John,
Thank you for your kind comments. I fully agree with your observations. Just like I pointed out in the article, we will see variations and that is something a collector would have to consider. Time causes things to age differently, exposure to the elements, as well as a new production run may produce a slightly different in looks.
I wanted to make people aware that during the 70's, some companies were struggling to survive and trying to recoup their losses by selling some of their surplus stock, especially with the uncertainty of the mechanical wristwatch. This why we see small companies watches lookalike's. But by knowing about the depression in that industry, it will help us evaluating a time piece. Watches that were produced from various parts should still be considered valuable time pieces because the effort that went into them producing them. Again, all this is up to the collector and as you say, the market determines the value.
These should be treated differently fro the "Frankenstein" model we encounter. Those have been well documented and I am sure we can easily identify them.
Appreciate your comments, Heinz.