the same repair man for all my watches and have been using his services for years, a manual wind like this will cost me around £30.00 for a service

[Geo]

Now that is a great result Wayne, I love it. :)

[Maurice]

Fantastic find well done :thumbsu:

[Andyclient]

Excellent result its a cracker , i hope you didn't give the seller one star for "item as described" lol

[wls1971]

As I stated in my original post I also received a Ebel watch which is surplus to my requirements, just read the rules on posting in the parts section and I cant offer anything on there until I have ten posts, Its a calibre 2824 , it runs but has a broken stem but the original Ebel crown is included the case back is lose fitting and the strap has some damage, but is not in danger of falling apart.

 

 

 

It is quite an unusual watch in itself having the face of the ayatollah Khomeini on it. I will post it in the parts section when I reach 10 posts anybody who thinks they can make use of it as a project or harvest it for parts will be welcome to it.

 

 

 

Wayne

[Marc]

Very nice score indeed, both in terms of quality, condition, and style.

 

I could be going very green indeed :D 

[seang]

Wayne you jammy so and so! Cyma is one of my favourite brands, ebel is up there too :-) 

 

I harbour a bit of a fascination with Milanese mesh bracelets, can you shed any light on how its constructed?

[WillFly]

I like Cyma watches - there's one in my  collection and I often check for others coming up. Nice find indeed!

 

Will

[wls1971]

I harbour a bit of a fascination with Milanese mesh bracelets, can you shed any light on how its constructed?

 

The bracelet on the Ebel is of stainless construction. I did once watch a video it may have been on you tube that explained how Milanese bracelets are made. I think the manufacture shown was Piaget. The strap shown was made using a technique not unlike weaving with 18ct wire by a very skilled craftsman he than took a hammer and beat the hell out of it to flatten it down.

 

Very popular in the 50's to 70's on many gold watches the only problem is a huge number turn up in auction that are just too short to wear as they where cut to size for the original buyer, they also tend to be easily damaged and are not easy to repair.

[Mark]

Very nice catch. Well done!

[Blacklab]

Bluddiell, that's a first. A watch incorrectly described the right way on fleabay, with use of the R word as well! Astounding! Never thought I would see the day.

[Gary]

Sweet deal! Congrats!

[Lawson]

That Cyma is awesome ... what a score!

I have to agree that this brand is VERY under valued.  I mean look at the finish on that movement **wipes the drool from chin**

 

I serviced a Cyma R.425 Bump Auto and it was a very enjoyable and rewarding job ... but I still haven't gotten a new Date Ring for it yet.  That is the only issue with purchasing a Cyma: getting spare parts for them :(  I haven't found a reliable parts vendor.  Even Old Swiss Watches doesn't have a big selection of Cyma spares; he does have some Cyma calibers, but stock is hit and miss ... and if my old mate Sudarson doesn't have it, then it's very hard to get indeed.