Datejust Model #1500 - Purchase Advice?

[Kasket007]

Hello,

I'm purchasing my first Rolex (Preowned) and I've stumbled across a gentleman selling his 34mm 1972 #1500 Model, it's a sigma dial, and apparently that's harder to come by than other Datejusts.

We've settled on $5,600USD, but I'm a bit worried if the price is higher than what it should be. It's in a well kept condition, minus the box and accessories, but I'm not too worried about that as this will be a watch I want to wear for a long time.

Does it sound like I have something good going? Or should I turn around and walk away?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated as I'm very new to this, thank you kindly.

[Old Expat Beast]

Originally Posted by Kasket007

Hello,

I'm purchasing my first Rolex (Preowned) and I've stumbled across a gentleman selling his 34mm 1972 #1500 Model, it's a sigma dial, and apparently that's harder to come by than other Datejusts.

We've settled on $5,600USD, but I'm a bit worried if the price is higher than what it should be. It's in a well kept condition, minus the box and accessories, but I'm not too worried about that as this will be a watch I want to wear for a long time.

Does it sound like I have something good going? Or should I turn around and walk away?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated as I'm very new to this, thank you kindly.

The 1500 is not a Datejust, and yes the price seems high.

[CTech]

There are always multiple examples of the 1500 series in Stainless Steel available in my area from jewelers, on Craigslist, etc. and they are usually priced around US$3300 to $3500 with no box or papers, so I second Adam's view that US$5600 is far too much for what is a relatively common watch.

Look around Craigslist in different US areas and you'll get a better view of what the going rate is. I'm not suggesting you buy from Craigslist unless you find an exceptional, verifiable deal but a lot of the adverts on both the East and West coasts are from reputable jewelers and dealers and hence give an accurate view of what the market price is in those areas.

Just to add more context, there is a good looking 1601 Datejust with a silver, pie pan sigma dial on a Jubilee bracelet for sale near me for US$4700 and that is a typical price for a 1970s Datejust in this area.

[Dan S]

What type of dial is it? I don't think anything would make me pay that much for a 1500, it would be very high for an equivalent DJ from a private seller, to be honest. But colored dials, shantung dials, etc. definitely add value.

[Nick9]

That is an insane price. Walk away.

Keep looking and you will easily find great examples of vintage Rolexes, for very much less money.

[zapokee]

The price is way too high for that watch. Do some googling.

[Kasket007]

Just getting back to this thread now,

The watch has white gold for the dial's, with the signs icons near the Swiss at the bottom.

Apparently that was the big "selling point" the seller was pushing, not sure if that changes anything. The metal is stainless steel with an oyster bracelet

[CTech]

The sigma dials are often quoted as rare and valuable by sellers, but in reality a sigma dial adds very little, if anything, to the overall price and is not as important to most people as condition of case, condition of bracelet, color of dial, service records, accessories, etc.

There are many hundreds of sigma dialed Rolex watches for sale at any time, especially the 1500 and 1600 series, so they are not as rare as the sellers would like you to believe.

Keep looking at both the 1500 and 1600 watches and you'll soon find one you like at considerably lower cost than US$5600.

[Dan S]

We are all very familiar with the meaning of the sigma dial. The markers and hands are gold instead of plated. It's a nice detail, but not a game-changer. As noted above overall condition is more important and there's no reason to overpay greatly for a sigma dial. You can look at watches for sale in the classifieds on this site and others to get a feeling for realistic prices.

[Tools]

A Sigma dial defines an era in the 70's. By the late 70's all dial indices were gold, so any marketing value at the time became moot.

A Sigma dial is what you would expect to find for watches in this era and is not generally a value-added cosmetic item.

Market value for a 70's 1500 is a bit less than the cited price, but as with all watches, condition and desire for a particular piece is paramount.

The smaller Oyster Perpetual 1500's are not in demand the way their bigger brother the Datejust is. I would expect that you could find a nice Datejust in excellent condition for less than this offering.

[ExplorerI]

I bought a 1500 for $1500 not that long ago. Still see them for $2-3000

Also how big is your wrist? 34mm wears very small for a modern watch and is really more of a women’s size. I’d pony up a bit more for a 36mm dj. If your budget is $5600 there’s plenty of nice Datejusts in that range. Also look at the 36mm explorer in that price range as well.

[Kasket007]

Thank you all so much for the information, I wasn't expecting forums to be this active.

I've walked away from this seller, and am now looking in the classifieds here for a better deal, already seeing some that have caught my eye for much better pricing.

If I can be frank, I actually got a ref.1601 before this... Paid $5600 usd for it as it was the lowest priced one on FB marketplace... Feel incredibly stupid now and the mistake it gnawing away at me, but lesson well learnt. Holding onto it and trying to sell it on marketplace for (hopefully) not too large of a loss... Will be consulting this forum much more for future questions as all of your input has saved me from digging myself into a deeper hole.

Thank you again everybody, greatly appreciate the hospitality.

[interestedwatcher]

A 1500 or 1501 (with the nicer engine turned bezel) should be 2 - 3k, depending on condition and completeness.

At 5k I'm buying a nice quickset datejust if I want a date, or an Explorer I, and with the money left over I'd go have some Chipotle or something.

[zapokee]

Originally Posted by interestedwatcher

...

At 5k I'm buying a nice quickset datejust if I want a date, or an Explorer I, and with the money left over I'd go have some Chipotle or something.

You won't have much Chipotle money left over if your budget is 5k for an Explorer.

And to be dreadfully nerdy (which is why we're all here, after all), there's an Explorer and an Explorer II. There's no Explorer I.

[Kasket007]

That might actually be important to mention, would it change much if the 1601 had all the original accessories?

I've got the box, case, seal accessory, manuals and original paperwork.

[Nick9]

Box and papers are “nice to have” accessories, and most buyers would reckon a couple of hundred dollars.

My personal advice is that you abandon FB marketplace, forever. You’ll find great watches here on RF, and on Omega Forum.

There is an active Canadian community on Canadian Watch Collector, www.canwatchco.ca

[Dan S]

Originally Posted by Kasket007

Thank you all so much for the information, I wasn't expecting forums to be this active.

I've walked away from this seller, and am now looking in the classifieds here for a better deal, already seeing some that have caught my eye for much better pricing.

If I can be frank, I actually got a ref.1601 before this... Paid $5600 usd for it as it was the lowest priced one on FB marketplace... Feel incredibly stupid now and the mistake it gnawing away at me, but lesson well learnt. Holding onto it and trying to sell it on marketplace for (hopefully) not too large of a loss...

If you'll pardon my saying so, the mistake wasn't paying $5600, but buying a watch that you don't like and now want to sell. If you love a watch, you forget the price you paid pretty quickly.

[interestedwatcher]

Originally Posted by zapokee

You won't have much Chipotle money left over if your budget is 5k for an Explorer.

And to be dreadfully nerdy (which is why we're all here, after all), there's an Explorer and an Explorer II. There's no Explorer I.

Good points! I saw an explorer for 4750 on moda - leaves 850 for some chipotle! I picked up a full set for 5600 two weeks ago - no money left over in that instance.

[Kasket007]

Yeah you're totally right, I did like it until I figured I paid much more for it than it really should have been worth, now it's like a constant reminder for me that I made a mistake.

I'll still wear it in the meantime and enjoy it, but I'm still gonna keep an eye peeled for another. And without question marketplace is totally off the table for any Rolex hunting in future.

[zapokee]

Originally Posted by interestedwatcher

Good points! I saw an explorer for 4750 on moda - leaves 850 for some chipotle!

850 bucks is a good few hundred burritos at Chipotle!

But you'd need to save some of the money for a bracelet extension to fit your newly enormous wrist.

[Woody]

Originally Posted by Kasket007

That might actually be important to mention, would it change much if the 1601 had all the original accessories?

I've got the box, case, seal accessory, manuals and original paperwork.

It sounds to me as though you have bought quite well and have a nice watch with the bonus of the box, papers and the various accessories. So maybe a good idea to stop worrying about the price that you paid and move on. For what it is worth it is likely that you would have had to pay more to purchase a similar Datejust in the UK. The market/prices for pre-owned watches vary from country to country, a fact that our predominantly US-based members don't always consider when responding to posts such as yours. Enjoy your watch, the Datejust is a real classic.

[pk552502]

Originally Posted by ExplorerI

I bought a 1500 for $1500 not that long ago. Still see them for $2-3000

Also how big is your wrist? 34mm wears very small for a modern watch and is really more of a women’s size. I’d pony up a bit more for a 36mm dj. If your budget is $5600 there’s plenty of nice Datejusts in that range. Also look at the 36mm explorer in that price range as well.

This is exactly what I was going to recommend. My first rolex was a 15505 34mm size. I ended up selling it on craigslist because the 34mm size was too small. A 36mm datejust fits really well- those 2mm make a world of difference.

I would recommend a 5 digit datejust for your first rolex. Either the plexi 5 digit models if you want more of a vintage vibe or a saphire 5 digit if you want a bit more of a modern appearance. You will find one in your budget.

[Dan S]

Yes, I have sold several very nice acrylic 5-digit DJs in recent months in the range $3600-$4300 depending on condition and type of dial. In the US, that is the typical price range between collectors at the moment.