Rolliworks brought my 16750 back to life

[ndirish2001]

This is my late father's 1984 GMT-Master 16750. It hadn't been serviced in over 30 years. I was convinced it had been lost forever, but on what would have been my dad's birthday last fall, my sons went digging though my closet looking for spare change and found the watch in a box of my dad's stuff. When they brought it down to show it to me I felt like I was seeing a ghost. I then remembered that my dad gave it to me one day when he gave me some of his old stuff and somehow I had completely forgotten about it.

The case had been a bit over polished, the hesalite was scratched up, and the hands were rusty (the seconds hand, in particular, was completely covered in rust). I sent it to Rolliworks right away and, although I wanted to preserve as much of my dad's watch as possible, I didn't want to keep in place the rusted-through hands. So Rolliworks shipped new hands and the dial to an expert in the UK who then relumed the new hands to match the lume of the dial. Rolliworks then serviced the movement, fixed an issue with the bezel, and following my instructions they also recut the case and restored the finish on the case and bracelet. The watch looks stunning and I look forward to wearing it for many years to come.

Thank you, Rolliworks!




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[sah]

Beautiful. To be cherished forever.

[Rollied]

Rolliworks does SOLID work, I’m sad they’ve moved out of the Bay Area…

Looks fantastic, any before and after pics??

[pa1113]

Originally Posted by Rollied

Rolliworks does SOLID work, I’m sad they’ve moved out of the Bay Area…

Looks fantastic, any before and after pics??

^^^ this.

Would LOVE to see before and after pics. And that is truly a priceless piece. Enjoy and wear it in good health!


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[miteemike3]

I LOVE stories like this!

[DoricSpiker]

looks mint. Enjoy

[Onequik135i]

Nicely done.

[GST15]

Beautiful! well done

[ndirish2001]

This is a “before” picture. Check out the seconds hand, in particular.




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[Hollie_Rollie]

Mike is the best.

Wear this beauty in good health

[Calatrava r]

Excellent work. Enjoy it.

[Polarexplorerii]

Dam, that looks so good! Congrats

[jb335]

My 16750 from ‘84 says hello





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[ndirish2001]

Originally Posted by jb335

My 16750 from ‘84 says hello





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Nice! And the jubilee bracelet looks great on yours.


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[learningtofly]

Presumably James Hyman did the relume… best in the business.

[ndirish2001]

Originally Posted by learningtofly

Presumably James Hyman did the relume… best in the business.

I think that’s correct. I love his Instagram feed. He’s amazing.


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[Bisquitlips]

Gorgeous!

[ndirish2001]

Here’s a picture of one of the lugs, so you can see the sharp, polished bevel they now have.


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[jb335]

Originally Posted by ndirish2001

Here’s a picture of one of the lugs, so you can see the sharp, polished bevel they now have.


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Wow looks great


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[Dave O]

Wow! Just amazing work.

[JoseR]

Great work.

[winst]

Looks great!

[TimeRookie]

Very nice! Congratulations on both finding it and getting it back.

[1st amg]

Wow looks great. Nice work…but I am still scratching my head as to how you would forget about such a collector piece in a closet! I would be obsessed to get it on my wrist! I guess some of us have more of a sickness in the watch space. Anyway, congrats and wear in good health


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[ndirish2001]

Originally Posted by 1st amg

Wow looks great. Nice work…but I am still scratching my head as to how you would forget about such a collector piece in a closet! I would be obsessed to get it on my wrist! I guess some of us have more of a sickness in the watch space. Anyway, congrats and wear in good health


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It’s a long story, but my much, much older brother had told me when I was a teenager that our dad’s watches were fake. At the time my no-good brother fancied himself a Rolex expert, and I foolishly believed him. So decades later, when my dad gave me the watch, I thanked him for it and stuck in a box because I thought he had been fooled into buying a fake and I wasn’t going to fix a fake and wear a fake. Trust me, it kills me that I believed my oldest brother and that led me to not fully appreciate my dad’s gift when he gave it to me.


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[1st amg]

Originally Posted by ndirish2001

It’s a long story, but my much, much older brother had told me when I was a teenager that our dad’s watches were fake. At the time my no-good brother fancied himself a Rolex expert, and I foolishly believed him. So decades later, when my dad gave me the watch, I thanked him for it and stuck in a box because I thought he had been fooled into buying a fake and I wasn’t going to fix a fake and wear a fake. Trust me, it kills me that I believed my oldest brother and that led me to not fully appreciate my dad’s gift when he gave it to me.


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Holy smokes, what a story. Sorry to hear that you weren’t able to really show your late father your true gratitude. Just thank him in your prayers, he is with you.


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[piratfisk]

I'll echo all others: WOW!

I love reading stories like this & I love that so many professionals along the recovery journey kept true to your wishes & brought it back to life. Enjoy it for years to come. You can look forward to the day that you pass it down to one of your kids & say "remember when I lost granddad's watch & you found it for me?"

[ndirish2001]

Originally Posted by piratfisk

I'll echo all others: WOW!

I love reading stories like this & I love that so many professionals along the recovery journey kept true to your wishes & brought it back to life. Enjoy it for years to come. You can look forward to the day that you pass it down to one of your kids & say "remember when I lost granddad's watch & you found it for me?"

Amen. This experience has also led me to set aside modern watches for each of my four sons, chosen by them: a blue JLC Polaris Mariner Date for my oldest, a Submariner Date for my second, a blue Omega Globemaster on the bracelet for my third, and a blue 41mm OP for my youngest. They’ll eventually get all my other watches, too (including my dad’s) but I have these set aside for them for when they “come of age.” And I make a point of wearing each of “their” watches to their games, concerts, etc.


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[yankeeromeo]

Amazing story..truly thrilled for you.

[Harry-57]

Wow! That's impressive. Congratulations.