Strange Rolex Submariner dial , 1972 ,

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It's common that watches in smaller auctions have some issues.
This was Van Ham in Germany.
 
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thank you very much indeed . I am horrified , will probably not be able to ever gid rid of this watch. What an idiot.

Are you a dealer? You randomly spent almost 10k on a Sub without knowing what you were buying?
 
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The dial IMO is not repainted and regarding to the "overall conditon" of the watch matching; even if there are (probably?) service parts.

To criticise: you can spent 9 k for an original Rolex model (Tritium-aera), but 9k for a sub at this age is entering a mine-field.
my2cents

 
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bracelet seems correct,. It is just to have paid for a 'collage' watch which is honestly shocking. Have only myself to blame !

Ehi, don't be so sad, that's a very charming watch anyway. You probably paid a bit of Rolex noob tax here, but cheer up man! 😀
 
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I'd be curious to see the photos of the dial from the auction listing, because it sounds like the OP was surprised at the damage when he received it. Again, many smaller auction houses (i.e. as opposed to Phillips, Antiquorom, etc.) purposely have pretty minimal listings with few photos and brief descriptions. The quality of the watches is typically highly variable and you really need to look carefully and bid with the understanding that you are taking a risk.
 
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It's common that watches in smaller auctions have some issues. This watch looks authentic to me, it just has some replacement parts. I don't know if you really have anything to complain about. It's not an example for a collector, but you probably knew that already from the condition of the dial. I do think that 9150 Euros is pretty expensive, but I guess it was an auction so other people were bidding. TBH, I'm often surprised how much people will pay for a Rolex with service parts, although they usually like them to look like new. Someone might want to send it to Rolex and have it upgraded with luminova hands/dial and new insert, and the case refinished.


Hello Dan and others - thanks very much for your very helpful comments. No , I want mine to be in old , original condition, do not mond the lume coming off, etc, do not care about the vracelet much either. I will find a way to get rid of that watch and will see on platform such as chrono24, etc. Unless you guys have suggestions of good vendors in Europe. Ideal is 1976 - the year of my birth , it can also be just a submariner without the choronometer designatiol. The price , here in Europe , is 10 K . Of course , if you know how to het it for less, I will be very glad indeed.
 
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They did have Single Red Sub…
15840 € with the premium!

 
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I followed the auction, and they often have some nice watches, but this time there were lots of weird ones…
 
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Hello Dan and others - thanks very much for your very helpful comments. No , I want mine to be in old , original condition, do not mond the lume coming off, etc, do not care about the vracelet much either. I will find a way to get rid of that watch and will see on platform such as chrono24, etc. Unless you guys have suggestions of good vendors in Europe. Ideal is 1976 - the year of my birth , it can also be just a submariner without the choronometer designatiol. The price , here in Europe , is 10 K . Of course , if you know how to het it for less, I will be very glad indeed.
I will be honest with you, I don't think 10k Euro is enough to get a good example. I have a Maxi1 5513 and a white 1680 in the 5M serial range (so probably 1977), and I would not take that amount for either of them, even without papers. My pre-comex 5513 (also 5M range), and it's not as nice as the other two, but even so I don't think I would consider 10k for it. I don't think you save much with a non-chronometer 5513 vs a white 1680. Maybe my idea of value is unrealistic, but I suspect that you may be bottom-feeding at that price point. 1970s Subs are popular watches and they don't fly under the radar. If you get one for 9k-10k, there's a reason for it.

As noted above, Sub prices can be higher for more desirable variants, such as a red 1680 or a meters-first 5513.

Edited:
 
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Are you a dealer? You randomly spent almost 10k on a Sub without knowing what you were buying?
not at all a dealer : I work in real estate and art. Underdog and a scream donkey , although all this does not matter - it's only earthly life ;-)
 
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Well, Chrono24 seems to be teeming with offers of Subs from the 1970s , and the sellers let you send it back to them , no Qs asked , so perhaps , a wau forward is a dealer , at leats you can say no if it turns out to be a Rolex - collage
 
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Well, Chrono24 seems to be teeming with offers of Subs from the 1970s , and the sellers let you send it back to them , no Qs asked , so perhaps , a wau forward is a dealer , at leats you can say no if it turns out to be a Rolex - collage
That's true. And you can ask questions and get more photos. You will pay more, but it might be worth it for you.
 
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a friend - seller sent me this 1979 , for which he wants the same ammount of money , dial though seems ok - nothing exciting but at least it is not a "collage" - if you agree ? Serial Nr 586xxx , / 1680

 
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I trust your evaluation of the dial, and the insert looks better on this one. If there is no bracelet, that will cost you a minimum of $1500, or more if you want one that is fully period-correct.

I will just note that the case looks pretty soft. The crown guards are most obvious in those photos, but if they have been polished that much, I'd expect the lugs and chamfers to be the same. It's a personal choice how much you want to compromise on condition.
 
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Thank you, Dan. If you started charging 1 € per advice you'd have a new Sub in 3 days ;-) . Here the lugs

 
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this white-ish lume , you think, looks ok ? I know it depends on light and air. And in Martin Skeet / Nick Urul's book all models lume seems to be like this one , so perhaps a reasurring sign.
 
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Skeet and Urul is nice but outdated. And about everything is photoshopped
 
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The whitish lume is pretty common in the late 70s. It should also be dead under UV.

Regarding the case, you can see that the chamfers are gone and the lugs holes are cratered, which is consistent with the condition of the crown guards. There are some people who will laser weld additional material and refinish these cases. Not everyone wants to do that type of restoration, obviously, and it's not cheap.

Looking more closely at the photos, I am seeing what appears to be some chipping at the edge of the dial mostly from 8 to 10 o'clock. The only other minor thing I'm noticing is that the lume pip has been replaced.

Also, in those most recent photos, the watch appears to have a bracelet if you look closely. Is that included? Can you get photos of it?
 
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I will. The bracelet is from same period. Dan the only risk is that the owner , a young IT guy from Zurich, can’t open the case to show me the movement. My fear is that itbis full of plastic inside, « made innChina » , if you see what i mean? 8.600 E incl bracelet
 
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The odds of it having a fake movement are pretty low, IMO. Everything looks legit from what I can see. You need to decide your own level of risk tolerance.