Every watch we list carries a condition grade, and it is usually the first thing a buyer reads. It is also the most commonly misread. Here is how our grades work, what they cover, and what they deliberately leave out.
The six grades
We grade on a six-step scale: New, Unworn, Excellent, Very Good, Good, and Fair. The canonical definitions live on our condition scale, and every listing links its grade back to that page. Read it once and the rest of the catalogue becomes easier to shop.
The short version: New and Unworn sit at the top, and the difference between them is history, not appearance. Excellent, Very Good, and Good describe increasing amounts of honest, visible wear. Fair is the bottom of our scale — a watch that is fully authentic and runs, but shows its life plainly.
Two watches with the same grade can wear very differently. A Good watch with even, unpolished patina can be more attractive than a Very Good example that has been polished round. The grade is a starting point; the photographs and written condition notes on each listing do the fine work. If something is scratched, we photograph the scratch.
Cosmetic grade and mechanical health are separate judgements
This is the point most buyers miss. The grade describes what you can see: case, bracelet, dial, hands, crystal. It says nothing about what the movement is doing. A watch can present as Excellent and still be due a service; a Fair watch can be freshly serviced and keeping better time than anything else in the case.
We keep the two judgements separate because collapsing them into one word hides information. You should know both how a watch looks and how it runs, and a single grade cannot carry both facts.
What the watchmaker's notes mean
Every watch we sell goes across a watchmaker's bench before it is listed, and the notes on the listing are the record of that inspection. They tell you how the watch is running, whether anything was adjusted or replaced, and — when relevant — whether a service is likely in the watch's near future. That last line matters most: a service is a real cost, and you should be able to price it into your decision before you buy, not discover it after.
If the notes are silent on a point that matters to you, ask. We would rather answer the question before the sale than after it.
For what happens between your order and the watch arriving, see how we prepare a watch for delivery.