airansun
·It’s the quarter the case was made in, more or less.
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It’s the quarter the case was made in, more or less.
This ^
Yup, the unaligned font. Thats the main reason I posted here to ask for advices
Thank you again
You’re instincts were good- keep following them. If it feels off, it most likely is
After a while it becomes like spotting refinished or reproduction furniture. You know something is off at a distance, and when you get closer you know it for sure. Trying to describe it to a layman garners blank stares, but you see enough real ones, you can spot the problem ones easily.
How much I wish I possess such eyes, I guess it takes years to build, and to be frank, i started collecting vintage watch few years ago, so i guess my problem is "not seeing enough real ones" hahaha
You know, so many redial and franken out there.. sometimes i just don't know where to look. But OF is a great place, everytime i look up a ref, it gives me a lot of information
If you want a sensational 34mm oyster with no guessing and no worries- get this one.
https://omegaforums.net/threads/rolex-airking-ref-5500-circa-1974-very-good-condition.131007/
Companies like Rolex and Omega (actually pretty much every major production watch company) were very consistent with QC when it came to typeface, dial finish and layout. There were periodic changes as models changed or different vendors were used for the parts, but these were always changes made en mass. There are fluke variations, but they are pretty well documented. There are the rare redials that are so good they can fool 90% of collectors- some weren’t done to deceive, there were just some very good artisans out there who did redialing for watchmakers professionally.
Look at tons of pictures, reputable sources and known originals and really scrutinize the details. You will see lots of similarities (serifs or non serif, case finishing, placement of indices and hash marks).
It’s like sorting coins. They all look alike with slight variations in patina or tone- but they were stamped out- they all look the same. When you quickly glance one that looks out of place, it catches your eye. The same will come with spotting watches.