Today, I will share my story of buying bargain watches through popular auction sites and what you should be really careful about, before you pull the trigger. Mistakes are costly, when it comes to watches.

Recently, I bought an Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch, reference 145.022 with the case back stamped 1974. I was really happy to win an auction, as the price was good. I paid mid £2,000s. When the watch arrived, my enthusiasm vanished. When I looked closer at the watch I saw so many flaws, fortunately when you are buying something through the well-known e-commerce site, you can return an item to receive a refund. I decided to go a different route. 

So, let’s begin. When I had a closer look at the watch, I soon realised the bezel was replaced, as it looked just too new to be dated 1970s. Besides, the chronograph hand was replaced for the white, Super Luminova one. Also, one or two sub-dial hands were replaced as well. However, these things wasn’t the worst. When you take a closer look at the dial, you can notice that the dial bears some signs of water ingress, because of the different white marks and a general dirt inside. Also, the way that hour markers aged, suggests there was some water damage. At this point, I was ready to request a refund and send the watch back to the seller, from whom I won it. 
The benefits were original bracelet with matching codes. 
What I also missed, but was clearly visible at the very first glance is that the 12-hour counter at...