PAMman Posted September 25, 2007 Report Share Posted September 25, 2007 (edited) Check out the 'Rolex sent by mail order to Stalag Luft III' in this thread. This is a top collectors item. http://www.mwrforum.net/forums/showthread....ighlight=tutima Edited October 2, 2007 by TwoTone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Carl Posted September 26, 2007 Report Share Posted September 26, 2007 Check out the 'Rolex sent by mail order to Stalag Luft III' in this thread. This is a top collectors item. http://www.mwrforum.net/forums/showthread....ighlight=tutima A great watch with an awesome story and documentation. I wish we could get some sort of a rep of this. Perhaps this would be a good addition to Ms. Barrett's "Military Watch" thread. Thanks for the link. Carl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest carlsbadrolex Posted September 26, 2007 Report Share Posted September 26, 2007 - Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dizzy Posted October 2, 2007 Report Share Posted October 2, 2007 very interesting find! Theres nothing better than personal one on one documentation like this. Lonnie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dadog13 Posted October 2, 2007 Report Share Posted October 2, 2007 10 years ago while cruising the Costa Mesa Swap Meet, I came across a junk dealer with several boxes of junk and a few vintage watches. While talking to him, I was going through the unpacked boxes of junk that he had laid out in front of his van. I opened one box and found a small card board box. Of course being the nosy person that I am, I opened the box and found what I first thought was a vintage american made wristwatch. I immediately noticed it was a square case with chrono pushers. I looked closely at the extremely dirty dial and noticed it said ROLEX on it. There was no crystal, no hands, and the dial was trashed. After talking for about another 20 minutes and holding the watch, I asked how much and the seller told me $50 because he thought it was a gold case... I immediately paid his asking price and took the watch home. I could not find ANYTHING anywhere and eventually found a website called www.rarerolex.com (has since come down). I contacter Mr. Halliwell the sites owner and described the watch to him. He stated he was not firmiliar with the watch, but that I could send it to him and he would do some research. After about a week, he called and said the watch was an extremely rare Rolex called a Gabus. From the info he found, there were only about 50 ever made. He had gotten a quote of $3500 to restore the watch to working condition. Of course I had no intention of paying that, so he offered to buy the watch for $5k. I sold it without further thought. About six months later he sent me an email with pics of the restored watch. He had actually sent it back to Rolex for a full overhaul and paid nearly $5k for the restoration. The watch was incredible... It was also listed on his website for $45k. It was without a doubt the best find I have ever made, and I cant imagine too many people ever having the honor of holding such a rare rolex. I only wish I had done the research myself!!! OR, not needed the money at the time! wow, great story! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porschespeedster Posted October 2, 2007 Report Share Posted October 2, 2007 story???? methinks that dealer bent him over a barrel. 5K is a lot of money for a watch case...but damn.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dadog13 Posted October 2, 2007 Report Share Posted October 2, 2007 this one is similar...e-bay auction Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arty909 Posted October 2, 2007 Report Share Posted October 2, 2007 I saw that a few weeks ago and was intrigued by it's history and accompanying paperwork. I just didn't like the look of the watch though. Here is one that continues to not sell on the bay, probably because of the price- but more for the non-original dial. I feel it is a superior looking timepiece; with an interesting story at the very least. I'm not sure if this link will work so here is a pic of the watch first... ...and now the link: http://cgi.ebay.com/Rolex-Vintage-Oyster-C...1QQcmdZViewItem Best to all- Arty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dieselpower Posted October 3, 2007 Report Share Posted October 3, 2007 Great stories, thanks for sharing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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