Help with a vintage 5500 Explorer / Air King

[Dani Cica]

Couple weeks ago I got myself a nice Rolex 5500 Explorer from a seller on Chrono24. For the price I paid ($2000 without the bracelet), I was expecting it to be a redial and not a rare 5500 Explorer. Anyways, after receiving the watch I took it straight to the Rolex Service Centre for a checkup.

Turns out that Rolex thinks the 5500s never came with the Explorer dial so it should be reverted to the  Air King precision dial and hands. Weird! This is not true, the 5500s did come with Explorer dials (from 1958 to 1967 according to Bob'sWatches) so I don't understand why people at Rolex shouldn't know about this.

Other than that, Rolex said the watch is genuine, needs polishing and lubrication so I take it's in pretty good shape. I asked them about the dial and hands and they said "they appear to be gen" but it's impossible to know for sure. WTH? The serial number of the watch is from 1959. Here are the pictures:

 

 

 

 

 

 

And this is the watch featured at Bob's Watches - the logo, letter spacing, crown, marks, all looks exactly the same, so I am thinking my dial is gen and possibly the hands too.

 

 

It's a big decision for me because the dial and hands are aftermarket I am considering returning the watch to the seller. Any thoughts?

Thanks!

Edited June 22, 2017 by Dani Cica
Fixing photo URLs

[ceejay]

$2000 for a 5500 Explorer kind of give's the game away  

[Dani Cica]

1 minute ago, ceejay said:

$2000 for a 5500 Explorer kind of give's the game away  

Definately, just wondering if the dial is gen or not. So even if it's not a dial gen, is it still a fair price?

[automatico]

"Rolex said the watch is genuine, needs polishing and lubrication."

 

An 'official' rolex repair shop never saw a used rolex watch that did not need "polishing and lubrication." 

...even if it just came out of another shop after polishing and lubrication.

 

If you like it, keep it.  It is a good looking watch.

Maybe buy a used genuine AK dial and hands later to go with it so if you decide to sell it you will have all the genuine parts, this helps a lot even if they are not on the watch.  The dial and hands do not need to be in very good condition, just genuine and not refinished.

 

"Turns out that Rolex thinks the 5500s never came with the Explorer dial."

 

They think they know it all. 

I have a 1002 (1964, cal 1560) with Yuki explorer dial/hands...they did not make a 1002 like that for sure.  Ha!  

 

If you keep it, get it serviced by someone you trust, not a rwc repair facility.  No telling how much they might charge or what you would get back after they work on it.  They can quickly turn your $2000 watch into a $1200 watch while charging you $1000 at the same time.

Figure on cleaning/oiling, new mainspring, gaskets, and maybe a rotor axle...plus case tube, crown, and crystal if needed.  Hopefully the reversers are Ok, they usually are.

 

 

 

[Dani Cica]

That's exactly what they would do, even if my watch was a true 5500 explorer, they would franken it into a AK and charge money for that - not to mention they would keep the old dial and exchanged parts! Nah! My watch is back in my hands safe and sound. Will take it to a trusted watchmaker next week who is an indication by some members at RWI. Nonetheless, it was good to hear from Rolex itself that the watch just needed a lubrication and cleaning - which actually means the watch is probably mint!

 

Cheers!!