What would it cost to get a 1953 Rolex Explorer 6350 working?

[tddeep]

The crown is falling out, the stem is missing, and the movement is not working. What is your estimate?

 

 

[cc33]

Beautiful! Send it to a company like abc watchwerks, or http://www.watchmakers.com/services.html

And expect to pay anywhere from 3-500 is my best guess. A stem is no big deal and the crown is prob ok once the new stem is in place, just make sure to use a company known for vintage restoration because you don't want that amazing dial and hands to be replaced with service parts. I wouldn't touch the dial or hands at all, with a new crystal or once that one is polished it's going to be really nice!

[Nanuq]

Where are you located? In the Seattle area you can't go wrong with George Kajanoff or Tom Nesbitt.

[tddeep]

I'm currently located in Houston, but I do travel often.

[tddeep]

Could a different movement be installed? I've read that the movement could cost a TON to fix.

[Nanuq]

Probably not. Do you know what's in there now?

In some cases (pun intended) an ETA movement *can* be made to fit given the right adapter ring. Whether such a ring exists for your case is unknown.

I'm on the hunt for a 1030 movement.

[tddeep]

here's the movement

 

[cc33]

Amazing old bb movement Freddy knows a ton about them, I'm sure he'll chime in soon. Do not change the movement. The parts are available and if sent to one of the know vintage guys they can handle that blindfolded. Have it serviced and the new stem put in, polish or replace crystal and seals, done.

[cc33]

Watchmakers international (Bob Ridley) is located in Arlington. He's amazing and can bring that puppy back to life

[tddeep]

Great to know I might message you asking for some more details soon!

[freddy333]

There is great potential, but cost depends on what is wrong with the movement & what parts are required. In general, I would expect to spend between $600-$1,000+ to put the watch into good, working order. That depends, of course, on how successful you (or your watchmaker) are in located the required parts, most of which have not been made for 25+ years.

 

[Tonyyammine]

Watchmakers international (Bob Ridley) is located in Arlington. He's amazing and can bring that puppy back to life

He's the best of the best on vintage watches. Look him up on the rolex forums.

[eduardor]

beautiful watch you got there! as cc33 said, don't touch the dial or hands, just get the movement serviced/fixed  and you'll have a gem in your hands!

[alligoat]

Since this movement pre dates the 1030, I thought I'd google around and see if I could find out which movement it is. A260, A296...

Lo and behold this watch is being auctioned on ebay by Andrew Shear

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1953-Vintage-Rare-Rolex-Big-Bubbleback-Explorer-I-ref-6350-PROJECT-WATCH-/200963868228?pt=Wristwatches&hash=item2eca614644#ht_883wt_1160

At any rate, I agree with cc33 and Tony, Bob Ridley would be the best shot to get it going again.

[lhooq]

I will have to disagree with a couple of people on this thread.  Were I to purchase this watch, the dial would be the first thing to be replaced in a restoration.  I suspected it had been redone (and rather roughly), and the Shear listing that alligoat links to confirms it.  Unfortunately, genuine 6350 dials are very rarely spotted in the wild.

 

EDIT: I also wonder about the originality of the hands, considering how they seem to be too short for this reference.

[alligoat]

Would you consider a vintage relume of the hands and the dial, LHOOQ?

Like you say, finding a suitable dial would be next to impossible.

I was thinking a watchmaker might well have to fabricate a stem to fit the movement, a la Ziggy

[Ephry73]

This looks like the explore that was on eBay not too long ago. Great looking watch.

[freddy333]

Since this movement pre dates the 1030, I thought I'd google around and see if I could find out which movement it is. A260, A296...

 

A.296. The 296 & 260 differ in the diameter of their pillar plate (the 260, which is what I have in my TOG, being the smaller of the 2).

[panerai153]

If you want it done right, Bob Ridley is your man. He probably has the parts or has sources to find them. Bob is a genuine nice guy and his communication is top notch. He's restored several gens for me, and I was very pleased with the results. He isn't cheap, but in the end, it's worth it

[lhooq]

Would you consider a vintage relume of the hands and the dial, LHOOQ?

Like you say, finding a suitable dial would be next to impossible.

 

I'm only speaking for myself, but having a good-looking dial is of such paramount importance that I wouldn't bother with a relume.  I imagine that a decent dial would double the selling price of the watch, working movement or not.

 

If I could snag this at a low enough price, I'd swap in a good, aftermarket honeycomb dial and put this Explorer in my regular rotation!

[jleonid]

How did you come across the watch? If you don't mind me asking...