Tudor Sub 7016/0

[Andjwhite]

I am still in shock after picking this up today.

Every once in a while I will pull up eBay and search for Rolex auctions and sort by ‘ending soonest’. I usually don’t find anything good… A couple of weeks ago I did this search and came across this Tudor Oyster Prince with 5 days left in the auction. Right away I could tell that I liked it because of the dial and hand combination. The dial looks like a 5513 with large plots and the hands were before the snowflake hands, and with an enlarged lume on the seconds hands. I immediately reached out to the seller and was able to make a deal. Only $150 over the starting bid amount! Who knows where the bidding would have taken it. The pictures on the listing were bad and out of focus.

After searching around a bit I found that this configuration was only produced for 1 year in 1970. And it took some time to find images of “good” examples.

It was with eBay authenticity check for around 3 days when they called me and said “the watch is authentic, but the bezel is ‘frozen’ and will not turn. Since this was not described in the listing how would you like to proceed?” I told them to complete the transaction. Due to two day shipping I had to wait another weekend to finally go pick up the watch. Still going back to the listing every once in a while to try and look at condition of the watch, which was listed with an aftermarket bracelet.

I communicated with the seller a few times while waiting for the watch. She was selling it for a friend. The only info I could get was that the seller’s father only wore the watch on special occasions. When he passed in 2008 the seller’s mother gave the watch to her son (the seller), and it more or less stayed in a drawer with a coin collection since then.












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[Black Bay Dan]

If that was mine I would send it to an RSC for a service and new bracelet. Nice watch by the way!

Dan

[dhknola]

Looks amazing and congrats on the deal. I am sure Linesiders will chime in and give you the pertinent deets.

[Juhuatai]

Nice pickup, looks unpolished!

[996marty]

Originally Posted by Black Bay Dan

If that was mine I would send it to an RSC for a service and new bracelet. Nice watch by the way!

Dan

Would they look at a watch of that age? I thought it was too old for a RSC

[offrdmania]

Why would anyone send a vintage watch to an RSC? Why pay an absolutely outrageous price for a new bracelet and the possibility that they screw up the watches originality. Send it to the Ridleys, they will tastefully restore the watch, service it and find you a period correct bracelet at a fraction of the RSCs price.

[Dom9]

What a great find! Was the frozen bezel just a rusty tension spring?

[Andjwhite]

Originally Posted by Dom9

What a great find! Was the frozen bezel just a rusty tension spring?

Yup. Well, not rust, but a lot of dirt and grime under the bezel. After a little cleaning it’s fine.


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[Black Bay Dan]

Originally Posted by 996marty

Would they look at a watch of that age? I thought it was too old for a RSC

I am pretty certain RSC in Bexley here in UK would. They have worked on an old Tudor (1982) and x2 Rolex (1965 & 1967) for me in the past and did excellent work. Examples are my 1016 & 1601 below (service, new dial & bracelet). I assumed RSC in US would do likewise.

Rolex Datejust 1601 (TRF).jpeg

Rolex Explorer 1016 (TRF) copy.jpeg

[Andjwhite]

Originally Posted by offrdmania

Why would anyone send a vintage watch to an RSC? Why pay an absolutely outrageous price for a new bracelet and the possibility that they screw up the watches originality. Send it to the Ridleys, they will tastefully restore the watch, service it and find you a period correct bracelet at a fraction of the RSCs price.

At some point I will have the movement serviced. Won’t be going to a RSC.


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[996marty]

Both look great Dan

[linesiders]

Originally Posted by Andjwhite

I am still in shock after picking this up today.

After searching around a bit I found that this configuration was only produced for 1 year in 1970. And it took some time to find images of “good” examples.


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Nice watch! Serial # starts with 742,xxx? Looks intact, nice chamfers, Big Bubble Sweep, original & correct hands, dial, and insert.

Nice pickup. I would ask for recommendations for vintage places in your area or ship to one of the several liked vintage service people. NOT Rolex.

Originally Posted by Black Bay Dan

If that was mine I would send it to an RSC for a service and new bracelet. Nice watch by the way!

Dan

Too old for most RSCs and too risky for others. Not on vintage.

[linesiders]

Nevermind - serial starts with 741,xxx now I see it in the photo

Clean that crud off (damp paper towel, use a soft wood / soft plastic stick on some of the more sturdy pieces of gunk, as it might pit the stainless steel, but don't do anything insider the case. Get it to a VINTAGE service place and have them ultasonicly clean the case. Also, no polish, from a value standpoint - that case will only be this thick now - all downhill after a polish.

[linesiders]

Originally Posted by Black Bay Dan

I am pretty certain RSC in Bexley here in UK would. They have worked on an old Tudor (1982) and x2 Rolex (1965 & 1967) for me in the past and did excellent work. Examples are my 1016 & 1601 below (service, new dial & bracelet). I assumed RSC in US would do likewise.

Sadly most won't. Bring something that old to my local AD and they just send to my regular watchmaker anyway, not RSC.

I think Dallas and San Fran might be OK still but that is only what I have seen here - not from personal experience.

[Filipão]

Love it, congrats!

[Dan S]

Originally Posted by linesiders

Bring something that old to my local AD and they just send to my regular watchmaker anyway, not RSC.

Same here. The local watchmaker I've used for many years handles all the vintage Rolex work for our local AD. They recently did a major renovation, though, and I think they may be considering setting up a serious service department. It would be nice if they were interested in catering to vintage collectors.

[linesiders]

Originally Posted by Dan S

Same here. The local watchmaker I've used for many years handles all the vintage Rolex work for our local AD. They recently did a major renovation, though, and I think they may be considering setting up a serious service department. It would be nice if they were interested in catering to vintage collectors.

I think Rolex is pushing it in house @ ADs to support the CPO programs. Local AD is doing something similar.

[996marty]

Originally Posted by linesiders

Sadly most won't. Bring something that old to my local AD and they just send to my regular watchmaker anyway, not RSC.

I think Dallas and San Fran might be OK still but that is only what I have seen here - not from personal experience.

I’d be really surprised if my local RSC would entertain it.I’ve always been under the impression that once they get to a certain age you are better off served by finding a good independent

[harry in montreal]

God damn. That is a nice watch.
I too bought an old sub on the bay. Mine was a real dumpster diver special. Yours has the case bevel, and a beautiful dial. That’s a watch that simply stands out in even the best Rolex collection

[dhknola]

I kick myself daily for passing on one of these years ago bc it had an after market insert; everything else was fine...

[linesiders]

Originally Posted by dhknola

I kick myself daily for passing on one of these years ago bc it had an after market insert; everything else was fine...

I kick myself for not getting that watch after you did not get the watch.

Yes, I remember that one ; )

[dhknola]

Originally Posted by linesiders

I kick myself for not getting that watch after you did not get the watch.

Yes, I remember that one ; )

HAHAHHAHA - That was like 10 minutes before the insanity started...I'm taking breaks to shake my fist in the air as I type this.