A grail blue dial Thunderbird

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Thought I would post my thoughts since there isn't as much on these guys out there as the other refs.

Datejust Turn-O-Graph "Thunderbird" 16253 from 1980s. Yes, the cyclops is misaligned, easy fix.

Blue index bezel I've found to be really hard to come by.

Was a bit nervous pulling the trigger as I haven't been able to see this in the metal and was worried about sizing and being too flashy.

Turns out - the TOG bezel is much slimmer than it shows in most photos, it's slimmer than the Oyster fluted/smooth bezel. And the two-tone with blue dial isn't too flashy - I think it's just really difficult to photograph yellow tones (gold) and blue tones (steel) in the same photo - the white balance ends up making them merge together, altering the dial color, or makes the two-tone bracelet look much "brighter" and flashier than it is IRL.

Super happy with this 😀 will post more pics when I can, surprisingly versatile with strap combos.

 
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Always had a jones for one of these. Yours is just stunning. Congrats. (And get it serviced)
 
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Awesome combo and the bezel appears to be in great condition!
 
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Those watches are great and that one looks to be really nice.
 
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On leather.

Very beautiful watch. It looks good on a strap. Any idea why they call it a Thunderbird? I can't help but think of this.

 
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Great example the Blue configuration is rare and beautiful ! I am in love with my own 1625
Great watches with interesting story

 
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grail worthy, always had a soft spot for the engraved, bark like bezel. blue dial is a bonus
 
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65 years ago…The Rolex Thunderbird wrist watch was probably first used by the 1957 USAF display team...
Some of these came with a rotatable bezel and the most sought-after versions have the "Thunderbirds" logo on the dial !
This photo shows the 1956-57 "Thunderbirds" aerobatic team with at lower right 1st Lieutenant William Pogue as slot/solo display pilot.
In 1966 William “Bill” Pogue was selected a NASA-astronaut, and he later flew onboard Skylab SL-04 (Nov 1973 to Feb 1974)
(Photo: USAF)
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Those were the days when the USAF Thunderbirds aerobatic demo team got the supersonic North AmericanSuper Sabre F-100 and could fly at 50 meters above the crowds... Note the Rolex wrist watch at 2:42 in this video of their 1962 Latin American tour - Operation Long Legs II
👍
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Very beautiful watch. It looks good on a strap. Any idea why they call it a Thunderbird? I can't help but think of this.

Ha! Love Townes but hadn’t heard this, good one
 
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Ha! Love Townes but hadn’t heard this, good one

You got to pick up that album. It is a live recording of just him and his guitar. It is my favorite.