What would YOU do to this 1680?

[Chronokid]

I just purchased this 1680 Sub from 1979 and I believe it's generally a pretty "honest" watch. Case has not been over-polished, crystal may be original (but starting to fog), bezel insert has been replaced. Mainly, I'm curious about the color relationship of the dial and hands. I'm guessing that the Mark I dial may have been washed at some point to remove old tritium residue. Consequently, the hands (which I also think are original) have become a dark tan and much darker that the dial plots. Suggestions?

[colpol]

If it was me - i’d Wear it as is OR sell it & put money towards a more original / better piece.

Just my personal opinion ;.)

[HERITAGE82]

I would put luminova hands on it since it’ll match the dial and get an insert that appeals to you. Also I’d put a new crystal on it to give it that fresh look.

Overall it’s a nice looking Watch!

On a side note... I have owned a handful of Vintage Rolex & Tudors and have gone through many stages of what I desired out of my vintage piece. Recently I had an opportunity to purchase a beat up 16750 GMT and took the plunge. I replaced the insert, crystal and bracelets with original parts, but decided to keep the dial that had hand drag circles and put aftermarket aged hands on it. Yes I know aftermarket anything in a Rolex is blasphemy, but the hands happen to match perfectly and I was able to keep my costs low.

Now I have a perfectly useable watch that I enjoy looking at. However, I would be lying if I said that I don’t look at matte dials and tritium hands to buy and put into my watch because once you enter this world of perfect vintage Rolex in every post we have a hard time just enjoying these old watches for what they are.

So my advice above comes from a place that says make the watch enjoyable to YOU and try not to chase the idea of perfection that will only cost you headaches, time and money.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder...

[alwayshere]

a couple of things worth considering

1) might be the angle but that crystal doesn't look original - the mag power looks low.

2) the hands show some early signs of corrosion (you mention you notice some fogging) so worth having it serviced properly and making sure no real moisture is inside.

3) Bezel insert pearl isnt original to the model / era. Either replace the insert with a service one (at least that would correct the pearl) or replace the pearl directly (my guess is the hole that the current pearl sits on will be too large for the original pearl)