Hello!

I have been eyeing a Submariner 14060 for a while, but having been mostly in the vintage Omega game, I am not yet completely able to determine the level of polish and overall condition of a sub.

I have considered these two watches. Both are from dealers but the prices seem fair in comparison to what they sell for in private deals. What are your thoughts of those? To my noob-ish eye, both cases look sharp with especially the latter one looking unpolished, which is probably my most important criteria.

The first one features neither B/P while the latter is a full set. I have a hard time making up my mind whether the full set would be worth an extra 1000 euros.

Thanks in advance for your insights and comments!

https://www.chrono24.com/rolex/submariner-no-date--id15281491.htm

https://www.chrono24.dk/rolex/submariner-ref-14060--id15088164.htm

 

Given those two pieces... I prefer the watch from the 1st link.
2nd watch looks like super-luminova hands & tritium dial & tritium insert which is olded than the dial.
But hands on the 1st watch do looks a bit tired, don't they?


Perhaps it is worth looking for another piece(?)

 

This is my first time giving my view on something like this, so I'd take what I say very sceptically, but if I was looking at these two, I'd say that the second watch has been more polished than the first. The crown guards on the second seem very shiny, but worn down, and if they're the same reference, then there's no definition on the crown guards on the second watch, whereas there is a sharp line on each of the first. And in fact it looks like the lower crown guard nub has actually been polished slightly lower down than the upper one, which is particularly obvious when you look at the photo of the watch face down.

I'd be interested to know if I'm talking nonsense from more experienced/knowedgeable contributors, because, as I say, that is my first attempt at this, and it would be helpful to me to know if/where I'm going wrong.

The other thing I'd say is, are you going to wear it daily/occasionally/keep it in a safe? Because what it looks like now becomes increasingly important with each iteration. If you're going to wear it daily, it matters less, imho.

 

@vitriol @Stripey

Thanks to you both for your replies. I really appreciate them and the issues that you spotted out that I did not see at first glance. I will continue my search for a better example

It is going to be a daily wearer, so scratches and small dings are not a problem, but a polished case is!

 

I think your getting onto the Rolex bandwagon of ‘polished watches are the devil’ too soon.

I dont understand why there’s such an issue with it amongst Rolex. I completely agree that a watch shouldn’t be over polished etc etc etc...but if a watch has been polished once by an official Rolex service centre, then there shouldn’t be an issue.

I’d rather a fresh service watch with papers over an unserviced/unpolished piece with no papers etc.

it’s becoming such an issue with Rolex that people almost try to hide the fact that a watch has been polished. This makes it harder for the buyer to source a genuine described watch. The used market becomes a minefield.

Omega owners are a lot more open about it and there’s less of an issue. Obviously an over polished watch is an issue, but that’s a whole other topic.

 

I have owned countless vintage Omega watches over the years, where one of my main concerns when buying has been the condition of the case and the level of polish. I therefore don't think that my wish for an unpolished Rolex has anything to with bandwagoning I think the desire for cases without polishing are a general thing in the watch community and not something that is specifically related to Rolex.

I get your point, but I would nonetheless prefer the second option: unserviced/unpolished piece with no papers

 

I agree with you. When I hunt for a watch, the sharpness of the case is up as a priority for myself, also. However, I think your limiting yourself to not allowing a watch to have a RSC service and polish.

 

You are right A light polish where the facets of the lugs and crown guards are still intact would definitely work too.

 

At the end I went for the luminova swiss only 14060 because all the tritium ones were polished to death. Difficult to find a good one.

 

That doesn’t sound too encouraging But then again, 60’s Omega with a minimal amount of polishing aren’t that hard to come by, so I would be surprised if a 90’s Submariner that hasn’t been mutilated is nowhere to be found.

I am not really a fan of the “whiteness” of the luminova, otherwise a 00’s Submariner would seem like the easy choice.

 

The seller of the first one, MM Watches, is a well-known dealer of vintage and modern Rolex watches here in Denmark. I have never dealt with them personally but to my understanding they are extremely well regarded. They sell a lot of watches in the Rolex Facebook Group I am a member of.

I would say the first is the most attractive due to the reasons mentioned above.

 

Sometimes I think we make the polish thing to big on OF. I'm a bit practical when it comes to watches. You wear them with the dial side up and you look at a dial. Not the case. I'm getting older so my eyes dont see the facets anyway. As long as it is'nt polished to death I would go for a nice looking dial...

 

I understand. Tritium is more attractive. But I use my sub really as a utility watch. I dont need to be very carefull with it. You can bang it around. It was well build.

 

Different horses for courses - given a choice between a watch with tritium and a watch with luminova, I would opt for luminova - because it will hopefully still work, unlike the tritium.

I agree with the comments that people can over worry about polishing. But polishing can turn into actual damage.

 

That is indeed a very lovely watch! I have have to “settle” with a luminova Sub if I want an unpolished example, but I guess it’s worth a shot first

 

@Hnansen

Definitely give the hunt a good go! The hunt is always as good, if not, better than the purchase.

 

So true!

 

I feel that the fetish so often expressed on The Rolex Forum on over-polishing is a recent obsession that makes it nearly impossible to find an "undamaged" older watch.

I had a 14060M that in hindsight I wish I still had... that when I sold it, was returned to me because it had been polished. I had no idea, and it never bothered me. I sold it (again) to someone else who didn't care about that nonsense. If you want an unpolished watch, buy it new.

yeah, yeah, I know, there are no NOS 14060 out there, I'm just sayin'... let's be realistic.

 

Hi,

The 14060 is certInly one of the most classic sports watches Rolex made. The 'No date Sub' is reminiscent of the iconic 5513 and even earlier subs. A bulletproof, sapphire, clean dial, top notch movement watch.

Unpolished watches, unless you have unequivocal provenance, are almost impossible to find. Many Rolex serviced watches however, are impeccably polished and remain very sharp and appealing. When I see examples, as both these ones with skinny, rounded or pointy crown guards, I pass. My criteria. Skinny lugs, even worse. A telltale sign that a watch is close to unpolished are the sharpness of crown guards and lug holes.

Good luck in your hunt.

Btw. Those 2 examples are 'pass' for me.

 

https://www.hqmilton.com/timepieces/436kng0r/1991-rolex-submariner-14060-unpolished-A3511

this is an example with some patina
Bracelet is really nice from the looks also