A long time ago I put this watch together out of pieces laying around. Would it be a problem to sell it (with pictures of both sides, full disclosure) or would you consider it unsaleable?

.

Fully disclosed and honest? What's the problem?

How much?

"Mule" watches, as some of us call them, are sold all the time ! The dial of your watch tells most of the story with the word "movement" -- that it is not a Factory assembled watch.

More tricky to deal with is the watch assembled from all authentic parts which were never originally in the same watch.

dan

Frank,

With full disclosure, I see no problem whatsoever. I don't know how much you could expect, but whoever buys it would be buying it to wear and use.

On the other hand, if it were a collectible or otherwise valuable watch, then it might become an issue, not for you, but if some seller down the road doesn't disclose (or perhaps doesn't know the true history), then it could lead to confusion.

I've got a nice Kelton 7 jewel movement in an unsigned anchor case, 43mm long and pretty narrow. As a Kelton, it's worth about $20, but since someone redid the dial to say Gruen, it becomes a fake, and could conceivably cost someone a good deal of money. It cost me almost $100, and I now keep it around to show to people who believe that no one fakes old wristwatches. The seller pleaded ignorance and claimed her eBay listing was honest... she sold an old watch and reported just what was on the dial. I took a chance and lost on that one, admittedly not too much, but a loss all the same.

For what it's worth,

Cary

Well, here's another mule/mutt watch, maybe this one causes problems:

Backside:

A possible remedy would be to have the dial refinished with no name on it, or you could start a new brand by having "Mutt" or some other descriptive word on the dial.

Frank,

This must be why I never visit the city dog pound. I must say I am a softy for the "Mutts" I think both of these watches look fantastic and would be happy to wear either one. I have never collected based on the name or value attached to a certain watch. What good is a watch I never plan on wearing??? Come and look at my watch down at the bank in the safety deposit box it will only take an hr or so. What fun is there in that? Both watches are fine examples that would wear wonderfully. I say you would be making some very happy customers by selling those fine looking "Mutts". IMHO

John

John and John,

I like the idea of a "Mutt Watch".

I keep them for sentimental reasons. Two of the first watches I constructed from parts and two of the "learning" movements that I took apart and reassembled many times. Now I don't like working on WW's, or thinking about working on them, but I still like these ones.

Frank "407"

Frank,

Frank, I like your Mutt watch. The dial and hands look very sharp together. What would you ask if to sell?

Michael,

It's technically (Love it when people say that) illegal for me to sell the watch with the Omega dial on it for some obscure reasons. Now, you could buy a case for $26, a nice ETA 2836 movement for $69, hands for $3, Band/strap of your choice, and I could sell you the dial or you could get several nice dials for around $20. You can buy everything except the Omega dial from Otto Frei. The Omega dial feet are made for the ETA 28xx series. You would have a nice watch for about $120. There's an Omega dial on Ebay right now that will fit. What I did, bought all the pieces at various times and then put them together when I was bored. I'll take some pics of another one that I actually wear a lot. Oh, Michael, to answer your question, I wouldn't sell it so there is no asking price. If I were a jeweler I would ask twice what the parts and labor costs were at the minimum. About $300-$350. But it is NOT FOR SALE.

Frank "407"

Thanks Frank, for all the information. I'll look through Otto Frei's site and catalog for more information.
Both watches are very nice, but I was more impressed with the Elgin.
Thanks again,
Mike

Before I stopped playing with WW's I put together quite a few of these things. Most of them I tore down. Here's the other one I kept and it's my everyday wear watch. Every piece (case, dial, movement, H+M hands, sweep timer and chrono hands) bought separately. Total cost for parts was about $400. Funny, you can get a watch just almost as good as this (not as good case) and a different name on the dial for the same price or maybe even less. Go figure. Nobody can compete with ETA on price except the Chinese.

Frank "407"