Here's another with lug holes dangerously close to the end of the lug...

 

I’m no crown guard expert - are these on an Explorer II a bit worn down?

 

Those are not horribly worn down, but they've certainly been polished and might be called "soft." Here's an unpolished Explorer II for comparison:

 

You've got me on the lookout for these now. The case condition on the below is described as "outstanding". Could be the angle a bit, but...

 

Somebody spent a few minutes outstanding in front of a buffing wheel on that one.

 

The translation between words and reality is simple in fact :
NIB = barely worn
unpolished = polished
good = bad except if the seller is a nice honest guy, that happens, then it can mean excellent
honest = still some life in it
all other superlatives (outstanding, who uses that for a watch case?) = various grades of fubar

With those translated concepts you should be able to safely navigate the vintage Rolex world

 

The Explorer II’s mentioned above are different serials. You cannot compare the crown guards between those two.

On the 16570 they look okay. I’d like to see a different angle, though - as I can’t see the curved line on the crown guard, with it being in the shade.

 

This is true - there are wild variations on the ExpII crowns and there is not enough info here for a proper comparison.

(edited for spelling)

 

Here's an unpolished crown guard on a used 16750, same model as the OP photo above (I believe). I think it's easy to see the difference between these. Rolex Daytonas come from the factory with slightly soft crown guards. Subs, GMTs and Explorers have always had crown guards with crisply defined edges.

 

Did the DRSD's have thinner and pointier crown guards or are these just worn down? To my untrained eye they look very soft and unattractive.

Price to me seems astronomical but to the winner this was probably just another swipe of a black/centurion Amex.

 

Great reminder thread, gets even trickier with older vintage where some early models of certain references come with pointed crowns! But agree some of the pics in this thread are egregious!

 

That case is tragic; those are the most over-polished crown guards I've ever seen. And the price is absurd. Perhaps Jeff Bezos has started collecting Rolexes.

 

P.S. Another sad outcome of this auction is that people now offering double reds at $55k--$60k will feel justified in adding another $20k to their prices.

 

Pointed crown guards are an entirely different style and usually (fortunately) are not confused with overpolished CGs

 

Is this for real? It looks like the lug holes have been drilled larger.

 

In the old days, my it seems dad considered his Rolex watches (submariner) as tools and dress items like shoes. They got beaten up and scratched, and he would then polish them to look shiny, because like shoes shiny was important. When they became « over polished », it was time to buy a new watch and begin a new cycle. Little did he foresee that these tools would one day become cherished highly price collector items. To him they were tool watches unlike his dress watches that he cared more for 50 years from then, most of his tool watches are worth more than his jewelry dress watches, even in their beaten up state. Unfortunately he discarded most of them by giving them (scrapping them would more be the term), to whoever was there to collect one when he was finished with it. This includes a 5513, a sea dweller and a first edition Royal oak.

 

I would hope so!

 

My father threw his 18k Baum & Mercier chronograph into his bathroom drawer with the dental floss and nail clippers after he wore through the croc strap- then bought another watch. I found it there 20 years later....seems to have been the MO for that generation.

 

How do the guards on this 16570 look?

 

Tricky at those angles. I'd say polished but not horribly.