If you read my blog from a few weeks ago, I shared the photos and issue with one of the screws on the Royal Oak, that was listed on Hodinkee. If you missed the blog, I will link it below for you:
Hodinkee removed the watch from their website, after one of my readers wrote to them highlighting the issue. And they confirmed that they are fixing the issue with the help of AP, which was a great response from Hodinkee as a responsible seller and shop.
I'm not sure if I am looking at watches too long, or if I just observe minor details in the photos of the watches either listed for sale or review, but I was just scrolling through another listing today on Tropical Watch website who are a reputed watch reseller, and the first watch I went to see was the Nautilus 3710.
And then the first thing I noticed was the date on it. Let's cut it short, have a look:
Needless to say, this misaligned date is not normal and it shouldn't be like this. While there are commonly issues reported with Nautilus date window to be not perfectly aligned, I can assure you that when the misalignment is this bad, it is a problem, and by no means represent the Patek workmanship.
I will also clarify that I am by no means suggesting that this watch is fake. It isn't and there is nothing that suggests it is. It is a very legit watch from what I can see and I know for a fact that the date misalignment issues on the Nautilus also already exist on the real Nautilus as well.
The date on the Nautilus is also not instant-change, rather it starts changing after 11.30pm, gets misaligned and then instantly changes over to next date after 12am, but seeing a misaligned date at 10.10 is far from ideal.
The point is that when you buy pre-owned, you really should go with your checklist of items you should inspect before you buy. In the pre-owned world, you should also ideally know the product and the watch you're going to buy, to avoid surprises.
The checklist can be anything from the watch serial, card serial, hang tags, its condition, polish history, service history, case angles and profiles, case thickness (if its too polished), number of links to even if its Geneva seal or Patek seal etc. depending upon what watch or piece it is.
If it's a reputed seller, it helps but its examples like these and the one from Hodinkee I shared where it really goes to show that no matter how established the seller is, you should always do you home work, and the due diligence; and always make sure to not let the seller's repute catch you off guard.
Here's the link to original listing on that black 3710:
https://tropicalwatch.com/watches/pyam