freddy333

This sold at auction (in Sweden) today for $284k

You need a Bergeon 5444-A Fine Satin Finish Bar (click pic for link)

Yuki & Phong have them in sets or, if you are willing to throw the dice, Mr. Slimeball always has 62xx handsets. In either case, I would strongly recommend that you have your watchmaker apply some epoxy to the the hand tube/wand intersection. Otherwise, you will be posting back with 'When I reset, the hand stops at a different place every time'

I assume this is the Friday wristies

The downside (other than the additional cost) to building a gen out of parts instead of buying a complete watch is that you (or a future owner) may have trouble having it serviced by an RSC due to the numbers not matching (RSC checks movement & case serial numbers prior to performing work). If you want to experience assembling a Rolex, I think it makes more sense to buy a complete watch & then learn how to overhaul it yourself. That way (assuming the overhaul is performed properly), you get the best of both worlds without any of the downsides.

Aftermarket (not gen).

Ditto or julesborel.com.

Considering that Phong's cases use the same steel & cost little (or no) more than any standard rep case to make (about $10), I am not sure that I would qualify his 'good price' as good.

I prefer a steel bracelet, but the watch is otherwise beautiful & pics are brilliant. Well done.

Except for 1 detail, well done. The 1 detail is the NOS-looking white seconds hand on a 60+ year old watch. You might consider baking it for a wee bit to tone down the brightness. I would also carefully file or sand the edges of the hand (actually, you could do them all, but the white highlights the edges more than steel) to flatten the roundness, which is another dead giveaway (Rolex hands have square sides)  

$$$$$$$

As is always the case with Rolex, there are no official figures, so no one knows for sure. But I have seen about 20 prototype Daytona dials alone. The dial on the Sub above looks black & I am not sure whether this is a prototype or just another vintage Rolex color-degrading anomoly, but speaking of blue

If you like that 1

Anyone have info on this Sub (I know the Daytona is a prototype, so I am guessing the Sub is as well) It is on a gen site & appears to be a standard 5513, but with a negative color minute track. It also has the slightly serifed 3/6/9 markers like some other early 70s 5513s.

Wore my old Daytona beater today

Yellow (or red) gold is a tough act to pull off (never works on my wrist), but why only the 1 pic? More please.

Alot of Christie's auction bids come by way of telephone & the buyer's identity is, therefore, rarely revealed. My guess is that, in addition to the growing number of Asian (mainly Chinese) buyers, alot of these were bought by US/EU collectors. I think the Chinese are working to make up for decades of financial & aesthetic poverty. But overpaying for vintage Rolex is nothing new for the Chinese. They were on a similar, albeit less gargantuan, Rolex binge just prior to the crash. I think the reason they are buying through the major auction houses & paying way over current values is to guarantee an easy path to ownership of major pieces so they can quickly establish themselves as serious collectors. & I do not think this is a temporary blip either. As China (& Asia) continues to grow millionaires & billionaires, Rolex's decision, 20 years ago, to place adverts in Tiananmen Square & other high profile Chinese sites, is now paying off by turning China's nouveau riche into rabid Rolex buyers.

Has anyone been following the auction prices of vintage Rolexes at Christie's today? Among others, a nice 6542 with box/papers sold for more than $268k. A 6538 sold for nearly $550k. & a white 6610 goes for more than $180k. Talk about investment potential.

There are some seriously potent pics here today, gents. I do not see a single shabby image in this thread. The gen fora may, for the most part, have the best watches, but we have the best photographers.

It sounds like the movement requires a proper overhaul & regulation. Keep in mind that, contrary to the hyperbole offered by rep sellers, rep watches generally come with used &/or unserviced movements - regardless of where it came from. That said, if the watch runs outside the limits indicated on TT's website, I would discuss this with Andrew (TT) & ask him to time the watch prior to its return to you. Keep in mind that a watch set to run accurately on a timer is not likely to run as well on your wrist going through your normal routines. Bottom line is if you want accuracy, find a local watchmaker & spend the money to have the movement professionally overhauled (disassembled, cleaned, oiled & regulated). If you want to get your moneys' worth, return the watch to TT & have them either fix or replace it (with the understanding that, even if it runs well, you are still likely to receive a used/unserviced movement).

Check your phone book for local watchmakers. This is something that can be done in less than a minute &, if the fellow is nice, possibly without a charge.