Advice on black dial 5500 explorer

MOL · Jan 24, 2020

Dear Forum,
Hope to get some advice and direction to a fair price for this 5500 from 1963 cal 1530.
Will see it ”live” before deciding, but need to give an offer. I like the tritium aging and dial. But how much is the diff to super precision and to earlier radium versions?
Thanks for guidence, chrono24 and google does not help, I find ranges between 2.5 to 10k+...

TropicConnie · Jan 25, 2020

I would guess it's fake, or at least cobbled together. A genuine Ref. 5500 Explorer with a Cal. 1530 will have 'Super Precision' on the dial. Swiss T <25 should only appear in 1964 when it became law. The 78350 bracelet and 557 end links are from 1975 or later.

MOL · Jan 25, 2020

TropicConnie
I would guess it's fake, or at least cobbled together. A genuine Ref. 5500 Explorer with a Cal. 1530 will have 'Super Precision' on the dial. Swiss T <25 should only appear in 1964 when it became law. The 78350 bracelet and 557 end links are from 1975 or later.

Thanks for your perspective! Thought there is both “super” and not Precision, with cal 1520 or 1530. And that the Tritium marking came before -64 as well since they were ahead of the game...need more reading it seems.
Bracelet I have no info so that is great input. IF it was a genuine piece, how would you value it (with a later bracelet). Thanks!!

TropicConnie · Jan 25, 2020

M MOL
Thanks for your perspective! Thought there is both “super” and not Precision, with cal 1520 or 1530. And that the Tritium marking came before -64 as well since they were ahead of the game...need more reading it seems.
Bracelet I have no info so that is great input. IF it was a genuine piece, how would you value it (with a later bracelet). Thanks!!

As far as I am aware, a 5500 Super Precision should have a 1530 and a 5500 Precision should have a 1520. A quick check of reputable auction sites (Bonhams, Antiquorum, Sotheby's. etc...) indicates this information is likely true. It seems you may be correct regarding the luminous material, my source of information indicated a 1963 dial would just read 'Swiss' and in 1964 they started using 'T<25'. I stand corrected on that.

I'm uncertain of value but I do recommend you email Antiquorum for a free appraisal.

janice&fred · Jan 25, 2020

I remember back in the 80's pretty much everyone in manhattan dismissed the 5500 explorers as put togethers and wouldn't touch one. There were converted model 1002 examples as well which didn't help us NYC collectors trust anything related to 34mm explorers. Then info trickled in that there are some authentic model 5500 examples. then we started buying them up. unfortunately the only way to authenticate them is via the dial as the rest of the watch doesn't definitely prove it's an explorer. one could be theoretically buying a dial.

watch3s · Jan 25, 2020

janice&fred
I remember back in the 80's pretty much everyone in manhattan dismissed the 5500 explorers as put togethers and wouldn't touch one. There were converted model 1002 examples as well which didn't help us NYC collectors trust anything related to 34mm explorers. Then info trickled in that there are some authentic model 5500 examples. then we started buying them up. unfortunately the only way to authenticate them is via the dial as the rest of the watch doesn't definitely prove it's an explorer. one could be theoretically buying a dial.

the same still applies! fellow nyc collector here, wouldnt touch one sans documents

MOL · Jan 25, 2020

Hmmm...okok...but if case serial is in the right age range and ref is 5500, dial ok (orig), hands ok and movement ok...what am I missing? Sorry if super naive here

watch3s · Jan 25, 2020

M MOL
Hmmm...okok...but if case serial is in the right age range and ref is 5500, dial ok (orig), hands ok and movement ok...what am I missing? Sorry if super naive here

The chances that its a franken watch. Not gonna lie, 1016s are hot, theres no denying it. Are there and were there genuine explorer dials in 5500s? sure, we're not contesting that. But as the years passed, and the hype for 1016s soared, there are unscrupulous people out there who cobbled these black dial 5500 explorers together. Take an air king, swap a dial, hope to catch some one unaware. We are not saying it's fake or a frankenwatch outright, we are suggesting you tread softly and do your due diligence. Examples of these always float up on ebay from time to time. like @janice&fred said, you could just be buying a dial as the dial is the key in the vintage game. Just look at elady01's site. there are a few 5500 airkings there in passable condition, going for around $2000 or a bit less with discount. Vintage is a minefield.

MOL · Jan 25, 2020

Got it - thanks, and agreed. So basically, if I can confirm dial originality and everything looks ok and plays out from serials and mvmnt, it would be wise not to overpay anyhow since there will be no proof of genuity and people would always be doubtful...

Dan S · Jan 25, 2020

I wouldn't touch it either, unless you like buying frankens. The vast majority are put-together with no way to authenticate. Pieces like these have value only because of the current vintage feeding frenzy, and sellers are exploiting it.

watch3s · Jan 25, 2020

M MOL
Got it - thanks, and agreed. So basically, if I can confirm dial originality and everything looks ok and plays out from serials and mvmnt, it would be wise not to overpay anyhow since there will be no proof of genuity and people would always be doubtful...

it is just that the margin of error is so high that the general consensus is usually to avoid it. You can share this on the rolexforum's vintage section and the same advice is likely to appear. 5500 explorers are just so iffy that unless it was someone with all documentation/service history box and papers, most would hesitate and even seasoned collectors are wary.

t_swiss_t · Jan 25, 2020

TropicConnie
I would guess it's fake, or at least cobbled together. A genuine Ref. 5500 Explorer with a Cal. 1530 will have 'Super Precision' on the dial. Swiss T <25 should only appear in 1964 when it became law. The 78350 bracelet and 557 end links are from 1975 or later.

agreed, dial not okay, hands not okay. Put together like many of the “explorer” 5500’s.

Advice on black dial 5500 explorer

MOL

TropicConnie

MOL

TropicConnie

janice&fred

watch3s

MOL

watch3s

MOL

Dan S

watch3s

t_swiss_t

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