what is this watch

[Evgen]

tell me what this watch IMG_40071111.jpg

IMG_4010.jpg

[blaze182]

Identity crisis 101.

[Old Expat Beast]

Could be a franken, could be something very unusual from the 1930s. The Tudor name was on dials that early, but not with that type face till about 1936, I think, and usually beneath a rose in a shield, not the Rolex coronet. And the Oyster Watch Co caseback raises more questions. Better put it in the vintage section. Here's one slightly similar from the mid 1940s.

[77T]

It's very old - maybe a better question for the Vintage section?

[77T]

Originally Posted by Old Expat Beast

Could be a franken, could be something very unusual from the 1930s. The Tudor name was on dials that early, but not with that type face till about 1936, I think, and usually beneath a rose in a shield, not the Rolex coronet. And the Oyster Watch Co caseback raises more questions. Better put it in the vintage section.

I seem to be a few minutes behind you Adam but we think alike
Same thing happened in the "Why 28?" thread

[Old Expat Beast]

Originally Posted by 77T

I seem to be a few minutes behind you Adam but we think alike
Same thing happened in the "Why 28?" thread

Great minds, eh?

[Xenophon]

From looking through my excellent Tudor Anthology book (which I won in a TRF giveaway), I can't find it. Like Adam, I am suspicious of the odd crown on the dial and "Oyster Watch Co" on the caseback

[Old Expat Beast]

Originally Posted by Xenophon

From looking through my excellent Tudor Anthology book (which I won in a TRF giveaway), I can't find it. Like Adam, I am suspicious of the odd crown on the dial and "Oyster Watch Co" on the caseback

Sadly the Anthology has little of anything pre-1960. That's my only real complaint with an otherwise great book. It would have been nice to see some of the mid-1920s to 1946 pre-Tudor Montres SA pieces.

[padi56]

Well the Tudor line was sold in the UK and Canadian market well before 1945 and the USA and with the RWC case got to be from late 1920s very early 1940s but most probably mid/late 1930s. As later most of USA market problems were solved when Rolex gained the right to enter the US market themselves when the Gruen brothers left the board of Aegler in mid 1930s selling their shares to the two remaining parties.And their place on the board of the company was taken by Emil Borer who really invented the oyster case,and who was Herman Aegler's brother in law, the technical director of the RWC, and much more significantly the man who supposedly invented the Perpetual movement for the company.Now this new movement was the first one from Aegler (Rolex), that was not made available to Gruen, and so gave Rolex a unique advantage when they were able to take advantage of their new found ability to enter the US market, which they did just as the USA entered WW11, around 1942.

[MILGAUSS88]

Dial looks like it is an old refinish.
Is the movement signed Rolex or Tudor?

[Evgen]

IMG_4009.jpg

IMG_4008.jpg

[Base-Z]

Interesting watch. A sharper picture of the movement would help.
however it looks like a 15 jewelled FHF calibre 59.
Probably dates to around the mid 1940's.
The same movement was used in the Rolex Oyster "standard" watches,
usually sold to the Canadian market.

Does the crown have the words Rolex and oyster? or Oyster patent like the pic below.

P.S. The same case back is found on the Rolex "Standard" watch.

[shawndww]

inscription on the back is royal Canadian airforce. Most of it makes sense for the Canadian market.

[Base-Z]

I don't see any Tudor sign on the movement, which makes me
strongly suspect that underneath the dial you will find the movement
signed Rolex Geneve. I have a 1945/46 Tudor Oyster with the 17 Jewel
movement and here is a picture of the Rolex Sign on my movement.

[Old Expat Beast]

Was the Oyster Watch Co. a Rolex subsidiary?

[Tools]

As mentioned, the dial has likely been refinished. The engravings on the back were done by hand by the owner (or by a store for the owner) and probably done to identify it as his property.

Why do we get decent pics of the dial and case back but garbage for the movement

Anyway, the Oyster Watch Company watches were made for the Canadian market and they differ from Swiss marketed Rolex’s in that they used a Rolex modified ebauche movement made by Fontmelon. The movement markings were sparse and not marked Rolex.

This one probably started life as a Rolex 2784 but the dial may have had a number of different names or may have just said Oyster since it was the Oyster Watch Company. Could be from the 1940's

The most famous of these Canadian watches were the 1/4 Century models made for Eaton's Department Stores..

[Old Expat Beast]

Thanks Larry.