Did Some Massive Rolex Spotting Today

[SPACE-DWELLER]

I went to the Saturday local flea market again today on my day off.

There were a lot of people at the market due to the warm and sunny weather.

As usual, besides browsing all the tables laid out with both crap and interesting stuff, I did my instict "Rolex spotting".

First I saw the guy again that I made a thread about in the WatchOut section last Saturday, the guy wearing a fake SS GMT IIc.

Then I had a talk with a man selling old cameras. He was wearing a nice GMT 1675, all-black bezel. His friend with whom he shared the table wore a beautiful Explorer 1016. He took the watch off for me to hold and look at. It was in nice, original condition, and the (at that time) steel hands were slightly corroded.

He soon asked me if I could guess how old it is. My guess was "start of the 70ies". Pretty close, since it was from the late 60ies.

Then he told me how he got his watch. In the late 60ies, he was in Greenland doing some scientific work (some kind of expedition) and the team was contacted by Rolex if they would like to wear a Rolex watch of their choice for a week.

The Rolex watch was then to be sent back to Rolex to be tested for accuracy, etc., to see how well it had kept time in the extremely cold temperatures in Greenland.

The deal was that the Rolex would then be sent back to the wearer with the option for him buying it for US $ 100!

The guy I had a chat with bought the Explorer 1016.

I adviced them both to leave the hands and dials alone if they wanted to have their watches serviced. Luckily, the owner of the Explorer 1016 did not know that it would be bad to put SuperLuminova hands on the watch, so he was very grateful for my advice. The GMT owner said he would not to that, either.

Later, I spotted a woman wearing a men's DJ 1601, silver dial with diamonds. I could not help chatting her up (she looked nice, too! ).

She told me that she had bought the watch with a different dial for DKR. 13,000 (US $ 2,700) and had spent a lot of time finding a silver diamond dial from the period. She paid DKR. 6,000 for the dial on its own, she told me (US $ 1,250).

The Jubilee bracelet on the watch was in very good condition, no stretch.

Finally, I briefly spotted another GMT 1675, funnily enough again with a all-black bezel insert.

Although I did not find anything interesting to buy on the flea market today, I went home feeling happy about being able to have a "Rolex chat" outside TRF, too.

[cmcm3]

Good spotting Bo, I would love to see a fake GMTIIc to know how "real" it looks - particularly the bezel.

[SPACE-DWELLER]

As stated, you can read more about it in the WatchOut section. There I described the watch.

[badsmac]

I did something like that the other day. I was in NY for business and had some time during the day so I decided to walk up 5th ave. and see what's going on.
I got to see for the first time a GMT IIc SS. Not at an AD but on the wrist of a guy walking and talking on his cell phone. I saw a lot of Subs & a couple of DD's & DJ. I have always wanted to try on the GMT IIc and have not been able to find one. So I went into Wempe and they told me that there is a waiting list for the SS version. They had a TT in the window. No biggie. They did seem a little snobby. It's kinda fun seeing who's wearing what.

[swatty]

Sounds like you had a great day Rolex spotting Bo

[erwin]

Bo, did you mention about this forum to them especally that nice looking woman?

[SPACE-DWELLER]

Yes, I did mention TRF to all of them. I don't think they would join us, though. They all wore Rolex watches (except the guy wearing the fake), but Rolex watches did not seem to really interest them. They just happened to own a Rolex.

[CoopJr]

Superb spotting Bo! What a great Explorer story.

[Hamilton Carvalho]

Thanks for sharing Bo!

[kcmo]

Sounds like a nice day Bo! As long as Rolex is involved, you're bound to have a good day!

[SPACE-DWELLER]

Originally Posted by kcmo

Sounds like a nice day Bo! As long as Rolex is involved, you're bound to have a good day!

Funnily enough, the female insisted on the DJ being a "mid-size".

She told me that Asian people prefer them. She was a blonde Dane, though. Might be true that in some parts of the world the DJ mid-size is preferred, but the DJ she wore was definately a 1601 men's sized DJ at 36 mm.

It looks great on her skinny wrist!

[kcmo]

Originally Posted by SPACE-DWELLER

Funnily enough, the female insisted on the DJ being a "mid-size".

She told me that Asian people prefer them. Might be true, but the DJ she wore was definately a 1601 men's sized DJ at 36 mm.

It looks great on her skinny wrist!

Cool! Gotta love a gal wearing a gents watch!

[f16570]

Similar situation Tuesday this week. Sat next to SD, and a TT Bluesy and across the table Sub Date and Airking. None of these guys were WIS, just owned a Rollie.