My father's old watch (oyster content), need advice!

[tuddy]

Let me preface with this.

My father passed away the day before hurricane sandy hit.

My father wore this watch every single day of my life. He bought it long before I was born new. Like many of you its a symbol to me, the accumulation of his hard work and its entirely priceless. Its value is irrelevant to me.

He stopped wearing it in 2006 at the foot of his long battle with cancer because his wrists were constantly swelling and shrinking due to treatments. He left it in a case in his basement safe, in pretty poor condition.

I want to wear it myself and honor him. Im not a materialistic guy, however this couldn't be more important to me.

Id also love to tell you all I'll spare "no expense" to fix it, however me and my wife lost everything in sandy. I cant swing much money right now as other things take precedence.






The watch still ticks, I'm not sure how well it holds time.

The bands are unwearable, and I think the crystal is shot.

I would LOVE to use a jubilee band as that is mainly what was worn by him.


Really Im posting on here to find out some various information.

Anyone have any idea the year this watch is from?

Any suggestions on what I actually should do about getting it acceptable again? I know NOTHING about watches. I do not know what I have.

Is it awful to run a cloth band while I save some money to get a real one? If not any suggestions?

Should the crystal be replaced with acrylic?

Also, Im super protective of this and will not mail it anywhere. Im located on long island and there is a rolex service center in manhattan, should it just be brought there?


Thank you so much in advance!

[Tools]

Great heirloom..

Looks like a 34mm Oyster Perpetual from the 60's.

You shouldn't feel so protective about sending it if you want it done right.. I would not recommend the Rolex Service Center.. Their job would be to simply replace all the parts and that would drive the cost through the ceiling..

You need the services of a true Rolex Restoration Professional.. I recommend you contact Bob Ridley at Watchmakers.com . He is known throughout the Rolex world for quality, correct work..

[katana]

Fantastic clock. The best suggestion .. from Tools .....! No RSC ..!!





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[ndb80]

Great Vintage!
Bob Ridley for watch and Michael Young for bracelet restoration!
you will find countless praise for both of them reading the forum...

[tuddy]

Thank you everyone so much for your help. I called Watchmakers and spoke with Barbara who was unbelievably nice. I emailed pictures and hopefully we can work something out. Although I fear this will be a project for a later date.

[gregorpal]

it is a ref 1008, nice watch!

[Tools]

Originally Posted by tuddy

Thank you everyone so much for your help. I called Watchmakers and spoke with Barbara who was unbelievably nice. I emailed pictures and hopefully we can work something out. Although I fear this will be a project for a later date.

You're on the right path.. If you truly want something lasting to remember your dad by, it's worth forgoing a few nights out for the work done right..

Although not a Rolex, I think of my dad every time I get out his old watch - I didn't care about the cost when I had it properly restored..

[mjclark32]

Search either here or google for "Michael young" he does a great job restoring Rolex bracelets for a good price.

[tuddy]

Originally Posted by gregorpal

it is a ref 1008, nice watch!

oh man thank you!!!!

I cannot believe mine looked like this!

[Dan Pierce]

It ain't gonna be cheap but Bob Ridley does great work and it would be in the best hands, should you decide to go that route.
Best of luck,
dP

[Widows Son]

Originally Posted by Tools

You're on the right path.. If you truly want something lasting to remember your dad by, it's worth forgoing a few nights out for the work done right..

Although not a Rolex, I think of my dad every time I get out his old watch - I didn't care about the cost when I had it properly restored..

That's a beautiful watch Larry!!!! I have the exact same one my wife bought be a couple of years ago for our first Christmas. It looks really nice with a suit. Those vintage Omegas are hard to beat as a dress watch!!!

[kyle L]

Looks like a Zephyr to me, nice watch! If you're low on funds you can sell off a bracelet. Out of all of them the bracelet the watch is on looks in decent shape.

[Xander]

I have heard really good things about this guy:

http://www.watchdoctor.biz/

Send him the watch, tell him to be gentle on the polish. Better yet, just have him polish the acrylic. $185 and you can put it back on your wrist where it belongs. The knee-jerk reaction here seems to be Bob Ridley, and his work is spectacular. But there are many, many watchmakers out there and I recomend you do a affordable fix and get it back on your wrist so you can enjoy it while you deal with more pressing matters. As forum member / watchmaker Rikki has pointed out, the reason some independents are so affordable is because they don't replace all of the parts that Rolex would. I think he is right in saying that you get what you pay for, and I actually think that the movement services at RSC are a relative bargain, considering what you get. Right now though, you should only pay for what you need, and Mark is your man. Good luck, buddy.

[kyle L]

You might also want to try Rikki or Dalton.

[Xander]

I wouldn't have a case polished by anyone other than Dalton or whoever is doing it over at ABC. It's spectacular.

[Tim Wells]

I don't think there was anything "knee jerk" about folks recommending the services of someone they happen to know that does good work.

Bob doesn't do "good" work, it is way beyond that. I have done some work for him and was fortunate enough to meet him once on a business trip to Dallas and took him to lunch.

Super clean shop, well laid out and a consummate gentleman, and incidentally he did some things for me and I couldn't be more pleased with the outcome.

As for the original poster, I have restored many, many watches over the 16 years I've done this, many of them basket cases. I bet half of all those were someone wanting their Rockford, Curvex, or other old watch fixed that their Dad or Grandpa left them and so they were priceless to them due to the emotional attachment.

When something means that much to you, you are better off in the long run having it restored and saving up for it if need be, it'll be worth it. No matter what I charged the customer, the smile on their faces that came welling up out of their heart was far more valuable to me.

Frankly, that was most of the reason why I took in jobs like that, for the challenge and testing of my skills and, and because they were important to someone rather than some dealer just wanting it fixed so he can flip it.

Save up a little after you get your life back together after that storm and do this right when the time is right. There's no telling when it was last serviced and that mystery for me would be enough to have it properly serviced if not fully restored.

If you look at my post on the thread titled "more on seal integrity", those photos will very clearly illustrate the importance of keeping it serviced which in the case of your fathers watch it obviously has not seen a watchmakers bench in decades. There's no telling the condition of the parts and how much wear has occurred and it will only get worse if you just have that acrylic crystal polished and wear it without confirming its internal integrity.

I am sincerely pleased that you have the forethought and desire to get it running right and wear it rather than let it sit in a box someplace. May you have a lifetime of enjoyment out of that watch, and then on to your kids someday.

[crowncollection]

get it fixed its a true treasure and honours your father more importantly, some good watchmaker suggestions above, send the band over to micheal young.

[Gonebaby]

Originally Posted by Xander

I have heard really good things about this guy:

http://www.watchdoctor.biz/

Send him the watch, tell him to be gentle on the polish. Better yet, just have him polish the acrylic. $185 and you can put it back on your wrist where it belongs. The knee-jerk reaction here seems to be Bob Ridley, and his work is spectacular. But there are many, many watchmakers out there and I recomend you do a affordable fix and get it back on your wrist so you can enjoy it while you deal with more pressing matters. As forum member / watchmaker Rikki has pointed out, the reason some independents are so affordable is because they don't replace all of the parts that Rolex would. I think he is right in saying that you get what you pay for, and I actually think that the movement services at RSC are a relative bargain, considering what you get. Right now though, you should only pay for what you need, and Mark is your man. Good luck, buddy.

great info Im bring my 1803 to Mark Ill set up a date with him in the morning thank you for the info.. Robert

[Xander]

Tim, I agree that Bob has a well deserved excellent reputation (as do you, I might add). All I'm saying is there are other options that the OP could consider. Please note that I said that Bob's work was "spectacular." The OP said that he wasn't able to afford Bob just yet, so I thought I would toss another option out there.

[Rikki]

I don't know where I said that all parts that need to be replaced shouldn't be to save money on a repair ever. I replace all parts that are out of spec at a reasonable price. I don't charge extra for things that should be included in a normal service say like checking barrel end shake, that's part of a service. Independents charge what they feel is a reasonble price for a repair, and reasonable is different from watchmaker to watchmaker. Rikki

[motoikkyu]

It's funny because a lot of the advertisements for the Zephyrs of those years depict that watch on a leather strap, I think most of the bracelets were added later (I wear mine on a two-tone oyster aftermarket), so it's all about taste, jubilee vs. oyster vs. leather.

[mikkibarry]

Niiiiice Zephyr! I have a similar model but for ladies. Bob Ridley, yes! Michael Young, yes! The Oyster bracelet is the correct one.

[andromeda160]

I was looking at a zephyr on ebay the other day, it was at $450 with 10 seconds i bid 750 and it sold for 890, I was kicking myself but i'll get one someday on a two tone oyster.