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Rolex never produced Blueberry GMT inserts

BenBagbag
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Cozmopak Cozmopak
I recently spoke to a dealer who claimed to be sitting on a box of these blueberry inserts that he acquired in the 80s. From whom, I don’t know. He claims that he can prove that they’re authentic service inserts.

I agree that the mystery surrounding these is part of what drives up their price. It’s a self-perpetuating feedback loop.

Could you imagine someone who is "sitting on a box of these inserts" arguing that they are fake? Of course he wants to believe they are real. 🙄
 
mancio
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shishy shishy
"Rolex never made it"
"but some appear to be good"

How can the second bit ever be taken seriously if the first is true
So i was curios and i asked to a friend of mine who is a big italian Rolex collector but also a dealer. According to what he said, it is true that Rolex never sold a GMT with blueberry bezel, BUT (and here is the tricky part) these are just prototype bezel made by Rolex and installed after on some GMT (which would explain why the good one are so rare e reach that type of premium).

It is the same thing why some Prototype diasl were put on several Daytona, despite being a prototype, and arrive to the public. But spot a fake dial is much easier than spot a fake Bezel.
 
shishy
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mancio mancio
So i was curios and i asked to a friend of mine who is a big italian Rolex collector but also a dealer. According to what he said, it is true that Rolex never sold a GMT with blueberry bezel, BUT (and here is the tricky part) these are just prototype bezel made by Rolex and installed after on some GMT (which would explain why the good one are so rare e reach that type of premium).

It is the same thing why some Prototype diasl were put on several Daytona, despite being a prototype, and arrive to the public. But spot a fake dial is much easier than spot a fake Bezel.

Well, then the language should be amended to say
"Rolex never sold this bezel" instead of "Rolex never made it" 😀.

Prototype anything makes me so uncomfortable unless it's clearly documented by the manufacturer and authenticated.
 
bags1971
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Cozmopak Cozmopak
I recently spoke to a dealer who claimed to be sitting on a box of these blueberry inserts that he acquired in the 80s. From whom, I don’t know. He claims that he can prove that they’re authentic service inserts.

I agree that the mystery surrounding these is part of what drives up their price. It’s a self-perpetuating feedback loop.
From what I read they were supposed to be inserts supplied to Rolex but didnt pass the quality control and they were sold off to people and dealers by the company who made them
 
Archer
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Larry S Larry S
I continue to be astounded by the levels of tumult in the Rolex Universe. You’d think they would be the most buttoned up on their history.

I don't doubt that they are, but they make a point of not sharing anything...leaving it all open to speculation by collectors and those wanting to profit off them. I'm actually surprised that they would even issue the letter shown above in writing...
 
Archer
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S.H. S.H.
No, not really. I read French just fine , it just says that the customer send a question with a picture of an insert attached. The answer is, Rolex never produced such an insert (blue) and that on the picture, it may be a weathered black one. It says nothing about what would a RSC do when handling a watch with a blue insert. Probably a slam dunk in the trash 😁😜 . Also, a bad idea in the first place to send it to a RSC anyway.

Officially Rolex would consider the watch a counterfeit.
 
S.H.
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Archer Archer
I don't doubt that they are, but they make a point of not sharing anything...leaving it all open to speculation by collectors and those wanting to profit off them. I'm actually surprised that they would even issue the letter shown above in writing...

Me too... that is why I asked. And tbh, I suspect they are not sharing historical data, because they may not have much to share if they did not bother to save/archive it in the first place. It is an industrial streamlined money machine by now, not really a forgiving place for poets, or history buffs. I'm not really criticizing Rolex (even if I don't like them), because why should they care? From their POV, all is well and coherent. Old bezels be damned, buy a ceramic one...
 
BenBagbag
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S.H. S.H.
Old bezels be damned, buy a ceramic one...
This could very well be their new slogan. +1 👍
 
Archer
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S.H. S.H.
Me too... that is why I asked. And tbh, I suspect they are not sharing historical data, because they may not have much to share if they did not bother to save/archive it in the first place. It is an industrial streamlined money machine by now, not really a forgiving place for poets, or history buffs. I'm not really criticizing Rolex (even if I don't like them), because why should they care? From their POV, all is well and coherent. Old bezels be damned, buy a ceramic one...

I doubt this. It’s simply not the way the industry works, and I suspect that Rolex has information on what parts were installed on a given watch by serial number. The industry is just too anal to operate differently.

But the industry in general, and Rolex in particular, is all about control. Sharing information is not in the nature of the big green bully...
 
Meme-Dweller
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I laughed a bit at the people who overpaid for a "rare" all-blue GMT but then realized I once considered buying a Watchco SM300, so what do I know?

Meh.
 
Archer
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Meme-Dweller Meme-Dweller
I laughed a bit at the people who overpaid for a "rare" all-blue GMT but then realized I once considered buying a Watchco SM300, so what do I know?

Meh.

Well, if you paid $50k for a Watchco I would understand the comparison, but considering they are quite inexpensive, I’m not sure I see the relationship...
 
Dan S
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MaiLollo MaiLollo
Hamburg vintage watches removed his post, I have no idea why.

A dealer recently sold 6 for 300k$ I was told, and I can’t understand how these things can be so rare that you can get a full box of NOS ones but they’re still worth 50k 😕

that would be a bad purchase IMO. They don’t increase the price of a 1675 by $50k.
 
marco
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I have a doodleberry insert , it is a cheap copy from Yukiwatch. It looks good with a matching strap but with all the hoo ha of blueberries I am reluctant to mount it anymore !
Pics below for comparison.

The black insert looks best imho.

Personally it seems to me this was a clever scam and it would take a brave collector to part with big money for a blue insert.
If there are by some chance a few "real" ( prototype) blue inserts how would one know yours is genuine ?
 
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Cozmopak
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marco marco
I have a doodleberry insert , it is a cheap copy from Yukiwatch. It looks good with a matching strap but with all the hoo ha of blueberries I am reluctant to mount it anymore !
Pics below for comparison.

The black insert looks best imho.

Personally it seems to me this was a clever scam and it would take a brave collector to part with big money for a blue insert.
If there are by some chance a few "real" ( prototype) blue inserts how would one know yours is genuine ?

That's the ultimate question. Is there a way to authenticate the bezel? I think the answer is no.
 
harrymai86
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henrikaa henrikaa
As said, I cannot judge whether or not his claims are right or wrong, I am amused by his rethorics and argumentation style. If he is right about his claims though, OMG...
He is quite hated from the.dealers
Cozmopak Cozmopak
That's the ultimate question. Is there a way to authenticate the bezel? I think the answer is no.
And also people like Orchi and Argentina vintage watches are proving the quality of the Blueberry insert is quite shitty and using 90s 2000s technology instead of 70s 80s as they are claimed to be.
 
Faz
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50k for inserts with question marks? 👎

50k for an insert? 👎👎 Any insert? 😕

All I can say is....nuts...🤨🤨🤨
 
jhross98
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mancio mancio
So i was curios and i asked to a friend of mine who is a big italian Rolex collector but also a dealer. According to what he said, it is true that Rolex never sold a GMT with blueberry bezel, BUT (and here is the tricky part) these are just prototype bezel made by Rolex and installed after on some GMT (which would explain why the good one are so rare e reach that type of premium).

It is the same thing why some Prototype diasl were put on several Daytona, despite being a prototype, and arrive to the public. But spot a fake dial is much easier than spot a fake Bezel.

i am of the opinion that every time you read "prototype" with regards to vintage rolex, you should insert the words "fake made up by italian dealers and aided and abetted by certain "rolex sources" to wildly inflate values" and literally RUN the other way

this is no different
 
mancio
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jhross98 jhross98
i am of the opinion that every time you read "prototype" with regards to vintage rolex, you should insert the words "fake made up by italian dealers and aided and abetted by certain "rolex sources" to wildly inflate values" and literally RUN the other way

this is no different
Unfortunately, some of that prototypes were authenticate by Rolex itself....

So, don’t take it personally if I think that your last statement was full of BS.
 
Cozmopak
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mancio mancio
Unfortunately, some of that prototypes were authenticate by Rolex itself....

So, don’t take it personally if I think that your last statement was full of BS.

I would love to believe that these prototypes were authenticated. Where is the proof?
 
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