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WL Fall Charity Auction--The First!
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=43368
Please read them, and PM or post questions here in this thread.
First up:
Movado Museum Watch:





Now, important to note about this lot; I was PM'd by an honored Lord, who told me this:
I have a Movado Museum on bracelet that belonged to my brother who took his own life back on Feb 1.
I have had it sitting on my desk at work for the last few months and I would like to donate for auction. It has enough links to comfortably fit a 7.5-8 inch wrist. Model number is 81 G2 1855
He would be pleased. He just couldn't see a way out of his alcoholism. I was lucky enough to have found a way. My last drink of cheap vodka was 9/16/2007.
Considering how much we value watches with a family connection in this Thing of Ours, this may well be one of the most generous donations I've gotten. The Movado is 38mm across, 41 with crown, 6.3mm thick, 44.5mm lug to lug. The bracelet is 20mm. The watch, which is Swiss made, with sapphire crystal, shows signs of regular use, which can be seen in the photographs. It appears to work perfectly. No box, papers or extra links. I would disagree slightly with the donor regarding the size of the bracelet--here it is on my 6.75 inch wrist:

I would doubt that it would fit above a 7.5 inch wrist, although it should be fairly easy to contact Movado for extra links.
Next:
Renato Beast Chronograph:





In the annals (anals?) of TeeVee watches, Renato was one brand that raised more stink (and had many admiring followers) more than most anything but the big I. Big, gaudy, and surprisingly well made, Renato came from the fertile and greasy imagination of Daniel Mink, and at one time was the house brand of ShopNBC. Unlike most TV garbage, Renatos were quite well made, probably in Hong Kong, with Swiss movements (this one uses, I believe, the ETA G-10), sapphire crystals, etc. Interestingly, this brand got a shout-out by Oprah Winfrey, which goosed sales quite a bit. Alas, it was squandered by some questionable business decisions by La Mink (Black Card, imaginary tourbillon, trying to cut Shop out of the chain and selling direct, etc.)
This Renato is 45mm across, 50mm with crown, 15mm thick, and an astonishing 52mm lug to lug. The bracelet is 25mm. The watch operates perfectly, and appears to be in very good to fine condition. Box, papers and extra links included.
And, finally:
Bulova Accu Swiss Handwinder:




This line was something of a swing and a miss from Bullie; the Accu Swiss watches seemed to be made for a niche that either didn't fit it or just didn't exist in the first place. Whatever the story, the Accu Swiss line is gone, but this one here's a fine example of what Bullie could do when it wanted. A very nice, Swiss made hand-cranker, complete with an ETA 6498, sapphire, nice stainless case and broken in (but still relatively unused) leather strap with deploy butterfly clasp. Super nice dial with blued hands. 42mm across, 46 with crown, 12mm thick, and 51mm lug to lug, it's a big watch, but quite wearable, considering the size of the movement inside. No box or papers. The watch appears to be in very good-fine condition, with very minimal signs of wear.
Also, let's not forget that a piece of Fine Art will be awarded to one of the winners of these lots!
This auction will run until Saturday, September 22, and will end precisely at 8:00PM, Pacific time on that date.
So, let's bid early, often, and remember, the proceeds of these auctions will be split between forum upkeep and helping out sick kids!