freddy333

Back in the 60s, if you saw a Rolex Sub on someone's wrist, you naturally assumed he was a professional (or serious) diver. Seeing a modern Sub on someone's wrist carries an altogether different connotation & the word professional never enters into it.

And, just to sharpen the point - 'Can I take a shower with it?' is a reasonable question to ask when talking about an expensive, highly polished gold-highlighted piece of superfluous jewelry that gets spoiled (as opposed to improved) when scratched.

Good point, but I believe there is more to it besides just not wanting to appear as another wealthy sheep in the luxury market herd. Vintage Subs (& other Rolex sports watches) were designed like tools, with little or no bling (how much gold & diamonds are needed in a hammer when nailing a nail) & that, I believe, is why they have endured & gained so much in value over the years.

I hate scrolling

They were hearty, accurate symbols of action, wealth & success, & worn by many serious divers And some not-so-serious

Ending the work week wearing my white Newman again

Looks good & the ST19 is a gem.

Like Ubi, I wore my '14 today

A full-frontal pic would be helpful, but I like what I can see.

Oysters are warranted for higher depth ratings than non-Oysters & for that reason Rolex would never install a non-Oyster dial into an Oyster case. There are many exceptions to the rules in vintage Rolex world, but this is not 1 of them. Again, not to say that someone else did not swap dials, but, like I said, this watch, as pictured in the OP, would meet the definition of a frankenwatch.

As suggested, Paypal is generally safe. At least, noone other than Paypal has access to your cc details, so vendors &/or 3rd-parties (hackers, etc) cannot skim the account. Another alternative is to use a virtual credit card, which some banks offer. Some virtual cards allow the user to set the total dollar amount &/or a time-limit for each transaction (by default, most virtual cards auto-expire at the end of the month), so any subsequent charges against that card number are automatically ignored. I use a virtual credit card with Paypal, which provides pretty bullet-proof protection. Everything I purchased by phone or online over the past 7-8 years was done with a virtual card. Pizza, utility bills, watch parts, all done with a virtual card. If I carried a smart phone or computer with me, I would probably use virtual cards for everything & leave my real card at home. By the way, another possible, albeit less likely, scenario is that r8247's card got skimmed wirelessly by someone local. With the right equipment, a clever hacker, restaurant employee or store clerk simply scans the magnetic strip on your card as you pass them by. The only foil against this type of threat is to store your card within a Faraday cage (grounded metal container).

Ditto. This is a Rolex Date (not Datejust) & I would not buy any Rolex without a good, clear movement pic.

Rolex would never install a non-Oyster dial into an Oyster case. It is possible that the owner or some indy watchmaker/modder might, but noone within the Rolex service network would ever do that.

Valty - Good sighting on the dial/pusher mismatch. That dial did not come in an Oyster case (with screw pushers), so the watch is, at least, a franken. With such a crappy pic, I should have looked closer & assumed that someone was trying to hide something (like small printing & incorrect pusher style for that vintage). But I think your late 50s date is off though. I believe the 1st 6240 appeared around 1965 & remained in production until1969.

In NOS condition, these will be very difficult to find. You will have better luck with good, used condition. Begin by searching here, here, here & ebay.

What I can see looks good. Values between $25k-$40k, depending on condition & provenance (original sales receipt, 25-year old family pics showing dad wearing the watch, etc), if any.

The old '42

Very space age.

CGs are slightly off & hard to tell more without good, clear macro pics, but the rest looks pretty good. Here is a gen for comparison

Maybe we should install virtual scratch-&-sniff smelling salts in selected threads for those of you with weak tickers