I wondered if I could ask the forum for some advice. I have been offered these by a local shop. I am told they date to the 1940s and are original unrestored from first owner. I am particularly taken by the Rolex for my wife. It seems to have original strap and buckle too!
Don't know too much about the Rolex other than the early calendar models are pretty rare. I would recommend going over to the Vintage Rolex Forum and ask there. The dial looks to be in very nice condition, maybe too nice. There is a site that tracks the JLC Mark XI pieces. You can find it here: http://www.markeleven.com/ My opinion is that there was some dial work done on this watch, but it could be been done as part of a military refurbishment. Hope this helps, gatorcpa
The Rolex is a manual winder! I don't recall seeing many of those around with the date feature. That model might be considered (by modern preferences) small for a man's watch. But considering what we see women wearing for watches nowadays, this might be a good size for a lady. I suspect the Rolex might be newer than the Jaeger. Possibly early to mid 1950s. It looks (to me) to be original. Decide whether it is something you would wear if she declines. No sense buying it if neither of you would wear it. Same goes for the Jaeger. Personally, I like the Rolex better!
The Rolex is most likely 1950s, and should be easy to date from the serial number. It has the red/black date wheel which is really cool. The serial and ref number should let you find comps pretty easily to see if it is a good buy. For the Mrs., it is a pretty sweet watch, probably 32 or 33mm. They don't command too much, sub $1000 I am pretty sure, but could be off. Lume plots on the JLC look off. Since it looks like it has been worked over once, I would want to factor in the cost of someone cleaning up those plots (if possible) to make it more presentable.
love the rlx - looks original (not a 100% expert) as mentioned: its handwind and has screw down crown - which might translate into "tricky" for women... doublecheck that with the wifey before committing
For sure my wife likes that rolex but she cannot fathom setting the watch, winding or maintaining... She's much happier with quartz
The JLC Mk 11 is a very desirable military watch, and the 1st generation white 12 the most deisreable iteration. The 48 on the caseback suggests 1948. The caseback military engravings, however, seem off or redone, to my aging eyes- the pheon (broad arrow) not quite broad enough, the size of the issue numbers off, as well as the engraving depth itself. Having said all that, it's worth a pretty penny.
Do you think the second hand on the rolex is original? It looks like it goes beyond the minute track on the dial
The seconds hand compares very favourably with my 9 karat (English made) Oyster cased model of the same watch, which is all original. Only difference being, your hour and minute hand are yellow, mine are blued steel. The seconds hands on both are blued steel but yours has a "lollipop" on the off end, while mine doesn't.
The bulb on the end of the black seconds hand is a Rolex trait from the 1950's. You really need experts on those JLC's. May want to head over to the Military Watch Forum and ask about there also. gatorcpa
Something strikes me as very strange about the fonts of both watches. It might be the pictures, but the letters look too thick. I've seen Rolex redials that look just like that come out of California (Kirk Rich maybe?),
There are not two (as in BOTH) Rolexes shown, but THREE. Is there one of them that DOES look right to you?
It is very hard to tell from the pictures if it is original or not...it looks like a 6094. I would compare to this example.
I hope I live long enough for someone to just up and offer me a first year JLC mark 11 one day! This thread is killing me next you are going to say he wants $500 for both.
Well I have gone for both and here they are. Some excitement on opening the JLC. Both are wound and running and appear to be keeping good time. The JLC is a bit jerky and clearly in need of service. Rolex is very smooth. And my wife likes it! So....here we go....
Rolex has red date wheel. Original crown and blued metal second hand. I think original strap and buckle.
So guess this is where the excitement starts....the JLC watch with the Rolex came from a deceased estate of a military man. The antique dealer had his medals too. It appears he wore the watch regularly. It is on An old black leather strap with unmarked buckle and fold over rivets. The case is worn used but no obvious damage. Fixed pins between lugs betted suited to a nato I guess. Case back shows serial number inside and antimagnetic cover in place.