Opinion on 1803 Day-Date

[al.so.fresh]

Hello...Back again—took in the advice, dug through TRF & Vintage Rolex Forums, and did my homework. I’ve zeroed in on an 1803 (naturally!) from a known shop in ATL. Serial dates it to the early ‘70s, comes with box and papers, and from the pics, bracelet stretch looks minimal.

The main drawback is no documented service history, but I’ll have Giovanni here in SF check it out if I do decide on purchasing. Been in touch with the dealer, who's been super responsive and everything lines up so far, but I’d love to hear your thoughts based on the photos. Anything stand out? Dial markers? What about the polish?

Appreciate any insights!

[robinhenrywatches]

Bracelet isn’t original to watch. That’s why there isn’t as much stretch as you would expect.

No line dial is nice. Check it hasn’t slipped down a bit.

Case has seen polish, but they all have at that age.


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[0nly5iv3Digits]

This one isn't for me. You can tell when the bezel was taken off, that the knife used actually "pushed"/flattened the gold down toward the crown. I've seen this on many examples, unfortunately.

Other than that, a fair bit of metal has been removed and the polish is uneven. Bracelet also has some stretch to it. Finally, the acrylic crystal has clearly been polished, and appears "uneven" given the distortion of the "1" on the datewheel.

On a positive note, dial and hands are nice :)

What's the asking on this one?