So - like i posted earlier, last thursday morning around 2:30am i got up in the middle of the night to ... yes go to the bathroom, i check my ebay account as is the ritual when i get up in the middle of the night and lo and behold this beauty was sitting there with a buy it now price - the pics were miserable but the seller was located in the same town where i work - so i figured pull the trigger now, inspect in the metal and then decide what to do.

Here are some additional quick pics:

there are some scratches on the crystal that buffing will not fix on the left side over the tidal sub register but the dial itself is fairly clean, there are some signs of yellowing around the hour markers, i have seen this before on other seafarers, it can be unsightly in the extreme but here i think it is not so bad as to corrupt the aesthetic integrity of the watch, at least to my eye. The case has been lightly polished by the gentleman that serviced the watch for the seller.
overall i was very pleased as i have wanting one of these or it's Mareographe cousin for a while, and had no interest of trying my luck in an open auction.

Just goes to show you - if you wait around long enough - the right opportunity always presents itself.

Best,
Lanny