Help Identifying Watch

[virg]

Help in identifying watch

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Hi everyone,

This is my first post and hope I'm posting it in the right forum.

I've found the forum very interesting and know very little about watches. I have inherited a Rolex watch and would like to find out more about it. I've attached a few pictures; inside the back cover is written:
Brevetee
Rolex S.A.
Geneve Suisse
31 Victoires
Haute Precision
3646
260563
The Body is 47x47mm
The face is 40mm in diameter.

Any information would be really helpful. Is it valuable, should I be keeping it somewhere safe?

Thanks in advance for your help.
Virg

[argee1977]

If this is genuine then it's a Panerai 3646 and it's very valuable, have a look at this auction for the exact same model

http://cgi.liveauctions.ebay.com/477...nsWatchesQ5fGL

[argee1977]

I would add before you get your hopes up that there are a lot of fakes of this watch and they are almost identical, the watch in your pictures looks in fantastic condition, which isn't a good sign for a 68 year old watch, unless it's been kept safe for the majority of that time.

[dweb]

Originally Posted by argee1977

I would add before you get your hopes up that there are a lot of fakes of this watch and they are almost identical, the watch in your pictures looks in fantastic condition, which isn't a good sign for a 68 year old watch, unless it's been kept safe for the majority of that time.

I was just about to make the same comment. This looks 'too good to be true'. I hope that you found a real gem. Only way for sure is to get the appraisal.

Best of luck to you...David

[Dan Pierce]

I agree with what's been said so far. Hope it's the real deal.
dP

[mfer]

Where did you inherit this from?

I believe that these we not released to the public for sale originally.
(if it is real)

[Tony-GB]

The crown looks wrong for a start. And I agree with whats been said. Good to see another UK member though.

WE'RE TAKING OVER TRF!!

[mike]

I would agree with what's been said. I'm going to move this to the PANERAI forum. Perhaps the paneristi there can help.

[argee1977]

It would be great if it was real, but those hands are as if they're brand new, which is not a good sign as they'd still suffer from some type of pitting/corrosion unless the watch was kept in some type of controlled environment.

[virg]

The hands are a blue outline.

I took it to a local auction house and they offered to auction it and said that they would guarantee £10,000 and would buy it from me at that price.

My father-in-law took it to Sotherby's in November 1988 (I have their letter) and they say 'it is of a type made for the Forces circa 1940' and that 'we have sold a few similar in the recent past at prices between £1500-2000'.

Thanks everyone, this is really interesting.

Regards,
virg

[Trurolexer]

The dial look OK to me. But I never seen the crown like that IMHO.

[dman]

There are some ways to verify the watch. I am not an expert, but these same pics on paneristi.com could get you a ton of answers. Some things that I do know that you can't judge a watch of that age on certain things like the crown. These watches were tools and when they broke, most of the time they were just replaced with what was on hand. There was no sending your watch in for service, it was just replaced with what was on hand and what fit. I have a good friend with a 3646 with all documentation including the soldier that wore it in WW2. The watch has the wrong crown, but that is because the original was damaged in war and replaced by a local watchmaker at the time.

Best of luck and hope for you it is the real deal.

[GBJIV]

Please keep us posted on what you find out. That would be incredible. Thanks for sharing.