Rolex 1601 dial opinon

nitediver · Jan 28, 2021

I have this Rolex 1601 with grey dial which i purchased many years ago from a seller in Germany. I consider to sell the watch. Upon close inspection, i had some doubts whether the dial is original or a refinish.

the clues are the following:

1) lume dots look different than on reference pictures. They are clear and dont have a typical patina of tritium lume. They however only glow briefly, which would be consistent with the age of the watch.

2) the quality of the print seems inconsistent / not as good as i would expect

Looking forward to your comments.

thanks,

Stefan

datocompax · Jan 28, 2021

Unfortunately refinished dial

On cal 1570 pie pan dials the lume is never stuck to the hour markers, they are placed away from them.
Also the soleil looks redone with rough finish, text is off

Best

Ara M

offrdmania · Jan 28, 2021

Looks aftermarket to me

JwRosenthal · Jan 28, 2021

If it bothers you, there are usually a pretty steady stream of original factory dials on eBay (a few up now) in various conditions. They aren’t cheap- but then your watch would be 100% factory.

Artx · Jan 28, 2021

I have a boxed example 16030 with similar dial.

nitediver · Jan 29, 2021

datocompax
Unfortunately refinished dial

On cal 1570 pie pan dials the lume is never stuck to the hour markers, they are placed away from them.
Also the soleil looks redone with rough finish, text is off

Best

Ara M

thanks for your feedback, that confirms my observations

nitediver · Jan 29, 2021

Artx
I have a boxed example 16030 with similar dial.

nice one! Here we can see that the lume dots are different than on my example.

nitediver · Jan 29, 2021

JwRosenthal
If it bothers you, there are usually a pretty steady stream of original factory dials on eBay (a few up now) in various conditions. They aren’t cheap- but then your watch would be 100% factory.

good point. It does bother me, so i will look into it. thanks.

datocompax · Jan 29, 2021

offrdmania
Looks aftermarket to me

Aftermarket usually refers to all fake dial, the one in question is original (those are original Rolex indexes), only that those hour markers have been removed together with the crown, repainted and then reinstalled . That is redone/repainted dial

best

Ara M

datocompax · Jan 29, 2021

Artx
I have a boxed example 16030 with similar dial.

This dial s a nice 16030 with 3035 movement, hence dial is flat and not pie-pan like the one in question

best

Ara M

offrdmania · Jan 29, 2021

datocompax
Aftermarket usually refers to all fake dial, the one in question is original (those are original Rolex indexes), only that those hour markers have been removed together with the crown, repainted and then reinstalled . That is redone/repainted dial

best

Ara M

I dont like the printing or the font. IMO, I still think its an aftermarket (fake) dial. There are tons of them out there with the exact same hour markers. You state that you had doubts about the dial and when I agreed you attacked my post stating that its real.

datocompax · Jan 29, 2021

offrdmania
I dont like the printing or the font. IMO, I still think its an aftermarket (fake) dial. There are tons of them out there with the exact same hour markers. You state that you had doubts about the dial and when I agreed you attacked my post stating that its real.

I am saying the dial plate and hourmarkers might be real , we cant be sure before seeing back of the dail ..
There is a possibility that the dial was faded/paint peeled off /damaged and it was re-painted and re-printed and then the hour markers were re-mounted , in this case the dial ,IMHO, is a redone/repainted dial ,(hence the sloppy text print and miss-placement of the lume) and not aftermarket (since aftermarket we assume is 100%fake ,even the dial brass plate)
I dont attack any posts and certainly it is not my hobby.
Best

Ara M

offrdmania · Jan 29, 2021

datocompax
I am saying the dial plate and hourmarkers might be real , we cant be sure before seeing back of the dail ..
There is a possibility that the dial was faded/paint peeled off /damaged and it was re-painted and re-printed and then the hour markers were re-mounted , in this case the dial ,IMHO, is a redone/repainted dial ,(hence the sloppy text print and miss-placement of the lume) and not aftermarket (since aftermarket we assume is 100%fake ,even the dial brass plate)
I dont attack any posts and certainly it is not my hobby.
Best

Ara M

To remove the hour markers and remount them is an enormous job and highly unlikely. They are not glued on, they are brazed on and the heat would do more damage than its worth.

datocompax · Jan 29, 2021

offrdmania
To remove the hour markers and remount them is an enormous job and highly unlikely. They are not glued on, they are brazed on and the heat would do more damage than its worth.

the indexes each have two feet which are pressed into the dial plate in the corresponding holes by the original dial maker of Rolex .When refinishing, those feet are pressed from the backside and the indexes are removed..then after applying the desired colour And text on the dial , indexes are pushed back to their place along with the crown. All this does not make the dial original , it merely is refinished/redone dial .

pic burrowed from the internet

best

Ara M

Rolex 1601 dial opinon

nitediver

datocompax

offrdmania

JwRosenthal

Artx

nitediver

nitediver

nitediver

datocompax

datocompax

offrdmania

datocompax

offrdmania

datocompax

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