Prsist

Pretty reliable until it dies? Once it does i assume I could buy another and swap mvts. Is it a special 21j? Or are they all the same. Thinking of opening a new thread specifically for the 21j Rolex Exp. II white dial. See how many have and how well they like.

All I get is this thread.

tryinf to search for a gmt II

in the rolex forumi type gmt II and i even try it in quotes. i get zero hits. why does search only give me results 10% of the time? Arg!

fixed 2x reduction?

i love the look of them but not enough to sink big money into. same as the exp II. Good to hear it jusr kept running.

when it fails just swap it out? are they problematic?

Looks good, Is the numerals and markings on the bezel white or silvery? I love the watch but it is just too big for my girlie wrists.

I thought the MBW accepts a gen bezel assembly?

Here are a couple articles I found written about this: The Mysertious Vintage Rolex Submariner 5510 Dive Watch by Kyle on December 05, 2010 6retweet Share6 Update #2 — SOLD! Wow. All I can say is Wow. That was one heck of an auction. I won’t pursue the Buyer, but maybe (and I hope) that the sleuths at Hodinkee will try to see who stepped up and came away with the prize. Nice job guys! UPDATE! WHAT??? As I am writing this post, it seems that major bids are being RETRACTED which I believe is due to skepticism of the watch’s story. The top bid went from $63,000+ to $61,000+ NOW DOWN (YES DOWN!!) TO $31,011!!!! It is perhaps a very unfortunate turn of events — this lack of confidence in the watch can only be pinned upon the Seller who has not been able to provide confidence in his story, not met requests to provide more photographs, and in my view has even made contradictory statements by professing to be naive as to the value of the watch when clearly he is not a naive person. Would you bid $60,000+ on this photo and a story? I just learned about this Vintage Rolex Submariner 5510 watch listing on eBay tonight when Hodinkee published an interview with the watch’s owner. Readers of this blog know that I’m not a big Rolex guy, but I am always one for a good watch with a good story. I wish I had learned about this one sooner, because let me say — I have my doubts about this one. Not that my doubts can’t be answered, it’s just that more time is needed to investigate this story thoroughly. Since my run-in with Christie’s over a fake “Howard Hughes” watch that the auction house sold despite serious questions as to its provenance (read my full coverage of this saga HERE), I am skeptical of high profile vintage watches with a “too good to be true” story behind them. Even the so-called “experts” can and are fooled sometimes. Anyway, back to this “Vintage Rolex Submariner Dive Watch” — why I am skeptical? Well… No box, no papersSub-par pictures and refusal of Seller to provide more despite numerous Bidder requests (Seller says there is not enough time to do so — which is total BS in my opinion)Story sounds good, but no way to corroborate itSeller professes naivete at the watch’s value – but seemingly contradicts his naivete by a) having sold an Omega Marine Chronometer for $3,100 in Dec’09, and referring to the watch as chance to own a “rare iconic timepiece”" But mostly I was struck by a “Q&A” exchange between Seller and possible Bidder on the eBay page — this really got me wondering… Q: Bob, Like many other watch enthusiasts all over the internet, I have been following this listing with great interest. Many questioners have been warning you against scams, but may I ask for a little verification that your own story is what you say it is? Do you have any original papers for this watch, or verification that you indeed served in the military in the time and place you describe? I notice that you sold an Omega Marine Chronometer in Dec 21, 2009 for over $3000, yet you claim that you had no idea your Rolex would go for more than $50 or $100. You seem to be more eBay savvy than that. Even if you are using someone else’s eBay account, it is easy enough to take your watch to a jeweler for an appraisal, or simply type in “Rolex dive watch” with the reference number that you have into the eBay web page or even Google to see that this watch is worth easily over $10,000. Sorry for these questions. I want to believe you, but everyone needs to be careful on eBay, sellers AND buyers. Dec-04-10 A: Very good point. I have my discharge papers and dozens of photographs of myself on Kwajalein. I don’t have any of the original papers on the watch, nor copies of my orders to Kwajalein. I’m not a watch person. I bought the Omega Marine Chronometer when I was refreshing my astronavigation skills preparatory to an ocean crossing in my boat in the mid 70’s. (didn’t happen) I kept the watch for years, finally deciding I should cash it out because I never wore it. It’s heavy and awkward. I knew it was valuable because I haggled with the vendor and paid $800 for it, which was about half the going price. Remember, I only paid $70 for this Rolex and had no good reason to investigate its worth. The market value would be established by auction on eBay. Like most doctors of my ilk, I’m a financial imbecile – as I have demonstrated here to all and sundry. This little exchange was all I need to say “You now what? The story doesn’t add up!” It could add up — but it doesn’t — I wish the Seller would have shared more photos or something to give serious collectors more confidence. http://blog.perpetuelle.com/index.php/watch-news/the-mysertious-vintage-rolex-submariner-5510-dive-watch/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+FirstInWatches+%28First+In+Watches.com%29&utm_content=Gmail Interview - The Man Behind The Most Talked About eBay Listing In A While: The Owner of THAT Submariner (UPDATED) { display:inline; } Seeing a Rolex Submariner Ref 5510 show up on eBay is not something that happens often. Rarer still is finding one being sold by its original owner. Having no prior knowledge of this highly sought after timepiece and certainly no expectation for what would transpire upon its listing, this unsuspecting seller ignited one of the most furious bidding wars and discussed items on eBay over the past few months. The auction in question will come to an end this evening, rewarding the winning bidder with not only a true classic, but one hell of a story to go with it. We spoke with the owner first hand, and here's the story. The journey begins 52 years ago, at a Navy Exchange on Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands. It was here that a young aviation medical student, Bob, spent what was likely the best $70 of his life (much to the chagrin of his wife). When asked why he chose this particular watch he replied, "I needed a dive watch and this was one of the few available," as he recalled looking through multiple dive watches. Being an avid diver, the intention was simply to time air reserves on his dives. For much of the next 35 years that's exactly what the watch did. Bob spoke fondly of his diving experiences both in Navy at the Marshall Islands as well from a home in the Bahamas, where he lived through the 80's. Serving its purpose faithfully for over half a century (a testament to the caliber 1530 still ticking away inside), the watch has spent the last decade tucked inside a drawer. Until last week that is, when Bob decided to sell a few personal belongings on eBay for spare change. Completely unaware of the significance of the watch, the auction began with no reserve, at $9.95. Needless to say, Bob was in for a shock. "I thought it was a mistake!" he said, upon seeing the bids go beyond the $30K mark. He asked his son to help research the watch, uncovering its identity and significance, they realized just what they had on their hands. Through the week the bidding has steadily climbed to the $63,100 where it sits at the time of this writing. While the buyer might not be getting much in the way of papers and boxes, they will be getting a living, breathing "history in the making" purchase from this vivacious and genuine original owner. Bob has offered to give a written history to the winning bidder as documentation. After getting the chance to speak with him, I highly recommend taking the time to sit and discuss the history of the watch face-to-face. While it is true that going to a larger, more prestigious auction house would have offered a more glamourous exposure to collectors, eBay provides a fitting location given the unlikely story behind its listing. When asked if he had any second thoughts about selling the watch, now knowing its significance, he replied simply "none at all." Be sure to catch the conclusion of this story with the ending of the auction at 10:30PM EST (7:30PM PST) tonight by clicking here. A special thanks to Bob for taking the time to speak with us here at Hodinkee. Also, if you had any doubts about how interested the watch collecting community has been in this watch, click here to see all four pages of questions that Bob has received (including some offensively low offers in the early days of the listing). Update: This sale has closed. The final minutes were really exciting, with four cancelled bids dropping the price from over $60,000 back down to $31,000, only to have it re-climb to a final selling price of $66,100. Also, you may have seen several disparaging posts about this sale on other blogs and forums asserting that this seller's story simply didn't add up - noting that he would not add additional pictures. What those people failed to remember is that eBay does not allow you to add new pictures after a certain point in the auction, and when he created this listing, he was expecting to earn just a few hundred dollars. Below are some pictures of the original owner wearing the watch throughout the years. Where the Watch Was Originally Purchased Honolulu, 1959Waikiki August '59 ( age 29 ) On way back to USAChristmas, 1979 http://www.hodinkee.com/blog/2010/12/5/interview-the-man-behind-the-most-talked-about-ebay-listing.html

Look up The Zigmeister and vaccum are the best around concerning servicing a watch. Catch Chieftang during one of his AR runs. He just accepts the crystal so you will need to have that removed first. I find repgeek.com and rwi.com have sub-fora for a couple members who service and work on watches. I'd check there.

Haha, warching A Night at the Opera! love the brothers!

Haha, warching A Night at the Opera! love the brothers!

I was referring to the date window on the MBW dial. I thought someone said the PT date wheel is a little off when the MBW dial is used. I guess opening up the windows helps? Or makes it too large? There is something wrong with the date windows on the PT?

Like I said, take your time gathering the info you need. But I do think you could splurge on a nice entry level watch of your choice!

Not for titanium and brushed metals.

After cleaning or for a quick wipe down, I was curious what others use. I've read multi-purpose wipes are a quick way to clean a watch and I just use microfiber clothes/towels that I picked up for the auto store or camera shop.

Snazzy Seiko Ronin! Did you just change your avatar?

Tell you what... I love that chronograph! Put a thin bracelet on it and she is all good!

Welcome to the Forum! The search button is your friend. Dont be afraid to ask questions. You will find some more ornery than others but we are all a friendly bunch! Research, research and when you think you got it, research some more! There is more than meets the eye with reps. Dont for get to read the stickies at the beginning of the sub-fora of your choice. It is entirely normal for your head to spin after your first week or so. My head still takes a dive every now and again.

I use the poor mans version: scotch brite pad (green). I get the pad a tad moist (or not) and follow the grain of the titanium and go back and forth, never circular. 1. For slight surface scratches you can use an eraser (I forget which one, I think the pen removal eraser). 2. Scotch Brite pad (green) 3. Search for Bergeon scratch removal pens or fiberglass pens

Looks to be better quality than the $40 special I bought at Dillards a few years back that lasted 9 months. I purchased 2 4-watch winders of the bay for I think $80 a piece and both are still working great after 3 years. Orbita and Wolf make the best in the biz but I think they are grossly overpriced. Check locally, my local jeweler let me peruse their catalog and I found a nice 4-watch winder with a 3 yr warranty for $225.

I hate every single one of Vintage Rolex lovers. When i first started researching the 1665 I was happy, now because of you guys I can tell the difference b/w the PT (which I was happy with) and MBW dial. What kind on modding is required to fit it into a PT case? Would filing the date window open more solve the issue?

Not sure would trust a rep getting serviced and then making the long trip and trusting it made the journey without something not happening. Worse yet do I trust their "Swiss trained technicians"?