Fourth Hand
Vintage watches · Clerkenwell, London · Est. 2011
94 pieces in stock · updated 13 August
Every watch on this page has been opened.
94 pieces in stock, each inspected by our watchmaker, timed on a Witschi over five positions, and sold with the service records and the previous owner's paperwork where it exists.
94
Pieces in stock
11
Added this week
5
Positions timed
24
Month guarantee
Current stock
Grades A–D · prices in GBP · rate measured after service
FH-2205 · second execution
B
1968 Heuer Autavia 2446C
Valjoux 72, compressor case unpolished with the original chamfer intact. Dial original, lume matched and honest. One service pusher gasket, noted in the file.
Serviced
March 2026
Rate (5 positions)
+3 s/day
Amplitude
278°
Price
14,800
FH-2214
A
1972 Omega Speedmaster 145.022
Cal. 861, transitional dial, original bracelet 1171/633.
Serviced
January 2026
Rate
+2 s/day
Price
12,400
FH-2198
B
1961 Rolex Explorer 1016
Gilt underline dial, unpolished lugs, service hands declared.
Serviced
November 2025
Rate
−1 s/day
Price
38,000
FH-2233
B
1959 Jaeger-LeCoultre Memovox E855
Cal. K825, alarm functions on all positions, later crown.
Serviced
December 2025
Rate
+4 s/day
Price
6,900
FH-2241
C
1969 Zenith El Primero A384
Cal. 3019 PHC, redialled by a Swiss house in the 1990s.
Serviced
October 2025
Rate
+6 s/day
Price
21,500
FH-2256
A
1966 Universal Genève Polerouter Date
Microrotor cal. 218-2, original dial, crisp case bevels.
Serviced
April 2026
Rate
+2 s/day
Price
4,300
FH-2260
B
1978 Tudor Submariner 94010
Snowflake handset, faded blue bezel, ETA 2776 running true.
Serviced
February 2026
Rate
+5 s/day
Price
16,750
FH-2267
C
1970 Seiko 6139-6002
Polished case, replacement chronograph seconds hand.
Serviced
February 2026
Rate
+8 s/day
Price
2,150
FH-2271
D
1971 Certina DS-2 Chronolympic
Valjoux 726, sold as seen: pusher sticks, dial water-marked.
Serviced
Not serviced
Rate
+22 s/day
Price
2,600
Showing 9 of 94. The rest of the stock file is available on request or in the shop.
The four-point inspection
We open the case, and then we write down what we found.
We open the case, photograph the movement, time it in five positions, pressure-test water resistance, and check every part against the reference. If a part is not original we say which one and why.
01
The case comes off
Every watch is opened on the bench and the movement photographed before anything else happens. Those photographs go in the file whether they flatter the watch or not.
02
Five positions on the Witschi
Dial up, dial down, crown down, crown left, crown up. We publish the average daily rate, the beat error and the amplitude, not a rounded number that sounds good.
03
Pressure, not a promise
Water resistance is tested on a dry chamber and reported as tested to a depth, or reported as not tested. Vintage gaskets are replaced only where the case design allows it.
04
Every part against the reference
Hands, dial, crown, bezel, bracelet and movement are checked against the reference. If a part is not original we say which one and why.
The provenance file
Four documents travel with every watch.
Every watch ships with a printed file: movement photographs, timing results, service history, and the chain of ownership as far back as we can prove it. Where we cannot prove it we write unknown.
01
Movement photographs
Full-plate and detail shots taken with the case back off, before and after any service work.
02
Timing results
Witschi printout across five positions: rate, amplitude and beat error, dated and signed.
03
Service history
Invoices and worksheets from us and from every prior watchmaker we could trace.
04
Chain of ownership
Names, dates and territories as far back as we can prove it. Where we cannot prove it we write unknown.
The grading scale
Four grades, and no room between them.
The grade is set by the watchmaker at the bench, not by the person writing the listing. It never moves to help a sale.
A
Unpolished
Sharp lugs, original everything — dial, hands, crown, case finish as it left the factory. The bevels still cut light.
B
Honest wear
Marks consistent with a life on a wrist. One or two service parts, each named in the file. Case geometry intact.
C
Polished or redialled
Soft lugs, a refinished dial, or both. Correct and running, priced accordingly, and described without euphemism.
D
Project piece
Sold as seen. Faults are listed, the price reflects them, and no guarantee of any kind attaches to the sale.
A: unpolished, sharp lugs, original everything. B: honest wear, one or two service parts. C: polished or redialled, priced accordingly. D: project piece, sold as seen, no guarantee.
Selling to us
Send photographs, get a cash offer within 48 hours.
Insured collection, and payment the day after our watchmaker signs it off. We buy outright between 2,000 and 40,000 — no consignment, no waiting on a buyer, no fee taken off the back end.
01
Send photographs
Dial, case back, lugs, movement if you have it open. A phone camera is enough.
02
Cash offer in 48 hours
A firm number against current trade, not a range and not a consignment estimate.
03
Insured collection
We book the courier, we pay for it, and the watch is covered door to door at the offer value.
04
Paid the next day
Our watchmaker signs it off, payment lands the day after. If it is not what you described, it goes back at our cost.
The guarantee
24 months on authenticity. 14 days for any reason at all.
24-month authenticity guarantee and a 14-day return with no reason required. Open the case yourself and both end immediately.
Authenticity
24 months
Return window
14 days, no reason
Refund
Full, including outbound carriage
What voids it
Four things, stated plainly so nobody has to read them out of a paragraph later.
01
Opening the case yourself, or having it opened by anyone who is not us.
02
A service performed elsewhere within the guarantee period without telling us first.
03
Water damage on a watch we reported as not pressure-tested.
04
Impact damage, magnetism from a device, or parts swapped after delivery.
Who signs it off
One watchmaker, one dealer, one bench.
Ola Brenner
Head watchmaker. WOSTEP-certified, fourteen years at an independent restorer in Bienne before joining us in 2019.
Marguerite Adeyemi
Dealer and buyer. Fifteen years in the vintage trade, BADA member, sits on two auction-house condition panels.
The bench
Witschi Chronoscope M1, Elma cleaning line, Greiner pressure chamber, and a parts library going back to 1948.
The terms
Registered in England, insured to 2m in transit and on premises, and audited annually against our own stock file.
94 in stock · 11 added this week
Browse the current stock.
Each listing carries its grade, its timing results and its file. Nothing is hidden behind an enquiry form, and nothing is described as mint.
Fourth Hand · 14 Clerkenwell Green, London · Registered in England 00000000
Every watch on this page has been opened.