Tale of two Rolexes
My wife’s uncle was stationed with the Army in Korea in 1969. He purchased these watches brand new while on base. The Oyster 1500 was intended to be his watch and the Datejust 1603 was a gift for his father.
The Datejust was given to me as a Christmas present last year. I was truly honored that I was given an important family piece, being that I married into the family. The Datejust was worn daily by his dad and beat to hell. The crystal was so scratched that you could not see much detail on the dial. I tried cleaning it, but soon realized that it probably needed more attention than I was capable of doing. A thorough servicing included a new crystal, tightening the bracelet, replacing the crown that had once been replaced with generic parts. My wife joked that her grandfather’s DNA was still on the watch when I received it. It is now running great and it is something that I will cherish until I can give it to my son one day. I can’t seem to find much info about this watch online. I have seen some “rare” blue dials, but my blue does not look the same as those models from the same year. If anyone has additional info, it is appreciated.
As for the Oyster, my brother in law was promised the watch last year at the same time, but for some reason he was made to wait until this Christmas to receive it. Luckily my brother in law is a great guy and didn’t seem to mind the inconsistent timing. Fast forward to this Christmas, where he was given the generous gift. The story of this watch is completely different, because it is essentially new in the box. My wife’s uncle said that his $17 digital watches kept better time, so he just kept it in the box in a safe for 50+ years. The hinges have broken in the box, but he has all of the paperwork and tags and the watch looks brand new. We took it to a dealer yesterday and their timer is showing +2 seconds, which is pretty amazing. He plans to do a service soon to get it properly lubricated. We both thought the red text on the paperwork about using the box for cigarettes is pretty funny too.
We are both honored to receive these pieces since we both married into the family. We interpret these watches as the ultimate sign of approval for his nieces’ choices in husbands.
Trying to learn and have fun on my watch collecting journey. I enjoy drumming, golf and coaching my kids.
Love them. Priceless timepieces with awesome history.
Great post and a wonderful story. Congratulations, I hope you both enjoy these amazing family heirlooms. Rolex gets a lot of hate these days and it is a shame that some people wear them purely as a status symbol but it needs to be remembered that they are fantastic timepieces that will last for generations. Watches like these along with the stories they tell are exactly what I hope mine become for my family in the future !
“Use box for cigarettes 🚬 “ what a cool piece of history!
“Use box for cigarettes 🚬 “ what a cool piece of history!
No wonder it’s hard to find watches that still have the box…
Awesome watches, and even better story. I think a pack of cigarettes should go in the box. Two vintage heirlooms in one box. Just wait another 10 years and both items will have jumped in price 🤣
Thank you for sharing, great story.
You have a treasure in your wife’s family. I was given a tea set as wedding present and that was it 🥲
May I suggest posting in the Rolex subreddit? We're pretty knowledgeable here; but those guys are like historians. They might know more about the watch.
And yes, thank you, fantastic story.
You have a treasure in your wife’s family. I was given a tea set as wedding present and that was it 🥲
Haha, we joke because one year I received a mule deer calendar (never hunted in my life) and he received a lava lamp. But, yes they treat us well.
I can't tell from your pictures but is "T Swiss T" written on the dial below the 6 O'clock marker?
Two very cool watches with an awesome story. Thanks for sharing with us! Don’t think I’ve ever seen a ‘no lume’ dial in a 1500, very cool.
This is all me being OCD about watches and doing some internet searches for similar dials for Datejusts of that era. There are several things interesting about that dial that you should research further:
Dial finish - It's hard to gauge from your pics but the dial seems to be an enamel or matte finish whereas you'd expect a sunburst effect.
Dial lacks indication of Swiss made at 6 o'clock. All Rolex dials have some indication of being Swiss made which this dial seems to be missing.
Datejusts of this era used tritium lume and would be indicated with "T Swiss T" printing like the Oyster 1500. The lume plots themselves appear to be too close to the hour markers.
Datejust dials of this era should have "pie-pan" edge which angles downward. It's hard to tell from the pic if it does but it doesn't seem so.
The outer hashmarks are also unlike any other I've seen in pics of Datejusts of this era which lack the microsecond hashes which this one seems to have. Other Datejust dials of this era have only seconds hashes.
You indicated that you got it serviced and replaced some generic parts that were once put. I suspect that the dial itself is not authentic with the original having been replaced at some point in this watch's life much like when the original crown was replaced at some point. I also came upon a helpful article on Fratello Watches website: How To Spot A Fake Vintage Datejust Dial (fratellowatches.com).
This watch certainly has lived an interesting life and has more stories to tell! 😀
This is all me being OCD about watches and doing some internet searches for similar dials for Datejusts of that era. There are several things interesting about that dial that you should research further:
Dial finish - It's hard to gauge from your pics but the dial seems to be an enamel or matte finish whereas you'd expect a sunburst effect.
Dial lacks indication of Swiss made at 6 o'clock. All Rolex dials have some indication of being Swiss made which this dial seems to be missing.
Datejusts of this era used tritium lume and would be indicated with "T Swiss T" printing like the Oyster 1500. The lume plots themselves appear to be too close to the hour markers.
Datejust dials of this era should have "pie-pan" edge which angles downward. It's hard to tell from the pic if it does but it doesn't seem so.
The outer hashmarks are also unlike any other I've seen in pics of Datejusts of this era which lack the microsecond hashes which this one seems to have. Other Datejust dials of this era have only seconds hashes.
You indicated that you got it serviced and replaced some generic parts that were once put. I suspect that the dial itself is not authentic with the original having been replaced at some point in this watch's life much like when the original crown was replaced at some point. I also came upon a helpful article on Fratello Watches website: How To Spot A Fake Vintage Datejust Dial (fratellowatches.com).
This watch certainly has lived an interesting life and has more stories to tell! 😀
Very interesting points. I need to look into this further. Here is a better pic of the dial.