Polerouter parts, servicing and reliability etc

Sgt_Bilko · Mar 9, 2015

I have a collection of around 40 vintage watches that are mainly Omega but includes a smattering of Rolex, IWC and others. There is just one Universal Geneve from 1950 that is 18t gold in stunning original condition and the oldest watch I have. For a long time now I have loved the look of those early Polerouters that must surely rank as some of the most distinctive and underrated watches of that period. Who wouldn't want a watch designed by Gerald Genta?

I have quietly been looking for the right one but I do have some concerns about servicing and parts for these watches so I thought I would ask for some feedback on the current situation from those who might be better informed about vintage Polerouters.

Any thoughts on Polerouters and also their potential value as an investment would be of interest. We all know Universal Geneve made fantastic watches but I wonder how much interest and support remains for vintage Polerouters nowadays.

SeanO · Mar 9, 2015

they're lovely dress watches as fine as any of the usual suspects and unless you have one of the original SAS polarouters then you can be happy that it's worth the melt value of the gold plus the spare parts.

LouS · Mar 9, 2015

there's Polerouters and then there's Polerouters. A standard "items sold" search on Ebay can tell you what the bog-standard black dial/steel case one goes for - probably not a lot of upside there. Add in some rarer dial combos, "broad arrow" hands or some other unusual feature, and you get a little uptick in value and appreciation potential. Aadd another significant uptick for the Deluxe and other 18K cases - I think this is where you enter serious collector territory. After that, you get into exotica - chronometer labeled like the one below or the SAS models - I think there is real potential here.

How much upside? Well, the vintage watch market has already outstripped all of my predictions with respect to Zenith and UG. Could crash tomorrow though. Who knows? Buy what you like and all that.....

As for parts, one of the nice things about polerouters is that there is no shortage of donor watches - not sure why you are having trouble with parts.

some visual interest to break up the text:

Sgt_Bilko · Mar 9, 2015

I have an IWC Yacht Club from the 1970s that recently developed a small problem and discovered that parts are a nightmare. The tiny item had to be sent from Australia and the final cost was the best part of £800 including a service... Since then I've started to look more closely at the parts situation before making further purchases.

There are definitely problems obtaining vintage parts for certain brands and the situation is becoming more widespread, so I wanted to do more research on the Polerouters. Some of them are just dazzling to look at but with every month that goes by I become a bit more discerning in my choices and there are at least half a dozen watches in my collection that I wouldn't buy now. I suspect some of the more collectable Polerouters are a bit special. The one in your post looks gorgeous.

Sgt_Bilko · Mar 9, 2015

On a broader point I can easily imagine it will no longer be viable to service or repair many vintage watches in a few years. Ironically I think this will push up the price of more desirable pieces to levels we haven't yet imagined. The others will more often be sold for parts.

LouS · Mar 9, 2015

Sgt_Bilko
On a broader point I can easily imagine it will no longer be viable to service or repair many vintage watches in a few years. Ironically I think this will push up the price of more desirable pieces to levels we haven't yet imagined. The others will more often be sold for parts.

I agree with this. And you will see less desirable models with the same movement get junked for parts. Most of us with focused collections steadily acquire parts as junkers become available.