Watches from Jean-Louis Frésard are not really vintage

I found some really nice watches from Jean-Louis Frésard which seemed to tick all boxes: Vintage, big, bold, fine condition and ok priced.

A closer inspection made me feel somehow cheated. It seems that Jean-Louis Frésard is a french watchmaker that assembles models from vintage and new parts. The Valjoux movements most be genuine and maybe some of the other parts, it is not certain to what extent.

The problem is not so much with Frésard themselves - they advertise the watches on eBay as "new with tags" - but when the watches are resold this information can be lost and the watches are advertised as from the "70s" in "NOS" condition or similar.

If you know what you are buying, these watches can be ok, but if you want authencity it is not the real deal.

Some examples:

Valjoux 7733 in a 42 mm wide steel case. Put together by Jean-Louis Frésard.

Valjoux 7734 in a 42 mm wide steel case. Put together by Jean-Louis Frésard.

Please note that watches branded "Fresard" is not the same as "Jean-Louis Frésard". Fresard made some interesting models in the 60s and 70s.

Sources:
http://www.fresardwatch.com/
http://www.ebay.co.uk/usr/fresardwatch

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