As Rolex always have done this perfectly it means it’s not Rolex, done afterwards. Once it’s auction day you can bid in all sorts of manners, for example actually bidding in the room, or by phone, by internet or by written bid. Even so, go prepared with your own research – it is essential. Above the french hall marks in the middle and the Hermes ( from Paris ) engraving on the side of the case back.. Ultra fresh and unpolished early Rolex chronograph. I pointed out for you where the graphic is off. Rolex Submariner History & Background The first Submariner ref. The tritium luminous on the dial is a bit toned and is the same as the tone of the hands. On the left you see a service crystal with a facet on the edge, there where the original crystal is domed. New Rolex buyers ready to make an investment in building a respectable watch collection should buy the Sea-Dweller. Forbes has an article on Bob’s Watches. And analyzing the fonds of the Rolex serial numbers engraved between the lugs up close…. – Above the serial number is also visible now ( last 3 digits are covered ) making this a 2.731.xxx, which is 1971. Vintage Rolex Watches for Sale at our store offers you a window into the past that traces back generations. Rolex wants to deliver their watches back being waterproof. All plots are perfectly shaped and color on the dial is matching the luminous of the hands, first owner find still in all original condition.. The glossy lacquer is irreparable. SHOP. If you have any questions about your vintage Rolex, feel free to use the CONTACT button on top of this page or follow this link to send me your questions. Of course, if the model has been discontinued, then it’s no … Therefore, before you start comparing your Rolex with others, it’s very useful that you check closely if all the parts are original. But if you get it right, it is harder to detect with the naked eye. 2 = Engraved Every Rolex reference has it’s own unique Rolex crown, printed or applied on their dial. Below interesting close up that shows the swiss has been reprinted over the lume. The quality of the current influx of fakes is so convincing that no amount of pictures of the watch can give you all the information you need to tell if you’re bidding on the genuine article. ROLEX Explorer I Reference 1016 The Explorer, first introduced in 1953, is as … Sometimes you’re lucky, like with this Submariner! The reliable vintage Rolex watch is used regardless of its age due to engineering that operates for a lifetime. Like any piece of classic art, the only way collectors can obtain one is to acquire a pre-owned model. Unlike sites like eBay or Craigslist, you’re dealing with experts whose only job is to buy … Since some while now we, the inner circle of hardcore vintage Rolex dealers & collectors, have noticed that fake Submariner dials are being sold as genuine. A mayor influence on the originality has been played by the manufacture itself, namely during the servicing the watch. Here it helps to analyze NOS ( new old stock ) movement pictures to get an idea how they looked like. If these little stamps, mostly hidden in the back of the case lugs or on the sides of the watch, are worn out and the rest of the case if looking perfect at first view, one can easily state the case has been polished. So what does “all original” mean in the watchword? Original old parts, most importantly the dial and the hands, have often been changed due to the fact the new radiation regulations that became obligatory after 1964. In my, you can read about the little details that are so important for the originality of a true vintage Rolex. Registered Design & Model Depose engraving still clearly readable on this pink gold Rolex Killy.. Fresh hall mark on the sides of this unpolished pink gold Padellone ref 8171…, The Rolex stamps & 18 carat hall marks spread over the 3 of the 4 lugs insides…. We have to realize that perfect grail watches are super rare and not everybody will be able to acquire one in crisp “catalogue style” as the price will only go up rapidly because we know now not many more will come to the market. Arming yourself with knowledge is the best defense out there. Below you see that at this pre stamped the depth rating for small crown was used and added over the already finished lac. Auctions are great, but only if you can keep your emotions in check! This will inevitably cause loss of material, unless the polishing has been done very lightly. A collection of vintage Rolex Daytona Chronographs watches. The Vintage Watch Company was established in 1995 dedicated to showcasing Vintage Rolex wristwatches from c1910- c1970. So many Rolex dials of so many different models but then, once you start studying them, you’ll find out more differences for the same type of dial are being made. Above you see all original tritium luminous on an  Oyster Paul Newman…below a sad story as the luminous got newly relumed and lost 50% or more of it’s value ;-(. x8 = Waves (Arabic) It matters enormously where you ask a so called specialist for information about your vintage Rolex. Error: API requests are being delayed for this account. Rolex Submariner Models. Certainly a trigger to look for replacement parts. Below you can see pictures of the radium investigation I made on many different sport Rolex and other watches during the recent years. I strongly believe that even a simple steel Airking or Datejust, a Explorer 1 or even a Cellini will become highly collectable as long it’s alive and fresh and all original condition having it’s necessary patina all over, Once everybody understand the importance of originality, we will see that a simple red sub in great condition will be worth double or triple the money they sell now in average, Again, the luminous on the dial and hands, are the condition meter showing you what happened over the years with the watch, My believe is that the dials have been stored for a long time at a dry place and that this has cracked the surface…. When searching the auction results you will see these sell now for € 10-15K euro, this particular model I would rate more towards 15K due to it’s fine condition. FAKE! Following is a GMT Ref 6542 also unpolished and unused. Probably the best tip I can give you for the popular Rolex or any kind of luminous dialed watch, is always to check the luminous up close! Any bid you win will also be bound by the establishment’s General Conditions of Business, your guarantee of authenticity should anything be found to be amiss after the fact. What I tried to explain in my guidance is that you have to be aware about a vintage watch that, for instance, got totally relumed by professionals, where the patina is destroyed and thus not worth buying. Another interesting detail is the white surface underneath the radium plots that was added to the dial so the luminous could stick on easily. Early 1950 watches with radium lume have a radiation of at least 20-100 Mvrs. Since many years the collectors market in general has been overloaded with un original, later produced, counterfeit practices. Up close this original tropical dial will look the same as a perfect non tropical brown, the surface is still intact, luminous is original and when you loupe it 100X you see the original one has a brown and a blackish pixel next to each other, there where artificial ones will show you only brown pixels. You’ll have read about the incredible sums being paid out recently for lots such as Paul Newman’s Daytona or the ‘Bao Dai’ that belonged to the last emperor of Vietnam—now the most expensive Rolex ever sold. At first I like to start with the overview of the approximate date of luminous used by the Rolex Company: The early aged radium dials from the 20-ies and 30-ies where merely fitted on a emaille surface, using strong first generation Radium that by then not known that it could be dangerous. But if we include vintage and pre-owned watches, there’s still enough to A Rolex that’s still in the condition as it was published in their old catalogue, being from the first batch and not been serviced with later parts, is the ultimate one to have imho! The red and white paint is as usual with matte dials added on top of the dial, without any lacquer over it. The underline and SCOC text is added later on top of the lacquer, the rest of the print is punched into the dial, laying deeper.. From this we can conclude that they still seem to be the original ones. Here below we see a modern interpretation Rolex Geneva made for a client, gold print of a modern design, toned luminous…. But as it’s still in honest and crisp condition, it’s highly collectable as all the original patina is still there! Paul is a graduate of Boston College 1979 and resides in California with his family. It’s very easy to get caught up in a bidding war in all the excitement and go well over your budget. I strongly advise you when you want to buy at an auction, always to make sure you check the actual watch ( preferable in daylight ) before the sale starts. Again this is what I mean with „matching all over patina”. The watch market has to understand that exactly these little scratches or small imperfections are the key to future collecting! Common vintage models can be cheaper than new, but rare ones can be much more expensive. I do hope you enjoyed reading this report and the information was useful for you. 4 = Bark The Turn O Graph Ref. He is responsible for all the day to day activities from purchasing, receiving, marketing and sales. Magnify small screws for tarnish and if they have been used. Ask for further photos, specifically of serial numbers if they haven’t already supplied them. Don’t just buy a vintage Rolex watch based on the blue-eyed seller. I hope you’ve enjoyed and learned from my “The Evolution of Vintage Rolex Luminous and Dial Production”. 5512 SCOC, again we bright luminous added on the glossy dial.. It is simply a matter of supply and demand—the popularity of stainless steel luxury sports watches has exploded in recent years and few watchmakers make steel sports watches as great as Rolex does. 6240 Daytona and later ref. Many more dealers are active then for instance when I started organizing „. Be aware!! 5x = White What we often see when we analyze any watches on its condition, is that the „ all over patina” is not matching. So besides the hands, also the lume on the dial has been touched. In the modern vintage watch world, which is full of “put together“‚”swapped“‚”cosmetically enhanced” and “photoshopped” online and offline offers, at first we have to determine the meaning of the words: “all original“. To bring it back in catalogue style has become an art by itself. See more pre-owned and vintage Rolex Submariner watches at watchfinder… For collectors, nothing beats tracking down and snagging that perfect reference—that one-of-a-kind model with a story to tell. Are these the original hands and has the dial been swapped perhaps? Below you see a early Submariner which has been resumed with luminous. Try and take your emotions out of it, and if anything seems off, move on. Below a NOS Submariner.. On an older, glossy gilt dial printed with galvanic technique where you see the lume is actually added lower on the sticky white surface. In those cases your eyes tell you the dial seems to be ok at first look but when you examine it up close, with your loupe, your brain is warning you to be extra careful as something is not correct. If you’re not yet aware about how a certain reference should look like once it’s not polished, I recommend you to take a loupe and look closely to the matt polished part of the watch. Oyster: This is the name that Rolex’s founder, Hans Wilsdorf, gave to the earliest waterproof watches from the 1920s. Here’s a NOS Ref 6263 Daytona. With the … Genuine vintage parts have therefor become blue chips. We have to realize that most of the rare watches from today where made in small batches and where not very popular in sales. In general you can say that the correct tone on earlier radium (Pre 1964 examples) is a „cappuccino” color and later tritium (after 1964) is a bit lighter, more yellow cream. When removing the band with the push pins before polishing, it will always leave trace marks on the case. Rolex watches have a deep and iconic history. This could be the font used, serif or non serif. To rest my case, following pictures is of an early 1956 Big Crown with 4 lines coming for sale in NY soon…. 22 = Stainless steel and Platinum (Yachtmaster) 6200 are the beginning of the since then ever lasting legendary tool – sports watch concept.. What we see in above and in below pictures are first generation Rolex Sports models. Totally fresh monobloc case seen from the back, note how sharp the rills are and the gravure of the serial and the references still are.. Up close you will see with a polished example that the fine lines are not perfectly straight as most likely the polished cases have been done by hand, there where the unpolished cases have a manufacture polish, done when all parts aren’t yet assembled and always the same, in 1 go. Let’s take a closer look at the case to determine the originality of the watch and its condition. Buying a Vintage Rolex is Not Without Challenges Vintage goods are great to have, but vintage Rolexes can be very tricky–because there are so many fakes out there. What we are looking for is „matching luminous of dial and hands”, both have to be in the same color, still fluffy and undamaged. Maybe the edges are a bit worn off but generally i’m always surprised who great the shape of the case still is with a fresh find once it has been worn for like 50 years. Not buying a Daytona or even a Paul Newman because 1 lume dot is missing and although the total watch is nice and crisp, is nonsense! 4 = Stainless Steel and 18k White gold (White Rolesor) Water damage will oxidate the movement making it look brownish and dirty. So below the reference number is 6538 for Rolex Submariner Big Crown produced between 1956-1959, then below you see I.56, which means it left production at first quarter 1956 and all the way down you see a stamp that has shortly been used around 1956, the 18 which stands for the (high) quality of steel that has been used. Besides the all the information from the book, there’s a section with close ups from the movements, case backs and dials! Reputable houses, such as Sotheby’s or Christie’s, have highly trained specialists to inspect every watch that comes through their doors and the pieces are offered for sale on their recommendation. The radium dust, one never must inhale, leave small stains on the surface of the dial. Rolex Terminology. First is a 1954 Ref 6200 with later added “Submariner” at 6 O’clock, secondly we see a 1958 Ref 6538 with 4 line dial, besides the depth rate and Submariner, this version has a OCC ( Official Certified Chronometer ) movement. Funny enough when you think about a watch, logically the movement should be what it is all about. But … Good Luck! Even when the crooks add patina on below dial, you see it’s newly made… FAKE! 1 = Yellow gold Placor (Tudor) Often the rubber seal shows you wear. Every single part is NOS, not only the midcase / lugs…. Magnifying it up to 100-200 x and comparing with one thats proven original isn’t possible for many collectors. A bevel was merely for esthetical purposes. Therefor I call the luminous material on hands and dial ( which is generally fluffy and added perfectly round on the dial) the highly important „moisture meter” cq “condition meter“, showing us what has happened inside the watch during its life. eBay is an unregulated marketplace, so you are essentially gambling on the trustworthiness of a stranger. If you doubt buying from pictures, always make sure you see the watch in your hands before finishing the deal. I want to discuss the following important issues around collecting watches: Below you see a original ‘iced” plastic crystal on a early Rolex Explorer that chanced transparency due to the radium dust…. If it’s not obvious the parts are not matching, look closely between the lugs, you will notice that this matt area is much more „worn” then the like new lugs are. 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