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I saw a bunch of 1007s on eBay and ch24, low end is like 3100 without a bracelet but a nice dial.
Sorry, that is a crazy price for a 34mm OP without a bracelet in the current market. You can get a great DJ without a bracelet for that price these days. If price matters to you at all, you should spend a little more time really understanding the market instead of just quickly browsing some asking prices. I would be hard pressed to pay half that much for this watch with no bracelet and a damaged dial.
Edit: You may want to work on your searching. I just looked on eBay and I am seeing several Rolex 1007s with bracelets with asking prices in the mid $2000s, and they are not selling. There is a recent completed auction for a nice 1007 with a bracelet for $2100 on eBay. There are also the usual silly listings with asking prices of 3x the actual value, but you have to know enough just to ignore those as totally irrelevant to valuation.
The effect on the dial is pretty cool looking, but there are missing lume plots, which means the dial is not so valuable. The 1007 is the same as the 1002 and 1003, but with this different flat engine turned bezel. The case is slightly fatter as well. I think this bezel makes the watch wear a bit bigger than a 1002.
Edit: You may want to work on your searching. I just looked on eBay and I am seeing several Rolex 1007s with bracelets with asking prices in the mid $2000s, and they are not selling. There is a recent completed auction for a nice 1007 with a bracelet for $2100 on eBay. There are also the usual silly listings with asking prices of 3x the actual value, but you have to know enough just to ignore those as totally irrelevant to valuation.
It looks like the varnish on the dial has micro-crazing which is scattering the light. I don't know what the varnish is, but a solvent vapor treatment may possibly reform the varnish...its worked on paintings/furniture. You really need to know what you are doing before you try.
Could a refinishing place like LA Watchworks have luck with at least stabilizing the finish you think? I mean, it's not unattractive, damage or not.
All patina is damage in the end.
stabilizing would be to spray with a clearcoat AFAIK. That would add a visual effect of blurring the text and changing the overall look probably. They would also have to pull all of the dial furniture to avoid those parts being covered with lacquer, which would further damage the lume plots and the dial finish. It’s really not worth it. .
How would a dial suffer so much damage but the printing on the looks so pristine? I smell fish.
I think it's a thing of beauty. Maybe keep your eyes open for a nice old riveted or folded 19mm oyster and you're all set 👍