This is one of the last of the Tru-Beats. It is a 6558 with a 1962 Zepher style "Tru-Beat" Rail Dial T-SWISS-T. I don't think I have ever seen another like it. The watch is a pain to get to tick correctly all the time. Today was a rare day when it seems the mechanism is working for several hours without hitting an occasional "glide" like an Accutron or locking up. It needs to be worn just enough to keep it ticking properly without wearing it out quickly. The case is in great exterior shape. A little pitting under the back cover, but overall one of the nicest Tru-beats I have ever seen in person. Sorry about the pin sticking out, didn't notice the braclet was coming off the bottom lug. Anybody know if these are going over $40K yet? I believe average condition is going for $30K? I think the Tiffany sold at $40K in 2015. This is a slightly hard to get 6558 reference and not the 6556 reference.
I think I forgot to mention the best part of the Tru-beat, it has the very desireable and hard to get "Tru-beat Arrow" second hand. This is unique hand to the Tru-beat.
I like the true beat complication, and these have a nice case shape as well. From what i remember to have read a lot of these had the dead beat parts taken out as they were so volnerable and difficult to service ?
Wow, a gold cased Tru-beat would have been just amazing! When I first got my Tru-beat, it was stripped of the dead-beat parts. It took me about 10 years to get lucky to find the parts, but by that time, men's watches were all 40mm or bigger. Now I think only once in a while do you see an odd Hodinkee article and what not about these. Sometimes I think I should have tried to get a 1019 instead. Glad to see some watch fans still like the Tru-beat even though it is very plain looking and kind of small these days.
I gave the watch to my watchmaker and allowed him to take apart three Tru-beat donors. One was fully working by the way. I wanted to have him get this 1962 6558 working. I had him strip for parts a 6556 from 1952 and another 1950s OP that happened to have a 1040 in it. The gears wear out, the springs wear out, the 1040A and 1040B are not exactly the same. Too much oil, it doesn't run, not enough oil, it doesn't run. Slightest misalignment and the seconds hand doesn't snap to each second. Yeah, I can see where it was just too much trouble back in the 1960s to service them. Most likely the number of customer complaints probably ended the model quickly. It took my watchmaker three tries to get it to tick properly (fully disassembled and reassembled). I don't think he ever wants to see the watch again. My example may have been particularly tough because of the 1950s Tru-beat 1040A parts in a 1960s 1040 B base movement.
10 years ago there were some of them around in buenos aires. i think priced like at 4.500 usd. lost trace ever since. nice condition your true beat! last execution most likely right?
Does anyone here have a Tru-beat or the even more rare Canadian version? I don't remember the serial number, but I believe it was around 1960-1962. And it is a cleaner graphic than the 1950's that look like the cross hairs were added over the dial text. My version looks the opposite were the text appears to be first and then the lines are added around the text instead of lying right on top of the text. The -T SWIS T- markings also indicate a later iteration. I had James Dowling look at it and he said as far as the photo was concerned, it looked good. 17 years ago, when I got the watch, it was $6,000 for the watch without the dead-beat ticking working. It wasn't that cheap back then. A fully working one at that time was around $12,000-$15,000 depending on condition. I don't think I have ever seen them cheaper unless the seller didn't know what was going on. The donor Tru-Beat with the heavy patina dial that was fully functioning came from South America and it was $4,500. No one wanted it even at half the market price. It honestly isn't bad looking, but times have changed and there is more appreciation for patina. I will find a picture of that watch in the capsule, it is kinda of nice looking in my opinion. The other is a silver dial OP that by chance had a 1040 in it with what looks like a bullet hole in the back cover. Don't even remember what part I needed off that parts donor.
The Tru Beat, and the Milgauss, are two of Rolex's "failures." (The Oyster Quartz would qualify as a third.) The Milgauss only became popular as a vintage oddity...but when they made the new version of it, it became a must have model among the new generation of Rolex fans. The Tru Beat had the technical issues mentioned already. The only reason digital watches use the jump from second to second, is to extend battery life. As someone who also likes Rolex's lesser known or collected models, I can appreciate those who love the odd duck. As prices of the popular models rise, it pulls the less desired model behind them...just like with Ferraris and Porsches.
You think there isn't much interest in the Tru-beats as collectables? It certainly isn't a palladone or a Jean Claude Killey.