71 Rolex Submariner

[John Toft]

Hi Folks-
I was on a nuclear sub back in the early 70’s.
Every sub needed 4 qualified diverse to do emergency underwater repair and since I was interested, went to diving school. Later after very much enjoying diving, I went to deep sea diving school.
There I met a Seabee who had a nice Rolex. He ended up not making it thru the school and I was able to talk him out of the watch for $75. I loved that watch, wore it thru my time diving for the Navy and never took it off.
I lost the bezel spring years later in college. The bezel was put away and also subsequently lost.
The watch band puked so I went to jeweler who sold or traded a different watch band. Years later I revisited the shop in case they still had it but the shop had changed ownership and my watch band was gone.
Bottom line I had the core of the watch. It needed new hands.
I gave the watch to my son who is interested in restoring it.
Can anyone tell me the approximate cost of a vintage bezel, spring, glass, hands, band and ‘tuneup’? Also someone to work with.
I think the watch was made in ‘71 according to the numbers.
John Toft

[Dan S]

Originally Posted by John Toft

Hi Folks-
I was on a nuclear sub back in the early 70’s.
Every sub needed 4 qualified diverse to do emergency underwater repair and since I was interested, went to diving school. Later after very much enjoying diving, I went to deep sea diving school.
There I met a Seabee who had a nice Rolex. He ended up not making it thru the school and I was able to talk him out of the watch for $75. I loved that watch, wore it thru my time diving for the Navy and never took it off.
I lost the bezel spring years later in college. The bezel was put away and also subsequently lost.
The watch band puked so I went to jeweler who sold or traded a different watch band. Years later I revisited the shop in case they still had it but the shop had changed ownership and my watch band was gone.
Bottom line I had the core of the watch. It needed new hands.
I gave the watch to my son who is interested in restoring it.
Can anyone tell me the approximate cost of a vintage bezel, spring, glass, hands, band and ‘tuneup’? Also someone to work with.
I think the watch was made in ‘71 according to the numbers.
John Toft

Everyone is going to give you different numbers, and this is very rough. I'm going out on a limb and estimate $7k-ish USD for period-correct parts and full restoration. You can save about $1k if you're ok with a modern bracelet.

Keep in mind that the price will fluctuate enormously depending on how you go about it. If you take the time to study and become an expert so that you can shop on the secondary market for each part one at a time, you can save money. If you send the watch away to an expert watch restorer, and have them source everything for you, then you will pay a premium.

[Styles Bitchley]

Can you post a photo? Does it have a date? What’s wrong with the hands, do they just need to be relumed?

Would be a nice heirloom for you kid to have, especially given your history as a professional using it as intended.

[John Toft]

Thanks for the info… what secondary market has vintage or non vintage parts, resume on hands?

[Dan S]

Originally Posted by John Toft

Thanks for the info… what secondary market has vintage or non vintage parts, resume on hands?

Parts suppliers, eBay, collectors. There are people who specialize in sympathetic reluming of hands and dials. You can find recommendations by searching since the question is often asked.

[TimeLord2]

Sounds like you've had an interesting life! I would love to see some pictures of this watch. You can post pics with only a single post, just no URLs until 10 posts. And as Dan laid it out, it will be somewhat expensive to source original parts for this watch. That said, hopefully the case and dial are in good shape and I think Dan and some of the other experts can advise you on that point. There are plenty of resources on this forum that can give you detailed information on what to look for regarding the parts if you choose to source them yourself (which is part of the fun in many ways!). Once you find something you think is appropriate for your watch you can always post images on this forum and the experts will no doubt help to confirm the appropriateness of the parts for your particular watch.

The TRF members are a selfless bunch of people, whom I have found to be very willing to offer their expertise. A reference number and the first few digits of the serial number will also help the forum members provide more accurate information for your watch. Some of the recommendations I have seen on this forum include Bob or Phillip Ridley, One in Texas and the other in Arizona (if I am not mistaken), also Rik Dietel, whom I think is in Tampa, Florida. Do a search for these. There are many people who can do it (just choose a CW21
certified watchmaker at the very least.) and a lot of references for repair work. I had Philip Ridley repair my 74 GMT and was quite satisfied with the results. He helped source a period correct bezel, which I was hesitant to source myself and was a great communicator. Good luck!

[Korda]

Phillip Ridley had NOS parts for my ‘58 Explorer as well as a few options for a period correct bracelet. I was very happy with his work.