Dad's long lost Rolex.. found!
Some time before I was born, while he was in Vietnam with the U.S Army, my father acquired a Rolex watch. This was in the early 1960s.
Sadly my love for watches didn't mature until after his passing in 2017. I probably saw the watch at some point but don't recall. My mother has spoken of it many times. She said it was hidden away somewhere and had no band. We honestly thought for years now that it had been lost or stolen.
I have a couple of his watches and even had one daily Seiko quartz cleaned up and had a new crystal installed. In all, I have three of his watches, all lovingly displayed in a case with mine and my wife's.
Well, out of the blue, yesterday my mother texts me a blurry horrible picture of some watch she found in the back of a drawer.
She has macular degeneration and can't see it to tell me anything, or even well enough to take a decent picture. Poor thing. But, from this blurry image I'm struggling to not get my hopes up.. even though I can see what look to me to be some tell tale signs it is a Rolex. What very possibly could be a crown at the 12:00 position, in particular.
I can see it's not a Rolex band, and she swears the old Rolex didn't have a band at all last time she saw it, but dad wouldn't have spent the money for an authentic bracelet. But without a better picture there's no way for me to tell anything. Probably just some old watch.
With some effort, she manages to take some more pictures. One is pretty good. And... it's a Rolex! THE Rolex we long ago wrote off as gone forever! OMG!!
I am so super excited to see this watch! It will be a week or two before I can put hands on this and get some numbers, but the dial and some online research tells me it is an Oysterdate Precision, maybe ref 6094 - 6294 - 6694. I'm finding it difficult to find facts, and as I don't even have it in hand yet I couldn't nail that down yet anyway. But there it is! My father's old Rolex! Just wow.
Next steps: Better identify the watch as best I can, and I plan to take it to an authorized Rolex jeweler for an evaluation and probably have it sent off to a Rolex service center for service.
(Whether I can spring for a correct Oyster bracelet or not, this band is going. Maybe a nice leather strap in black. We shall see.)
I can't wait to see this with my own two eyes!
😀
Always had an interest in watches and clocks but never any means to really collect. Recently truly began my collecting journey, and as such am also beginning my education into the subjects of horology...
Lovely,mate.
Look forward to seeing wrist shots , before & after 👏🏻👏🏻❤️
That’s so badass! These old Rolex models are fantastic and it’s a great story to go with it.
Something to celebrate! What was lost is now found! Nice! 🍻
Great story 👍
Congratulations on finding it. It will be great after service and strap or bracelet
Wow! Congratulations!
So cool. A great memento of your dad 👍
Great outcome
Wonderful news - I see a fun restoration project for your local watchmaker
You may know this already because it's been covered by many people online but
If you want to keep the watch original and as unmodified as possible you may want to NOT send it to Rolex for a service. They are well known for ignoring people's wishes and replacing dials / hands/whatever with alternate parts despite people explicitly asking Rolex not to do this
Many folks recommend sending vintage Rolex to specialists who are not affiliated with the company and will not arbitrarily remove and replace parts to get the watch to look "like new" when it was a momento of a loved one and you don't want it to look like new
Just tread very carefully is what i'm saying
@relyt29 bingo! Get it serviced by an independent! And (as always) be very clear on what you want from the service (keep case original, only service movement, etc). Bracelets are not impossible to find, but definitely not cheap, however a nice strap oftentimes looks better
@relyt29
@spillingcoffeoncars
I hear you guys. Considering the definitive vintage nature of this watch this seems like very sound and welcome advice.
Thanks!
Lovely watch and great story! I was very close to buying a 6694 Oysterdate but was too slow to commit. Hope you get that watch soon! Enjoy 😉
Nice. Wear it with pride.
I LOVE this story. This is why I'm a fan of each of our own brands of horology. Thank you for sharing!!
That's a great story, I hope you realise how much a Rolex service costs, you may need to sell your car
Congratulations! Early 60’s likely a 6694.
Thats a wonderful story! Thanks for sharing, so beautiful to have that heirloom.
That’s an awesome story! Congrats! Happy for you!
Very cool. Check out Rolliworks for stellar service. He might even have a correct bracelet lying around.
So happy for you! Congrats! Id love to have my grandma's old watch. It wasnt a special brand... but it was her daily wear and would be a treasure.
It doesn’t need to be correct. I think it’s enough that it was your Dad’s. 🤝
Bravo! So awesome it gets to keep your dad‘s memory alive
Awesome! 😎
love this kind of stories!
Very cool find! Enjoy!