1601 Datejust 14k rose/ss

[babaandboo]

Just fitted a brown leather band to my 1974 1601 datejust and thought I'd get an opinion on how it looks... what do you guys think?

Should i be looking to get it polished/serviced? I thinks it's been a while since it's had one if, ever. The crystal has a few scratches that I'd like to get rid of, other than that, I think the brown leather contrasts well with the blue dial, rose gold/ ss.

let me know what you guys think.

[Darlinboy]

I like that with the blue dial.

[oldwatchguy]

Nice watch. I just picked up my first Rolex. It's a 1969 DJ two tone SS/14k. When I got it it had a similar looking crystal and was speckled with green paint. I cleaned it up and used some FLITZ polish on the crystal and I think it turned out nice.

I'm also a huge fan of the leather straps on these watches. Yours looks great with the blue dial. I just ordered a honey brown ostrich strap for mine.

[jolimont]

When I bought my 1601 the first thing I did was to take it to a watchmaker to get it serviced, that's the cost of buying vintage. I don't think RSC services vintage. Your Rolex deserves it

[oldwatchguy]

Originally Posted by jolimont

When I bought my 1601 the first thing I did was to take it to a watchmaker to get it serviced, that's the cost of buying vintage. I don't think RSC services vintage. Your Rolex deserves it

Jolimont, Mine needs a service too. Have you had any experience with Bob Ridley in Texas? If not, who do you recommend?

[rolexbuyer]

@Old watch guy
You've done a great job polishing the crystal, looks flawless from what I can see in the picture. The band you've ordered sounds really good, where are you getting it from, and how much is it setting you back?

I want to get a rolex rose gold buckle, would it's size also be 18mm like the band?
I've had a look around and have only come across 16mm ones online...

[jolimont]

Originally Posted by oldwatchguy

Jolimont, Mine needs a service too. Have you had any experience with Bob Ridley in Texas? If not, who do you recommend?

I live in Australia so I can't recommend anyone for you- but many people here are big fans of bob Ridley, so I guess you can't go wrong?

[TurboWatch]

My favorite DJ. It appears that you have the original domed crystal. Unless it's cracked, do not replace it. A bit of polywatch will take the scratches away. Here is my 1603 with the blue sigma dial but has faded to grey/purple

[HRV]

Originally Posted by babaandboo

Just fitted a brown leather band to my 1974 1601 datejust and thought I'd get an opinion on how it looks... what do you guys think?

Should i be looking to get it polished/serviced? I thinks it's been a while since it's had one if, ever. The crystal has a few scratches that I'd like to get rid of, other than that, I think the brown leather contrasts well with the blue dial, rose gold/ ss.

let me know what you guys think.

I think the brown goes really well will the blue and I agree about trying to get rid of the scratches, nice watch

[babaandboo]

Originally Posted by TurboWatch

My favorite DJ. It appears that you have the original domed crystal. Unless it's cracked, do not replace it. A bit of polywatch will take the scratches away. Here is my 1603 with the blue sigma dial but has faded to grey/purple

Yes, you are right, I have the original domed plastic crystal on there.
I was told that the scratches could be removed with a polish so i'm not going to replace it.

Your watch has a really good smooth finished look to it, have you had it polished? Also noticed the nice end links you have on there, makes it look more complete, are those end links custom made or after market? and where can I get a pair to go with my watch.

[oldwatchguy]

@ rolexbuyer
The band is made by Di-Modell from Germany. It was an ebay purchace and was about $30, which is about half of what the normally sell for. As for the buckle I also ordered a SS one for mine. It's 18mm but for the price I paid ($20), I don't expect it to be the real thing. What I was finding is that the genuine Rolex buckles tend to be 16mm. I have fairly big arms and I have tried the bands that neck down from 20mm to 16mm and I personally don't care for the way they look on my arm. That's why I opted to go the route I did. I would love to have the original bracelet for the watch. But, since I only paid $500 for the watch through a Jeweler friend I hate to spend more on a replacement strap than I did the watch. I'm going to save that money for a Sub or GMT :).

@jolimont
Thanks for the advice. Visiting Australia is on my list of things to do in this life time. I hope to mark that one off sooner than later.

[MonBK]

Looks like YG to me?

[TurboWatch]

Originally Posted by babaandboo

Yes, you are right, I have the original domed plastic crystal on there.
I was told that the scratches could be removed with a polish so i'm not going to replace it.

Your watch has a really good smooth finished look to it, have you had it polished? Also noticed the nice end links you have on there, makes it look more complete, are those end links custom made or after market? and where can I get a pair to go with my watch.

The endlink is from our own TRF Eugene ( Etur ). It's the best $60.00 you'll ever spend on a watch

The quality, the price ... I've got 4 different pairs from him.

I've never polished my 1603 BTW.

[babaandboo]

Originally Posted by MonBK

Looks like YG to me?

At first i did suspect it was then i compared it to my brothers datejust and the difference was quite notable. There is an obvious pink shade in the gold.

however there is something odd since i came back from the shop. the bezel seems to look more yellowish and the pink shade it not as obvious as before. is it possible the watch maker pulled a switch? (yellow gold bezel for the rose gold one?

I've compared it to the gold on the bracelet and i'm not quite sure... at certain angles the bezel looks notably more yellowish (pink shade stands out on the bracelet) and at others the color looks exactly the same.

I'm posting up some pix of the watch that i took before taking it there and after... is there something suspect?

I'm taking the watch and the bracelet to the AD right now to get an opinion. Doubt they'll be too happy about the strap i have on the watch now.
I hope it's all good and everything is in order, don't want this issue to linger on my mind, It's my birthday tomorrow...

[babaandboo]

Originally Posted by TurboWatch

The endlink is from our own TRF Eugene ( Etur ). It's the best $60.00 you'll ever spend on a watch

The quality, the price ... I've got 4 different pairs from him.

I've never polished my 1603 BTW.

If it's being used regularly then hats off to you buddy for keeping it in such great shape.

Beautiful end links... I think i'll drop Eugene a line for a pair. It will give the strap that "factory fitted" look on the watch.

btw, one of the members commented that the bezel on my watch is yellow gold and not rose which i found odd, checked and compared it with the bracelet and took pictures. do you see anything off?

[MonBK]

Originally Posted by babaandboo

If it's being used regularly then hats off to you buddy for keeping it in such great shape.

Beautiful end links... I think i'll drop Eugene a line for a pair. It will give the strap that "factory fitted" look on the watch.

btw, one of the members commented that the bezel on my watch is yellow gold and not rose which i found odd, checked and compared it with the bracelet and took pictures. do you see anything off?

Correction, I didn't say it IS yg but rather that in your pictures it looked like it.

[babaandboo]

Originally Posted by MonBK

Correction, I didn't say it IS yg but rather that in your pictures it looked like it.

I just got confirmation that it is in fact, rose gold by the AD.

[DrLindaPhD]

But, the Rose Gold watches vary in color, especially the vintage. For example, I have two 1940 18k gold ladies Rose Gold and one 1929 Oyster. All three are a different color of Rose. One is pale Rose, and one is orange Rose and one is true Rose. It's difficult to match to a metal band or to a Rose anything because they mix copper in with gold to get Rose gold. Here is some info from wiki on Rose Gold. (FYI)

Rose gold is a gold and copper alloy widely used for specialized jewelry. It is also known as pink gold and red gold. As it was popular in Russia at the beginning of the nineteenth century, it is also known as Russian gold, however, this term is now obsolete.

Although the names are often used interchangeably, the difference between red, rose, and pink gold is the copper content – the higher the copper content, the stronger the red coloration. A common alloy for rose gold is 75% gold and 25% copper by mass (18 karat). Since rose gold is an alloy, there is no such thing as "pure rose gold".

A common formulation for red gold is 50% gold and 50% copper.[1]

Up to 15% zinc can be added to copper-rich alloys to change their color to reddish yellow or dark yellow.[2]

During ancient times, due to impurities in the smelting process, gold frequently turned a reddish color. This is why many Greco-Roman texts, and even many texts from the Middle Ages, describe gold as "red".[citation needed]

[babaandboo]

recently got my hands on some polywatch and i must admit, it's a great product. the crystal had a couple of deep scratches that have become mere specks and i'm confident a couple of more treatments will sort that out as well.

[VintageRolexHunter23]

Hey guys
Can anyone help me find links for this bracelet ? I’ve been looking everywhere with no luck
Apparently this combination ss/14k pink gold were made in very limited numbers