Golden Shadow / White Shadow

Thinness is itself a constraint on what the watch can contain

These cases were built around movements a few millimetres tall and there is no room for anything else. A Shadow-cased watch of ordinary thickness, or one whose caseback stands proud, is not carrying the caliber the model is defined by. Measure it: on this line the case height is close to a specification.

Ultra-thin movements are fragile and expensive to service

Thin calibers have thin parts, small tolerances and little margin for wear, and specialists willing to work on them are few. A non-running Shadow is common, parts are scarce, and a serviced example has often had components replaced from donors. That is a normal outcome for the line rather than a finding against a particular watch.