Opinions on this Raketa 24

Judging by the appearance it just does not look "right". The case is a common and original Raketa case with correct crystal, used in many models, but the content - at least the dial and hands - appears to be lifted from a 24-hour "Polar Explorer" without the outer rotating ring. I do not feel comfortable with it at all.

phillyj,

The double-crown ones have the revolving outer ring for a variety of purposes; this extra feature, along with the larger case size, makes it more appealing to buyers today, explaining the higher price and comparative scarcity.

The single-crown ones are often fraudulent as they use regular Raketa cases, and on eBay, it is likely that most of the "NOS" pieces are fraudulent. It should be helpful to check those offered by an authorized dealer, such as M-watches; it should give at least a rough idea, and if genuine, also an idea of price too. But then, I do not feel totally at ease with the three pictured. It is one of the reasons why buying from an AD is a good thing.

pcke2000 said:

I don't think it is really hard to find one, problem is that you need to be patient enough to get one in decent condition at a fair price, as lots of Raketa 24hrs on the bay are way too overpriced.

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My theory is that, if prospective buyers see "NOS Raketas" at $30 they would get suspicious, so the vendors of the fraudulent pieces just put up the prices to give an illusion that they are genuine!

I do have an authentic Raketa with a big dome crystal exactly like that, so that is nothing to worry about.

pcke2000 said:

To me, the hands in your photos look weird. Progress69, I know this seller, I think you need to check the items he/she sells very carefully, as some of them are OK, some of them are made up with mixed/unmatched parts.

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Suffice to say that he has many "unique" pieces, some of them must have somehow done a "quantum leap" from another quantum universe, where post-war Russian watches were extensively used by WWII German forces etc!