What have I got? Junk or Gem?

[tunnel hull]

Hello everybody.

I found your forum yesterday and poked around a little bit to see how it's set up. My reason for investigating a Rolex forum is this.

I was given a watch in 1986. It was old then. I wore it for probably ten years.
Regrettably I never made any attempt to learn about it.

Recently I pulled it out and looked it over closely and made some notes.

It appears to be a Rolex Submariner with the words Submariner in Red.

The 200 meters are listed before the 660 ft.

It has 1680 on one side of the body

The other side has 23XXXXX

The bracelet is not original it was added in 1986

I would say it's in rough condition but functions.

The face/dial is the color of dark chocolate.

The luminescent marks are yellowish ivory in color.

I'm bringing it to a Certified Rolex dealer today for an evaluation/appraisal.

My hobby is restoring older high performance boats. I hope this watch turns

out to be one of those "barnfinds"

If it is verified I'll post pictures.

Regards, Pete

Question? Why do members obscure complete serial numbers? I presume for security reasons so i didn't list mine completely

[Welshwatchman]

Originally Posted by tunnel hull

Hello everybody.

I found your forum yesterday and poked around a little bit to see how it's set up. My reason for investigating a Rolex forum is this.

I was given a watch in 1986. It was old then. I wore it for probably ten years.
Regrettably I never made any attempt to learn about it.

Recently I pulled it out and looked it over closely and made some notes.

It appears to be a Rolex Submariner with the words Submariner in Red.

The 200 meters are listed before the 660 ft.

It has 1680 on one side of the body

The other side has 23XXXXX

The bracelet is not original it was added in 1986

I would say it's in rough condition but functions.

The face/dial is the color of dark chocolate.

The luminescent marks are yellowish ivory in color.

I'm bringing it to a Certified Rolex dealer today for an evaluation/appraisal.

My hobby is restoring older high performance boats. I hope this watch turns

out to be one of those "barnfinds"

If it is verified I'll post pictures.

Regards, Pete

Question? Why do members obscure complete serial numbers? I presume for security reasons so i didn't list mine completely

There's a risk - however small or great - that someone will try to use this serial number to submit a fraudulent insurance claim or police report.

Also, you may have a nice "red sub" on your hands. A picture is worth .. etc etc.

[Cc1966]

Hello Pete and welcome to TRF. Your watch sounds very promising mate...look forward to the update and pics. post them in the "vintage Rolex section".

As to the serial #, we guard them to prevent fraudsters from reporting that they owned the piece and it is now stolen...insurance defraud scheme...etc. etc. Also do you want your serial number engraved on 1,000,000 Chinese counterfeits!!!

[T. Ferguson]

Same reason they block out license plates on cars, I guess. I don't think like a criminal but I'm sure there are a lot of possible scenarios where broadcasting your serial number could turn out bad that I can't imagine, and I can't think of one good thing that would come out of it.

Here are a couple more off the top of my head though, in addition to the insurance fraud issue already mentioned by WWM:

- Your serial number gets used on a counterfeit.
- Someone reports your watch stolen just to screw with you.

[tunnel hull]

Update - I've returned from our local Rolex dealer. They were helpful but did not want to get inside the watch. Their suggested course of action is to send the watch to Rolex (wherever that is) and have them do a repair estimate. They tried to call someone in Dallas but were unable to get them so I left them with all of the numbers off of the watch and they'll try to contact me Monday with a better idea of the watch's age.

I've taken a couple dozen pictures and will put them on photobucket. Then I'll try to figure out how to post a few.

They said it was a nice watch Pete

[sea-dweller]

Welcome!

[Vincent65]

look forward to seeing it - sounds good!

[southtexas]

It sounds good, look forward to seeing it. You could have a highly collectible and very valuable watch on your hands. Do you have the box and papers?

Who gave it to you?

Also, will a mod move this into vintage rolex discussion?

[tunnel hull]

I'm struggling with Photobucket at the moment (It's not uploading any of the pics).

It was given to me by a good friend.

In my original post I described the watch as rough. The pics really show every scratch!

I'm a little embarrassed by it's condition and I truly regret the abuse I've surely inflicted upon it.

I can e-mail a few pics to anyone interested posting for me? Pete

[tunnel hull]

Pretty rough!

[tunnel hull]

Another One

[Hairdude1]

Welcome

[HL65]

Nice tropical red and welcome to TRF!

[Presa canary]

Well the 200m are definitely before the 660ft... Great watch, welcome!

[mrbill2mrbill2]

Welcome to TRF!

From the pics it appears you may have one sweet Sub.

cheers:

[tunnel hull]

I appreciate the comments about this watch. I am curious as to the response from the service center about it's internal components. I can accept the cosmetic flaws but would like to feel confident about its mechanical composition and assembly.

I own several high performance outboard motors and have experienced the effects of improper assembly. Some of these melt downs were my fault.:bawling

Can an authorized Rolex service center still work on or evaluate the internal ( movement?) mechanism? I apologize if I'm using the incorrect terminology. This watch is pretty old.

Thanks for the input. Pete

[tunnel hull]

Originally Posted by SteelerFan65

Nice tropical red and welcome to TRF!

What do you mean by " tropical red "? I presume the submariner font in red but is there a reason you call it topical red? I like tropical

[Psmith]

Welcome!

[77T]

Originally Posted by tunnel hull

What do you mean by " tropical red "? I presume the submariner font in red but is there a reason you call it topical red? I like tropical

Welcome to TRF

Tropical relates to the oxidation on the rest of the dial.

This is totally a personal choice for you on restoration. Some folks make them look like new. Others want to retain the aged look but have the watch keep perfect time.

The only thing I'd replace is the crystal and gaskets to get it waterproof if the movement just needs cleaning and lubrication to work properly.

It's like finding a 50 year old outboard motor that you want to retain it's character but still operate correctly. If you change out all the old parts and repaint the cowling, it loses it's character...

[tunnel hull]

77T, thank you for the response. Most likely I will do nothing to cosmetically alter the watch's appearance. If the RSC in Dallas uncovers some internal issues should I direct them to not replace anything? Sometimes with cars and boats we search for "period correct "replacement parts or NOS (new old stock).

Here's a question. Am I making a mistake by sending the watch to RSC Dallas?

Would I be better served by using a known and trusted watch repair person?

I currently live in Shreveport, LA. USA. Anyone that specializes in vintage Rolex who could give me some counsel?

Thanks! Pete

[Alcan]

Pete, if that watch was mine I'd send it to Bob Ridley in Arlington Texas. He's an acknowledged master watchmaker and will work with you to provide just the level of restoration you want.

http://www.watchmakers.com/index.html

Do a search here for Bob Ridley and you'll see what I mean

[Lgear080]

I'd keep that watch far away from Rsc. There are some vintage
Watchmakers we can connect you with.

[T. Ferguson]

Originally Posted by Lgear080

I'd keep that watch far away from Rsc. There are some vintage
Watchmakers we can connect you with.

I'd put a signal out into the night sky for Bob Ridley.

[tunnel hull]

Thanks to all that provided suggestions on resurrecting my Sub.

It's on the way in for some TLC.

I'll be anxiously awaiting the assessment and looking forward to seeing it back in top condition.

Pictures will posted of course

Pete

[Alcan]

Originally Posted by tunnel hull

It's on the way in for some TLC.

Pete, where did you send it?