An old Rolex

You could get a new one for that.

nice to see the chap being helped out by someone who knows his stuff! this is likely to close in the high 50s I'd have thought.

Note the valuation of £65-75k.... Time to go and look through some old drawers I think...

I bet he won't be sending it for £7 Royal Mail Second Class any longer.

Chaps

Be warned, these vintage watches can cost a lot of money to maintain.

I have a 1954 Jaeger-LeCoultre 18 ct gold Speedomatic. The winding knob along with the attached shaft dropped off and it had to be sent back to Switzerland for a repair.

It will cost me well over a grand.

Regards

Mick

If you can drop 60 grand on a watch a few more here or there probably won't matter. But yes, the premier brands can cost lots to maintain - Rolex are actually relatively reasonable in this regard.

I've been aware of the price these fetch.

They where originally issued to Royal Navy divers, ( Sign here, Chief...) and when withdrawn, I gather pretty much given away.

Just hit £50 grand.

quote:

Originally posted by Mick Parry:
Chaps

Be warned, these vintage watches can cost a lot of money to maintain.

I have a 1954 Jaeger-LeCoultre 18 ct gold Speedomatic. The winding knob along with the attached shaft dropped off and it had to be sent back to Switzerland for a repair.

It will cost me well over a grand.

Regards

Mick

I have the first automatic watch IWC ever made in 1955 and wear it daily, it goes back to Switzerland every other year and costs me about that just for regular service. It's in the family since 1956. The first time I sent it to Switzerland for a major repair it came back with its own handwritten birth certificate and a copy of the original sales receipt. Pretty cool.

a good watch is a joy forever (or at least till upgraditis strikes!) its funny how many hifi guys are watch nuts (and the other way round). which reminds me, anyone know how ken kessler is doing?

quote:

But yes, the premier brands can cost lots to maintain

Sounds kinda familiar

Chris

Three years ago I had my GMT Master II serviced. It was bought Christmas 1988 to celebrate the imminent birth of my first son. Cost of service was almost 400 quid as the bracelet clasp was broken. When I got it back it looked brand new but was still running fast by 30 seconds a day so it went right back to them. I was not impressed.
Ironically I had previously bought a new bracelet on eBay for 30 quid. When I took it to Watches of Switzerland in Glasgow their specialist gave it a complete inspection prior to sending it to Rolex and I had to tell him it wasn't a real bracelet. Would Rolex have noticed? Couldn't take the risk as they'd have taken the bracelet. Since then it's performed just within spec.

quote:

140434318093

Old Rolexes are an enthusiast product and Rolex will not even touch them for service. It may be a rare item like a Royal Navy issue Submariner. If so, it is the rarest of the rare. Or it may be a counterfeit version of same.

An official Rolex repair centre is in Bexley, Kent. It's run from a mid-terrace house!!! My wife bought a 1995 Rolex recently that had service records from this centre. It keeps very good time for mechanical watch.

quote:

Originally posted by Keith L:
An official Rolex repair centre is in Bexley, Kent. It's run from a mid-terrace house!!! My wife bought a 1995 Rolex recently that had service records from this centre. It keeps very good time for mechanical watch.

They are moving from Bexley to new premises at the moment. It is causing chaos with servicing - well it seems that way to me. I put my watch in for service 13 weeks ago and still no sign of it. Waiting times are now up to 18 weeks and climbing. I am really missing my watch.

Great story.

I photograph Rolex watches for a very serious collector and I'm sure he won't mind me showing a couple of them. Many of them go for more than the £50,000 in the auction. When they get to this level, the previous owner is part of the history of the watch and hence the price reflects this.

This one is rare because of the red lettering.


Another

Inside

These shots are to appear in a Rolex book one day.

Nobody loves Rolex more than I do. But I have a very hard time paying new retail, much less a premium.

I inherited a beautiful Oyster Perpetual circa 1950. It has been in a shop for over a year for a refurb. I was my Dad's watch and as you say, provenance matters. But in hindsight I would not take on the refurb project again.

Hats off to the collectors. I am not worthy of such a watch and would rather have a newer model.

I think it is Patek Philippe that top the auction prices league table month after month. Personally I would buy a Breguet if I could afford it. Patek Philippe or Breguet. Rolex is a bit too recognisable for my liking.

How true the tagline of Patek - you never really own one but hold it for the next generation! But, my favourite brand is still Rolex! They hold their value very well and are reliable. It is a meld of form and function!

I own a 1973 Tudor Prince Oysterdate Ranger.I bought it in 1976 from a Rolex retailer in Park St,Bristol and still wear it today.

At the time LED watches "were in" but I realised that all I wanted was a classic,simple well made watch with an unfussy face.Something that was timeless and "unfashionable".It was in their sale as they had little interest in Tudor and so I paid £59.00 including a quality Rolex leather strap with Rolex clasp.

In my 34 years of ownership it has given sterling,reliable service and I must have had at least 10 straps as leather is a comsumible when worn every day.

It is now highly sought after and this is where eBay is dangerous.The Prince Oysterdate Ranger is very heavily copied as they can now be worth £1000.00.Nearly every one I have seen on eBay is a fake.The method is to take a 1950's to 1970's 19mm strap Tudor watch witjh stainless Oyster case and replace the dial and hands with a fake replacement.Worse still would be a complete,"from scatch" fake but I'n not sure if they can manufacture to that quality.I can see at a glance as there is tell tale when the face is shown on the photo's.It's rare to see a real one and the fakes still sell for up to $1000.00.



I had mine repaired once after dropping it and once when the secondhand came off and recently had a full rebuild and it looks as if it is brand new again.Although it is an Automatic the pinion on the winder was worn out as the teeth had "topped".The last time it was serviced,some years ago Rolex could told me they could not fix the winder so I had to rely on the auto.Increasingly this could not be topped up by wearing the watch as the mechanism was very slack and worn.It had a very "twangy" tick and would often stop overnight as well as running slow.

I had a superb service and full rebuild by Swisserve of Bridlington at only £160.00.YThe watch now looks new and is accurate with a clean,tight tick and now has a working winder!.He actually had the correct winder in stock as he had bought the contents of an old Rolex shop in Ireland.

I am delighted and recommed them very highly.As another poster mentioned Rolex themselves may run a mile when presented with an older model.

Going back to the watch on eBAy the provenance seems to be entirely down to the desciption given by the expert they hired.The seller has no information and says very little indeed for someone who sells lots in eBay.It would be easy to be in cahoots with someone who has "made up" an old watch.Remember antiques get copied ande there's money in it,in this case an astonishing amount.Great story and pictures but you would have thought more care would have been taken as anyone knowns what a Rolex means.

It must be very rare.Perhaps MOD procurement were horrified at the cost and so it was quickly replaced by a more modest manufacturer.

I have a customer who's father was once head of Rolex UK.On visiting their house in Barnes I found the parent to be still very enthusiastic and he noticed my watch instantly.He told me a wonderful story of the meeting in a resteraunt when ideas were bounced about changing the feminine Tudoor Rose to something masculine.Literally pen on paper there and then and someone drew a shield.They keep a huge pile of Rolex catalogues in the hallway going nback to the 1950's with pound.shillings and pence prices.His father has a collection and told me that Rolex has a lineage and true heritage which is not now common.Many brands are simply fashion companies who get someone to make a watch and he is dismissive of many for this reason.

My customer,the son, wears a 1962 prototype Rolex with a stainless case and a platinum cowl.It never went into production and is absolutely unique so god knows what it would fetch if eved put to auction.

I will tell him of this thread as they will be fascinated to see the end of the auction.

Regards.

Thanks WYSAH for the valuable info on Swiss-serve! I have a 60s Tudor Oyster Royal which has stopped and needs a service. When I looked into the cost, it was so prohibitive that I bought a cheaper Seiko. (It's ok but it's not my Tudor).

Regards, Chris

Just got my JLC Master Control back from service, €575. The bill from the last service almost 10 years to the day was DM 595 and it had required more work. I take the watch in every 12 months or so for a check as I am not entirely comfortable with the time between services, but do as advised by the dealer. The Rolex needs more frequent TLC but it might also be that that is due to the fact that it gets worn on the bike, on the slopes, in the sea or at the lake as evidenced by the dinks and scratches in the casing. So, no complaints.

quote:

Originally posted by WhatYouSeeandHear:

I will tell him of this thread as they will be fascinated to see the end of the auction.

Regards.

It will be fascinating to see what happens. I am sure if the seller had realised what he had on his hands he would not have scheduled it to finish at 8.37am on a Tuesday morning.

Now, the guy who has been helping the seller is a serious watch collector and has a fair few of the sale item already. Here is some of his watch collection.


Take a look here for more views of his watches
Watches

quote:

Originally posted by Lontano:

quote:

Originally posted by WhatYouSeeandHear:

I will tell him of this thread as they will be fascinated to see the end of the auction.

Regards.

It will be fascinating to see what happens. I am sure if the seller had realised what he had on his hands he would not have scheduled it to finish at 8.37am on a Tuesday morning.

Now, the guy who has been helping the seller is a serious watch collector and has a fair few of the sale item already. Here is some of his watch collection.


Take a look here for more views of his watches
Watches

Wow that's really amazing.Certainly supports the seller as having the real deal.

As a tidy up from my post I have just spoken to my customer.

His prototype is early 60's with a white gold and not platinum bezel.Also my story about the restaraunt was actually another brand,not Tudor.

But some more of interest.During his fathers position at Rolex prototypes were given away to top staff as they had no real value at that time.They were considered inferior to the final production and no-one knew that one day they would have any value.One of his ex colleagues or relative took one in to Rolex for service in recent years and they got very excited.The watch was sent to Switzerland for apraisal and service as it was different to final production and Rolex made a considerable offer to purchase it.He declined.

My customers father owns a prototype GMT Master if not THE prototype GMT Master.

Its been a few years since I was last there and will be invited for lunch soon.I will see if I can get a look if its actually kept in the house.He also has a wonderful collection of Braun Hi-Fi as well.They are very aesthetic and it's a wonderful and timeless place to visit and not just for the meal and conversation.