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jonathanw

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Hello,

 

I have a co-worker who is showing me (this week) some of his "supposedly" gen rolex watches and wants to sell me one, he claims he is in dire need of cash. So he's telling me he sells me his Rollie Sub aluminium 16610 (used of course) for a cheap price, $1000 USD, which is ridiculous because on chrono24 the cheapest 2nd hand 16610s go for $4000 USD. I don't knw why but he seems like a little deceptive, maybe the watches are stolen or something or are super reps, that doesn't make much senses because for the price he's selling you barely can buy a super rep like a franken TC Sub v6.

 

I know the common tells between a super rep like a TC Sub V6 vs a Gen 16610,but what about a franken super rep, like a TC Sub V6 with franken bezel/insert and crystal/crown. Are there "common" tells to distinguish between a gen 16610?

 

He claims he can't have the watch opened because he doesn't have the time to take it to an AD to have it identified as gen, but the will let me look at it even through a loupe. 

I know that its supposed to have a gen 3135 movement, so if I play the crown to set the date / time etc I will know if its an ETA or a 3135 (could be a yuki 3135 though!) by watching the hands movements CW/CCW in respect to the crown movements, but the concrete question, 

Are there any other less known tells, like the hand stack? I have read somewhere about this but can find the information and haven't been able to find anything despite a through and time consuming research on google and all the other forums.  I don't want to expend cash on a super rep pretending to be a gen! I'd rather knw its a super rep and decide to buy it -or not- as I already have a TC Sub V6 with a gen insert.

 

Thank you very for reading and I would appreciate your help!

Best regards

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Hello,

 

I have a co-worker who is showing me (this week) some of his "supposedly" gen rolex watches and wants to sell me one, he claims he is in dire need of cash. So he's telling me he sells me his Rollie Sub aluminium 16610 (used of course) for a cheap price, $1000 USD, which is ridiculous because on chrono24 the cheapest 2nd hand 16610s go for $4000 USD. I don't knw why but he seems like a little deceptive, maybe the watches are stolen or something or are super reps, that doesn't make much senses because for the price he's selling you barely can buy a super rep like a franken TC Sub v6.

 

I know the common tells between a super rep like a TC Sub V6 vs a Gen 16610,but what about a franken super rep, like a TC Sub V6 with franken bezel/insert and crystal/crown. Are there "common" tells to distinguish between a gen 16610?

 

He claims he can't have the watch opened because he doesn't have the time to take it to an AD to have it identified as gen, but the will let me look at it even through a loupe. 

I know that its supposed to have a gen 3135 movement, so if I play the crown to set the date / time etc I will know if its an ETA or a 3135 (could be a yuki 3135 though!) by watching the hands movements CW/CCW in respect to the crown movements, but the concrete question, 

Are there any other less known tells, like the hand stack? I have read somewhere about this but can find the information and haven't been able to find anything despite a through and time consuming research on google and all the other forums.  I don't want to expend cash on a super rep pretending to be a gen! I'd rather knw its a super rep and decide to buy it -or not- as I already have a TC Sub V6 with a gen insert.

 

Thank you very for reading and I would appreciate your help!

Best regards

First and foremost, lend credence to the saying: If it appears too good to be true, it probably is.

My friend Nanuq has succintly summed it up, but there are a few points:

a. Doesn't he have papers for the watch?

b. Spend some time to have the movement checked. If its a Rolex 3135 movement, the watch is more credible... if the movement serial matches the case one.

c. How well do you know and trust the seller? He is a co-worker, so you would likely be seeing him every day, or very often. Do you think he would scam you, knowing the situation that he and you are jointly in? Is he planning to move away or resign soon?

d. Lastly, do you have any pics of the watch that you could share here? The Rolex experts would take it apart in a heartbeat. ;)

Caveat Emptor my friend!

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Yeah I see him every day, I don't think he would like to scam me by selling me a fake pretending to be a gen, BUT he claims not to have any papers and thus he can't pawn it, what I fear is that it may be a stolen gen. If he confesses its stolen, I wouldn't buy anyways cause I can't sell it or maybe even worse, I can have the police being sent my way if I take it to an AD and they look at the serial. I think they may have a database with that kind of info. 

YES I WILL post pictures when he lets me see it. If he agrees for me to take it to an AD then it means its not stolen or fake and he may really need the cash, if that is so I will offer $2000 instead of the 1K  he's asking for just to help him out.  On the other hand it CAN be a super rep and he MAY NOT genuinely know. 

 

 

Edited by jonathanw
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Often when a deal this good happens upon us, we WANT to believe it's true, turning a blind eye to the surreptitious nature a seller may have. Nanuq has provided the one and only answer; in my personal opinion of course; needed in this situation. BUY THE SELLER, IGNORE THE WATCH.

If you feel intrigued by the deal, don't worry, I'm sure all of us here are too and would want to at least check the watch out! But tread carefully, a deal like this could go south quicker than a scream of fake rollie!

Your best bet is to not appear too eager or interested, take your time analysing the watch AND POST clear images of the 16610 head on, the side angle of the crown (showing the crowns position within the CG's) and the clasp.

If you are like minded as I, I would suggest buying a case opening ball that costs +- $5-10 on eBay and removing the case back yourself.

Best of luck. Keep us updated!

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^^^this, Rolexes are bought and sold all the time without papers.  That is not a reason that a pawn shop would not buy it.  Some products you can run across good deals on, but Rolex is generally not one of them.  Too many people know about them so you rarely see the "barnyard" find or deals way below market value.  The only Rolex deals I have ran across of late were either fakes, scams or stolen items.  I mean think about it, if it is a 16610 in decent condition just about any jeweler would give him more than 1K for it.     

Sounds a little fishy, but best of luck.   

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In the first paragraph of your post, you said an aluminum 16610. Did you mean stainless steel, because to my knowledge Rolex has never made an aluminum watch! Stainless, stainless/gold, solid gold (yellow, white and rose gold) no exotic metals, ceramic, etc. and certainly not aluminum.

Like others said, probably 95+ % of used Rolex watches are sold without papers. Most folks who buy watches could care less about the boxes, and over time the papers get misplaced, lost to thrown away. So, that is not a plausible reason. Also that's BS about not having time to take it to and AD, unless you live out in the sticks like me and are 100 miles from the closest AD.. This deal sounds fishy to me, as that selling price is about a third or less of the going prices. I would guess that this watch is either a good replica, or a stolen or "found" watch, none of which are worth either the 1k or the hassle that comes from having a watch with a dodgy provenience.

AFA finding out if it's stolen, Rolex no longer provides that service except to dealers at their request. If a watch is stolen and reported to the police, if the owner has the serial number, then that info may be sent to the area pawn shops. They may also send stolen watch info to AD's and jewelers who deal in watches, but all of this is on a local basis, so if a watch were stolen in Houston TX, a pawn shop or AD In say New Orleans would not have access to that info. I'm not even sure if a Rolex Service Center checks serial numbers on watches that are sent in for repair. So what I'm saying is while you might buy a a stolen watch and own it all your life with no problems at all, you would always have that doubt in the back of your mind that " this watch might be stolen, and I can't treat it as a normal legit watch" Personally, no matter how good the deal is, it's not worth the hassle and worry.

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In the first paragraph of your post, you said an aluminum 16610. Did you mean stainless steel, because to my knowledge Rolex has never made an aluminum watch! Stainless, stainless/gold, solid gold (yellow, white and rose gold) no exotic metals, ceramic, etc. and certainly not aluminum.

Like others said, probably 95+ % of used Rolex watches are sold without papers. Most folks who buy watches could care less about the boxes, and over time the papers get misplaced, lost to thrown away. So, that is not a plausible reason. Also that's BS about not having time to take it to and AD, unless you live out in the sticks like me and are 100 miles from the closest AD.. This deal sounds fishy to me, as that selling price is about a third or less of the going prices. I would guess that this watch is either a good replica, or a stolen or "found" watch, none of which are worth either the 1k or the hassle that comes from having a watch with a dodgy provenience.

AFA finding out if it's stolen, Rolex no longer provides that service except to dealers at their request. If a watch is stolen and reported to the police, if the owner has the serial number, then that info may be sent to the area pawn shops. They may also send stolen watch info to AD's and jewelers who deal in watches, but all of this is on a local basis, so if a watch were stolen in Houston TX, a pawn shop or AD In say New Orleans would not have access to that info. I'm not even sure if a Rolex Service Center checks serial numbers on watches that are sent in for repair. So what I'm saying is while you might buy a a stolen watch and own it all your life with no problems at all, you would always have that doubt in the back of your mind that " this watch might be stolen, and I can't treat it as a normal legit watch" Personally, no matter how good the deal is, it's not worth the hassle and worry.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

 

My thoughts exactly. Although, I think he may mean aluminium bezel insert model, perhaps? Differentiating it from later ceramic models.

Edited by gemballa
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In the first paragraph of your post, you said an aluminum 16610. Did you mean stainless steel, because to my knowledge Rolex has never made an aluminum watch! Stainless, stainless/gold, solid gold (yellow, white and rose gold) no exotic metals, ceramic, etc. and certainly not aluminum.

Like others said, probably 95+ % of used Rolex watches are sold without papers. Most folks who buy watches could care less about the boxes, and over time the papers get misplaced, lost to thrown away. So, that is not a plausible reason. Also that's BS about not having time to take it to and AD, unless you live out in the sticks like me and are 100 miles from the closest AD.. This deal sounds fishy to me, as that selling price is about a third or less of the going prices. I would guess that this watch is either a good replica, or a stolen or "found" watch, none of which are worth either the 1k or the hassle that comes from having a watch with a dodgy provenience.

AFA finding out if it's stolen, Rolex no longer provides that service except to dealers at their request. If a watch is stolen and reported to the police, if the owner has the serial number, then that info may be sent to the area pawn shops. They may also send stolen watch info to AD's and jewelers who deal in watches, but all of this is on a local basis, so if a watch were stolen in Houston TX, a pawn shop or AD In say New Orleans would not have access to that info. I'm not even sure if a Rolex Service Center checks serial numbers on watches that are sent in for repair. So what I'm saying is while you might buy a a stolen watch and own it all your life with no problems at all, you would always have that doubt in the back of your mind that " this watch might be stolen, and I can't treat it as a normal legit watch" Personally, no matter how good the deal is, it's not worth the hassle and worry.

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By aluminium I believe he means the insert

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OK, I 'm sure that's what he meant, the insert.

I've seen a few pretty good deals on watches over the years, not as quite as good as this one, usually it involves a messy divorce and the seller wants a non public fast sale. Called "hiding assets"!!!

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Good morning!

@panerai153:

I meant aluminium on the Bezel's Insert!

@highoeyazmuhudee and gemballa:

Thank you ! Will definitively be very wary.

He hasn't provided the watch yet, will be interesting once that happens and will keep the thread updated!

Have a good day my friends!

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