Hello everyone, I am new here and I was wondering if anyone could help me in terms of stimating value for a watch.

I have been eyeing a couple of watches since it is a gift for a special occasion, and I came a cross a Maurtice Lacroix Masterpiece from the mid 90s with this movement type, the Valjoux 7750. I know that the movement is from the 70s and it is considered reliable, however, I am not sure if it is top of the line or anything.

This particular variation of this movement in this watch also has a chronograph function, and the asking price is 1300€. I was wondering if any of you could tell me if this a fair price for this type of movement considering the brand and age. The watch itself is quite nice looking, so that is why it caught my eye.

Thank you

Hi
do you have some photos of the watch ?

 

Hi
do you have some photos of the watch ?

Yes, it is this one

 

Here is the only one I still own
I owned 3 other watches but sold them since do not wear them

 

Nice watch! I assume it still runs well?

 

The 7750 is a classic chrono. But I think it’s overpriced

 

300 Quatloos, tops!

 

I think the price is 500 to 900€ here in Europe

 

Thank you everyone for your input, specially you yrichard for all of the extra material.

I see that the consensus is that it is overpriced, so I might end up looking for another watch and making a thread for recommendations. Cheers!

 

Agree. Keep shopping around. Better options out there for less money, IMHO.

 

Valjoux 7750: The World’s Greatest Chronograph Movement By Far (By Popularity And Numbers) - Quill & Pad

As Martin Green became ever more impressed by the performance of the Valjoux 7750 chronograph movement, he also found himself ever-enamored by its little quirks and the variety of watches it has been tapped to power. Here he outlines the history of a classic automatic movement.

quillandpad.com

Here's a great read for you. A watchmaker or two on here like them. So do I.

EDIT: This movement is ubiquitous, so I'll agree with previous replies- don't overpay

 

they are the minority who like the 7750 , the best ones being the Rolex 4130 followed by El Primero, the Breitling B01, the IWC89360, the Chopard 03.05-C and the Seiko 8r48 who are all column wheel self winding chronographs. The 7750 is a cam operated and is much lesser desirable than a column wheel movement, the movement itself costs between 350$-450$ not something that I would call high end.

 

Yep. It’s maybe a $300 to $500 USD watch.

 

It's definitely a good movement, but with so many options now, there is no reason to overpay.

 

Hello everyone, I am new here and I was wondering if anyone could help me in terms of stimating value for a watch.

…the asking price is 1300€. I was wondering if any of you could tell me if this a fair price for this type of movement considering the brand and age. The watch itself is quite nice looking, so that is why it caught my eye.

Can you value a watch simply by its movement? Do the case, the bracelet, the host of other components the effort which went into designing and making the thing etc. etc. not also have value? Trawling through Chrono24 just now, $1,300 doesn’t seem an unreasonable price.

 

I agree. The 7750 has been used in expensive watches and inexpensive watches. Determining the price based on the movement is shortsighted.

 

ML Masterpiece watches are well made, an there is a lot more to a watch than the movement. Back in the 70’s, or so, ML bought that up a bunch of high quality movements and ebauches. They upgraded, decorated and repurposed plenty of them into limited runs. ML used to call their top of the line watches Le Mechanique. I don’t know when they switched to the Masterpiece name.

Keep in mind that any used chrono might need a service, which could blow your budget.

 

ML Masterpiece watches are well made, an there is a lot more to a watch than the movement. Back in the 70’s, or so, ML bought that up a bunch of high quality movements and ebauches. They upgraded, decorated and repurposed plenty of them into limited runs. ML used to call their top of the line watches Le Mechanique. I don’t know when they switched to the Masterpiece name.

Keep in mind that any used chrono might need a service, which could blow your budget.

This is what I was thinking, too. Servicing a 7750 could be $500USD or more depending on where you live.

 

The 7750 is a very common automatic chronograph movement. It's usually not cheap, though, as being a chronograph makes it complicated. It will also be more expensive to service, though parts will be easy to source since they are still in production. It's also a thick movement, so the watch case will be thick which could be a factor for you.

You need to know more about the rest of the watch to estimate its value. There's a lot more to a watch than the movement.

 

There are much better choices than your run of the mill 7750 then get a Seiko 8r or a vintage Lemania 5100. The Seiko 8r is an oustanding quality level movement which dwarfs the 7750 on many counts. The 5100 was used in military watches and keeps much better value than the 7750.

 

But parts are no longer available and the 5100's plastic parts get brittle over time. Servicing one properly in the UK now costs around a thousand dollars. Good movement, but you will pay whatever it takes. One thousand, soon it'll be two thousand.

 

The 7750 is a robust, reliable, and accurate movement in the hands of any competent watchmaker. It’s certainly not “top of the line” whatever that means, but if you want an accurate and reliable movement, they don’t get much better. People will blather on about column wheels and such, but in the end that makes zero difference in how well the watch works. You pretty much can’t go wrong with a 7750.

 

Hi Al, do I remember correctly, you see significantly more damaged column wheel chronographs than cam actuated?

 

Thank you georges z. Since my robust and easy to service 7750 isn't high end I'll throw it away.

 

Redacted

 

There are 2 different versions of the 7750. The original 1974 valjoux 17j 7750. Made 1 year only and just 100,000 produced world wide. Then discontinued. Brought back by eta in 1985, the 24j or 25j 7750 was introduced. I would think the original 17j would be worth more.
That's about all I know. Hope it helps.
My 17j 7750 chronosport chronograph is in the pic.

 

There are 2 different versions of the 7750. The original 1974 valjoux 17j 7750. Made 1 year only and just 100,000 produced world wide. Then discontinued. Brought back by eta in 1985, the 24j or 25j 7750 was introduced. I would think the original 17j would be worth more.
That's about all I know. Hope it helps.
My 17j 7750 chronosport chronograph is in the pic.

Breitling's Chronomat from the mid-1980s was using the 17-jewel version of the 7750 until 1992 or so. Plenty of other sources have the 17-jewel version being produced - or at least employed - until well into the 1990s.

 

All I know (or, more accurately, all I misunderstand!) is that Delrin has properties that make it more suitable for it’s intended use.
That, and it’s a DuPont creation. I think.
I’d look it up on the internet, but they’ll have me thinking I have a rare condition and that I’ll be dead in a week. Oh wait, that’s just Web MD…

 

All I know (or, more accurately, all I misunderstand!) is that Delrin has properties that make it more suitable for it’s intended use.
That, and it’s a DuPont creation. I think.
I’d look it up on the internet, but they’ll have me thinking I have a rare condition and that I’ll be dead in a week. Oh wait, that’s just Web MD…

Well, it's an interesting discussion. People on forums have long argued that the "Delrin brake" is far superior in the 861/1861 than the original steel blocking lever was. Yet they still used the steel version in the 1863 with the display back.

What about the new 3861? All iterations use the steel blocking lever. The "new" version of the 321, there halo product? Steel blocking lever.

Almost all other chronographs I've worked on used a steel part to stop the wheel from moving when the chronograph was stopped. None of them have required replacing the wheels or the blocking lever for wear.

Cheers, Al