Left is ultra rare with "SWISS T<25" below minute track, while Right is regular but UNPOLISHED. Both are GILT with T38 Superdome, Arabic Calendar and Fuchsia(Pink) Insert! Yes everything is original Rolex factory. ♚ SingaporeanWatchBaron ♚
Oh yes, I'm just wondering how come they are completely void of patina. I would have guessed that they had turned slightly off-white over the years? I'm not an expert, though. It may be common with Oyster cased Rolexes
I agree - they do look unusually white to me...here is a 1675 I serviced a couple of years ago and you can see that the date disk has turned slightly yellow...
To be fair, "original Rolex factory" could well be replacements, which I guess is the case here. Otherwise it seems odd to me that two watches in, what I can only assume is, very warm climates, both seem to have avoided patinating a rather delicate coloured disc. ...Would still kill for either of the two. Not many Rolexes make me weak in the knees, but an old GMT...
Those do stand out as very white...here is mine from 1965, its also white, but not quite as new looking as the OP's. This is the original date wheel.
Not doubting you, but can you elaborate as to how you know with certainty it is the original date wheel?
well 100% I can't because I'm not the original owner. But it was bought from a friends estate and his dad bought the watch new. He wore it for one year and then locked it up in a safe where it sat until I bought it. These images were taken by my watchmaker and his opinion is that it was never serviced. Its highly unlikely that the date wheel was changed in the first year of its life...but you never know do you?
One possible factor (and I am not say this is the cause here), date wheels are much more sheltered from light than the dial, even at constant use.
Replacement, end of the story. Should be off white as many of you point out. That white disk sticks off like a sore thumb. Replacement insert on the one on the left, and what looks like a little - polished case in the one on the right.
Did Subs have different date wheels than GMTs? I know people point out the "silver " date wheels, and my two 1680s and 1665 have silver date wheels and are not bright white. I don't have a vtg GMT to compare to.
@CajunTiger killer GMT. Quick question, did those bezels fade with sun or just with time? Seems like a watch that spent 45 years in a safe would have a stronger colored bezel as opposed to that beautifully faded one.