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#1 |
"TRF" Member
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: New York
Watch: GMT II BLNR
Posts: 196
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Birth Year watch suggestion
I'm looking into getting a birth year watch. since i'm a total noob with vintage pieces, i'm gonna look for suggestions on sport models on my birth year (1985).
anything special with the dials or done in a small production? any input would be great. Here are the following models i saw for that year: 1016 Explorer 16550 Explorer II 5513 Submariner 16750 GMT 6263 Daytona |
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#2 |
"TRF" Member
Join Date: May 2012
Real Name: Rob
Location: Virginia
Watch: Sub/Polar/OP/BB
Posts: 4,547
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Good luck on your search, OP! If you have the pockets for a special piece, why not.
Being a vintage noob, it can be a minefield. I’d go vanilla with a birth year DJ. That’s just me. I have a lack of deep pockets for vintage watches. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk |
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#3 | |
"TRF" Member
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: New York
Watch: GMT II BLNR
Posts: 196
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#4 |
2024 Pledge Member
Join Date: Jun 2016
Real Name: Jeff
Location: PNW
Posts: 1,387
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If you don't have a preference and its about year I'd just buy a speedy.
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#5 |
"TRF" Member
Join Date: Jan 2019
Location: US
Watch: sub
Posts: 2,348
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The vintage world can be a minefield. I'd suggest starting a dialogue with Jacek at Tropical watch.
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#6 |
Banned
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: US
Watch: Gilt
Posts: 1,592
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You need to narrow your field of fire, especially if new. Pick a reference first and buy the best you can find. Put in the work.
Birth year watches are also overrated.. also, what year? When they stamped the case? certified the movement? Sold the watch? The date on the clasp? |
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#7 |
2024 ROLEX DATEJUST41 Pledge Member
Join Date: Aug 2012
Real Name: Mike
Location: New York
Watch: Rolex
Posts: 21,805
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Thats going to be tough. I believe its an L serial you're looking for. You might be better off going two tone gmt or date just
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#8 | |
"TRF" Life Patron
Join Date: Jun 2005
Real Name: Peter
Location: Llanfairpwllgwyng
Watch: ing you.
Posts: 52,636
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ICom Pro3 All posts are my own opinion and my opinion only. "The clock of life is wound but once, and no man has the power to tell just when the hands will stop. Now is the only time you actually own the time, Place no faith in time, for the clock may soon be still for ever." Good Judgement comes from experience,experience comes from Bad Judgement,.Buy quality, cry once; buy cheap, cry again and again. www.mc0yad.club Second in command CEO and left handed watch winder ![]() |
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#9 |
"TRF" Member
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: England
Posts: 1,420
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Birth year watches were fun when you could pick them up cheap and it didn't really matter if they needed a bit of work , I'm so old now I've well and truly missed the bus :)
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#10 |
"TRF" Member
Join Date: Oct 2017
Location: East coast
Posts: 6,635
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Go with the Daytona!
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#11 |
"TRF" Member
Join Date: Feb 2020
Location: Essex, UK
Posts: 23
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If you want something that won’t break the bank, so it’s a bit less risky getting into the vintage minefield, there’s always the 6694 oysterdate precision. You can pick them up for less than a modern Tudor would cost.
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#12 |
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Join Date: Oct 2008
Real Name: Jason
Location: UK
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#13 |
"TRF" Member
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: San Francisco
Posts: 353
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Explore II 16550 may be easier to trackdown since it's technically a transitional model made for 4+ years introduced in 1984-1985 (unsure about amount of left over inventory sitting at AD after 1990). Price is still somewhat reasonable compared to comparable Daytona, GMT, or even Sub. Watch out for fake spidering black dials or artificially induced cream dial though. I believe most 5-digit models can be worn daily and without significant maintenance.
My search for birth year watch took me down a deep rabbit hole - and I found out the maintenance and durability seem to be big concerns (especially after paying too much for 1680 box and paper). Sold the first one but started looking again after 5 years. |
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#14 |
"TRF" Member
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Beverly Hills, CA
Watch: Yachtmaster
Posts: 3,810
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Not quite what you’re looking for, but a few weeks ago I found an example or two online of a two tone Datejust from that era with what I thought was a cool dial. I posted some here on TRF, and fellow WIS told me that it’s a boiler gauge dial. They weren’t made only in 1985, but some were. This is a cream dial example on Chrono 24. I’ve also seen blue dials from around that era which looks amazing with the gold applied Arabic numerals.
I can’t vouch for anything about this dealer, or this particular watch, and you may be able to get a better price: https://www.chrono24.com/rolex/datej...id19991153.htm The TT DJ to many is THE Rolex of the 1980s. What makes it an interesting birth year watch is the relatively rare boiler gauge dial. I just don’t see a ton of them online, and haven’t seen any in person. I’ve seen a lot of DJ since the 1980s! Plus, this 16013 has the “open 9” (and presumably open 6) on the date which is one of those vintage holdovers that many (including myself) find cool. So, if this checks out, you have a genuine 1980s watch that is recognizable as such, but “still looks good for its age” (which is what we want said about ourselves, at a certain age!). |
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#15 |
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Join Date: Sep 2014
Real Name: COMBS#263
Location: Los Angeles, Ca.
Watch: Rolex SD43
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#16 |
"TRF" Member
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: New York
Watch: GMT II BLNR
Posts: 196
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#17 | |
"TRF" Member
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: New York
Watch: GMT II BLNR
Posts: 196
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Nice choice, I've seen 16550 that has a cream dial, those have gone up in price by a lot.
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#18 |
2024 Pledge Member
Join Date: Dec 2014
Real Name: Andrew Wilson
Location: Brunswick, Maine
Watch: 16550 Explorer II
Posts: 1,763
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Dollars to donuts the 16550 Explorer II is the best Rolex of 1985.
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6284 SS, 16014 SS Jubilee silver stick, 16253 TT Blue Thunderbird, 16550 SS Exp II Cream, bought in 1986, 116400GV Z-blue Milgauss, 79260 Tudor, 116660 DSSD-Blue, 116500LV Daytona White, 116710 BLNR, 326934 Blue Skydweller |
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