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