Hi All, It is my first post in this Rolex Forum. I have a Oyster Junior Sport, that has a rolex crown, and also is signed Rolex in the plate under the dial. The movement is not signed Rolex. Can I consider this to be a legit Rolex) Does anybody knows a bit of history about these watches? Thanks for any help. Regards, João Santos ntos
It's real. Oyster at this time (ca. 1940) was a lower priced line that Rolex marketed mainly in the UK, Canada, and other Commonwealth nations. The movements were generally cal. 59 contract movements (marked Rolex underneath the dial as shown). This crown is a more recent replacement. These were mostly smaller sized (29-31mm). The case reference on the case back is 3136, I think this is 30mm. The interesting criss-cross dial is original.
The way I read the situation with the Oyster name was that Oyster once was the name of the secondary line to Rolex. Since the Oyster case was used on both Rolex and Oyster lines, Rolex seems to have re-named the Oyster as Tudor. Thereafter having both Rolex Oyster and Tudor Oyster watches. Right or wrong. In many years of collecting Rolex, Tudor, and Oyster watches, and repairing them, I have never seen cross pollination of movements between Rolex, Oyster, or Tudor watches. Not saying it hasn't happened. It's just I have never seen it.
I should add that the replacement crown seems to be much larger than those originally fitted to these Oysters, even if it might screw down. They should be more like these.