a question for real experts ;)

sfrattalatta · a question for real experts ;)

Hi all

I have a question for real experts here! I need you to help me pricing this watch.
I was speaking with a watch dealer I found on a major online watch store and I told him my taste for vintage watches. He told me he has a very old Rolex and showed me some pictures I attach.

I think it might be made around 30s something; I also believe the dial was replaced and the original crown was substituted, don't you think so?
I can't really price it. what do you think? is it worth around 1000$?

thanks!

sfra

unclesallie

very interesting watch! in order to authenticate it, i'm betting our experts here(i'm not one), will need a better close up of the movement and caseback, so they can see it better and read the markings.
authenticate before you buy(but you know that already)

padi65

I would say its more early 1940s than 1930s hard to pick out movment from picture.Could be the 10 1/2 hunter or the cal 59 but that was mainly canadian market the dial looks fine but might have had a re-lume.

Tools

I don't think that I would pay a thousand fo rit...... it may be worth a couple of hundred less, but the dial would need to be redone again or sourced... a potentially costly undertaking..

The photos aren't really good enough to tell much...

jdc

The dial you have shown is called commonly called a california dial. Although Rolex never used this term. They were on watches in the 30's and 40's. The California term I believe came from a company based in that part of the world that did a lot of redials in the 60's. It has become popular and a lot of redials have been copied since. Nothing wrong with that as long as you know what you are buying.

Lisa

Martin, I thought the California dial most often meant the dial had a mixture of Roman and Arabic numerals... No?

jdc

padi65

Jimbits76

That dial in the OP looks very similar to the tradional IWC military pilot's dials.

Lisa is right on the california dial...the blue Tudor california dials are beautys!!!!

J

sfrattalatta

thanks for all the opinions. very helpful