Hello I never ever own a Rolex, brand to which I am totally neophyte. Now I am eager to buy one locally from a dealer I trust. He don't have info on the following watch and sell it "as it". This is a gold capped case (steel caseback) Could you please help me to id this vintage Rolex. To me watch dial might be touched up (enhanced/repainted). Caliber is not in best conditions. I can't see any ref no usually sits on Rolex cases. It's a red flag? Thank you in advance for helping me to discover Rolex world.
I believe it's a ref 6424. It's a nice large reference, but gold-filled or plated (not capped), the dial is poorly repainted and the movement is tired and filthy. I wouldn't even consider it. What is your budget?
@Larry S Tks for reply. Sorry I dont understand what you meant. 2k for steel one is not enough or the rolex above don't worth that money. For me my budget is 2k...
If you can find one, you could buy a legit SS 6424 for $2k with no bracelet; however, they are not extremely common. It is the cheapest entry point for a 36mm Rolex because of the hand-winding movement, which is also the reason that they aren't very popular. Some people don't like the pairing of a hand-winding movement and screw-down crown.
A budget is a budget, and I understand that. However, sometimes it can be better to save up and buy a more desirable watch. A 6424 will always be hard to sell if you want to trade up at a later date. If you can save up $3k, you are getting into DateJust territory without a bracelet, and those are always easy to sell or trade. Or if you can tolerate a 34mm watch, an Oyster Perpetual Date is an affordable option.
Am comfortanle with an handwind 34mm @Dan S ... And an other Oyster in 14k case for roughly 1800usd, 6505 refs, same caliber, crown could be generic one (on local ads, not seen in person yet) What do you think please? Edit to add: refs No looks very suspect to my untrained eye
I'm not familiar with ref 6505. Please double check the reference, the size, and whether it's truly a solid 14k case.
You have added a photo of the inside, which appears to say 6593, you wrote 6505. Also, you can see a hand-winding movement, which is inconsistent with the Oyster Perpetual dial. It's important to pay attention to details.
Using google images, I found that ref 6593 is for an Oyster Perpetual with bombe lugs. So that watch is a mess, a total franken. A little research can save a lot of time.
Agreed with you . The later dont have my preference. Am still learning on Rolex watches which are more mysterious to me than Omega ones
@Dan S defined the issue very well. If your budget is 2k, buy the best vintage you can get within those guardrails. If you aspire to something more, then save up.
If you’re happy with 34mm and hand wind, go with a 6694. They’re plentiful, with nice dial variation and you should be at least able to get head only for that, maybe even with an oyster bracelet with some luck.