Questions on a newly acquired Polerouter DeLuxe

I recently acquired a Polerouter DeLuxe, Ref. 10234-1W. Case has been polished, but I really don't care, as the price was right around melt value.



A nice watch to wear and keeps great time also. Rose gold is a bonus.

OK, here are the questions -- Does anyone know what the "1W" means? Does it mean rose (really closer to red) gold? Are the central dials also 18K?

According to The Polerouter Reference Website, there are several second tier sub references to the 10234-1. There is the "TL", which generally refers to the Saudi presentation watches. I found one or two TL's that did not have the King's portrait engraved, but all of them had a UG signed caseback, which seems to be unique to this sub-sub reference. I also found a rose gold portrait watch marked B10234-2TL. The SAS Polarouters were also 10234-1, but no "W" added there. So those are all different animals.

I was able to find this example of a Ref. 10234-1W that was auctioned off in France last year. This one appears to be rose gold from the picture, although the bracelet (which I would assume is after market) is described as "or jaune" (yellow gold). Serial number is only 26 away from mine. There is another -1W out there, but it is one of the enameled dial examples. Serial number would be close, but the auction description seems to be missing the 1 million digit and there are no pictures of the case back either. It is also described as "pink" gold, so there's that.

Any help that the collective can provide will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
gatorcpa

No help but looks like a nice catch. I would wear it quite happily.

If no one gets to it first will check the Polerouter book tomorrow.

You are correct!

Here is an example with the “B” prefix. It has the key with 2 inside.

@Mazoue, do you know if the gold dials are actually solid gold? My guess is no, since the black dials do not seem to be gold underneath. Did the SAS and Saudi engraved dials get upgraded?

Many thanks,
gatorcpa