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onlyomega94
·Not *my* search. I will only use a watchmaker I trust, and besides, the old Rolexes might be fine but they're not better than Omega and they're still ugly, so who cares?
Thinking of venturing into Rolex: Advice needed
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arslan ali
·The dial looks original to me and as long as you don't have an 8" wrist these are great watches.
I would however ask for better pictures. Outside during the day in natural light almost always provides a decent picture.
Just make sure you're ok with manually unscrewing the crown to wind every other day with it being a manual. Personally I quite like manually winding a watch every morning but I've heard some people think unscrewing the crown to wind is a chore.
hi there, you guys seem like you have knowledge which i certainly lack.
could you help me out a bit, does the Rolex's in the pictures seem okay to you?
i am not getting a good vibe from them , seem as if the dial is redone..
any help would be much appreciated !!!
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onlyomega94
·hi there, you guys seem like you have knowledge which i certainly lack.
could you help me out a bit, does the Rolex's in the pictures seem okay to you?
i am not getting a good vibe from them , seem as if the dial is redone..
any help would be much appreciated !!!
Hi and welcome to the forum. You will have better luck if you start a new thread under the Rolex tab here on the forum. It helps people find it. Also, please describe in a bit more detail why you think the dial has been refinished.
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janice&fred
·They all look original to me. Salmon dials are gorgeous 👍
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RI Omega Fan
·STICK HANDS! HATE STICK HANDS!
“Well thanks a helluva lot! How’s that supposed to make me feel?”
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SkunkPrince
·I don’t mean to dissuade anyone. I wanted to like Rolex but their styling and I just don’t mesh.
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watch3s
·I don’t mean to dissuade anyone. I wanted to like Rolex but their styling and I just don’t mesh.
rolexes oyster cases are tried and true and they hardly deviate from the pattern. why change a winning formula right? After all these decades, people are still clamoring over a half a mm alteration. it all stopped mattering after the 5 digit serials for me. sadly, vintage is a minefield, especially if you dont know what you are doing and getting more and more expensive.
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Verdi
·I don’t mean to dissuade anyone. I wanted to like Rolex but their styling and I just don’t mesh.
Maybe its better to avoid posting here......this is not a poll to establish who likes Rolex or not.
Someone is trying to get an opinion on a certain watch he wants to buy.
Edited:
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Archer
··Omega Qualified Watchmaker"My watchmaker, who works at a Rolex dealer, tells me that watches of this vintage must go for factory service. Rolex dealers can't service them, and good luck finding an independent who has parts."
Must, eh? Well this is a bit like Omega's rules for their service centers, where Cal. 321's are "Bienne only" yet I service them all the time, and buy parts for them from Omega. But of course the control Rolex exerts is always somewhat amped up compared to anyone else, but that's the Rolex way.
So contrary to you post, there are plenty of watchmakers out there who service vintage Rolex...not all of us are beholden to a brand's rules as your watchmaker is. There's nothing difficult or specific about these that makes them difficult to service, and in fact they are pretty simple movements. The only reason Rolex does this is to control the parts distribution, and to make it more difficult to get these serviced, so people will buy new instead of bothering with the old. They care less about their own heritage than even Omega does...so this is not for any "ethical" reason, and in fact I would consider it the opposite in many respects...
For the OP:
Parts for the 1210 series movements are not hard to find - I have a bunch in stock that I bought from a retiring watchmaker, because I was servicing a bunch of these at the time. Of course Murphy's law - haven't had one request to service one since I bought the parts. 😀
For me on these the bigger issue is the crown and case tube. Being manual winding watches, you need to make sure the crown and case tube are in good condition, because stripped threads may make things more difficult when it comes to service time. Case parts tend to be more difficult to get the an movement parts are, simply because they are less "universal" than the movement parts are. Rolex typically didn't use a lot of different movements at any given time, so those parts are more plentiful than specific case parts that may have only been used a a couple of models.
I've serviced a number of these, and they are great little watches, attractive, and can be made to run quite well. They have shot up in value, but were once a bit of a bargain compared to what they are now.
Cheers, Al
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Davidt
·I’m in the middle of a bit of a DateJust fetish at the minute (at least I would be if the U.K. market wasn’t filled with either over polished or over priced examples) but if my wrist was slightly smaller I’d be all over the 34mm Precision’s. The variety in dial colour and furniture means there always new versions to find and they wear wonderfully.
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airansun
·I’m rather fond of certain, unusual no-date 34mm 4 digit Rolexes and keep my eye out for them. I like 1002s, which have plain bezels.
They’re very comfortable, robust, reliable and relatively inconspicuous. Great every day watches.
Ironically, I happen to be wearing one today.
They’re very comfortable, robust, reliable and relatively inconspicuous. Great every day watches.
Ironically, I happen to be wearing one today.
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larrylush
·you're not losing money on this purchase and it's a great piece to have in any collection, let alone you're first rolex. cheers
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janice&fred
·Overall I think 34mm Rolexes are a great value prop, they wear very similar to 36mm pieces.
I'd say go for the oyster dates, I think it's worth stretching your budget a little bit for a ref 1500.
All the 34mm models are fantastic. I find the light colored dials give the appearance of larger than the dark. The 6694 and 1500 model oyster dates are great models but the thinner cased non-date models really sit nicely on the wrist and thus look largest. 👍
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kip595
·
Thanks for the 'plug' as they used to say, @JwRosenthal 😁
But really just wanted to put my 2 cents in that if someone DOES like the Oyster styling - and many do - it's hard to go wrong with the 34 or the 36, provided you can find a good 36 - they are as someone pointed out earlier hard to find in decent shape. If it's a help to anyone Matt Bain down in Fla at least had one recently, might still, but for both the case size and his name there is a premium. (Never dealt w/MB for the record, just the only 60s era no-date 36 I know of on the market right now, but I haven't been looking either, to be fair) 🙄
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onlyomega94
·
Jep, I did see that myself. Great looking watch! The Precision in itself is stretching my budget though so 900 dollars more is just too much. Also, I live in Denmark so import fees and VAT would be +30%...
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kip595
·Jep, I did see that myself. Great looking watch! The Precision in itself is stretching my budget though so 900 dollars more is just too much. Also, I live in Denmark so import fees and VAT would be +30%...
Even I've gotta say I agree with your logic. The import and duty fees can really nail you if you aren't careful. I had a friend who flew to the Netherlands for a single painting he wanted to buy so he could get it in-person and bring it back as his sole item - I think this was back when you could still have one or two 'gift' declarations at customs. Flying out for the weekend, catching the auction in person, and doing it that way saved him something like 15k US. To be honest I have no idea how 'ok' what he did was, but those duties are no joke!
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onlyomega94
·Even I've gotta say I agree with your logic. The import and duty fees can really nail you if you aren't careful. I had a friend who flew to the Netherlands for a single painting he wanted to buy so he could get it in-person and bring it back as his sole item - I think this was back when you could still have one or two 'gift' declarations at customs. Flying out for the weekend, catching the auction in person, and doing it that way saved him something like 15k US. To be honest I have no idea how 'ok' what he did was, but those duties are no joke!
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onlyomega94
·And just an update on the watch in question: the seller has given me the number on the watchmaker who performed the service. I will give him a call just to make sure everything is ok. If it checks out I think I’ll jump on it.
