The charm of a '60s Submariner

[JAMYLIM]

they wont remove anything unless u give them the permission to but dont ever let that happen because whatever taken off is their property....Keep it as original as u can - dont worry about the tear n tear cos thats where the value is... Cheers!

[JAMYLIM]

Bro, its a nice watch...Mind if I ask how much it cost you??

[taxico]

After a long search, finally got hold of a 5513 from 1968...

A question on servicing. If I send this to the RSC for movement cleaning, and water resistance check, will they leave the dial/hands/crystal alone?

in singapore, there's no such thing as "water resistance check" without a full service/under guarantee. no such thing as a "movement cleaning" without a full service too.

they will be annoyed and can leave hands and dial alone, but the crystal will be changed as part of service or they will not guarantee water resistance (don't think they'll bother doing a pressure test in such a case either).

acrylic crystals, especially the old tropics, will have micro cracks when removed from the case - something which has to be done as part of the service (whether for case polish or case clean).

yes, you can instruct them to not polish your case and clean only. oh, if there are pittings in the case back/case back lip/gasket grooves, they will not guarantee water resistance either.

no discount even without change of crystal. no discount even without case polish. no discount even without pressure test. same price if not more due to how old they _think_ your movement is and thus more parts need changing.

no, you won't know for sure if the part changed really needs changing nor will you get the replaced parts back. but some standard things to be changed include a tube, crown, all gaskets and rings, mainspring, et al, and acrylic crystal (acrylic models only).

if your watch has the non triplock crown/tube then you won't get it back for sure and it will be changed to triplock for sure.

so it's best to know if your case is pitted or not and if what you want can be done at RSC or not before throwing money at them.

do not send it in, hope for the best, then argue with them (useless and pointless) when the result is not what you want.

good luck and welcome to the murky world of vintage rolex. and yes, it will get better with experience.

[Gunbucker]

in singapore, there's no such thing as "water resistance check" without a full service/under guarantee. no such thing as a "movement cleaning" without a full service too.

they will be annoyed and can leave hands and dial alone, but the crystal will be changed as part of service or they will not guarantee water resistance (don't think they'll bother doing a pressure test in such a case either).

acrylic crystals, especially the old tropics, will have micro cracks when removed from the case - something which has to be done as part of the service (whether for case polish or case clean).

yes, you can instruct them to not polish your case and clean only. oh, if there are pittings in the case back/case back lip/gasket grooves, they will not guarantee water resistance either.

no discount even without change of crystal. no discount even without case polish. no discount even without pressure test. same price if not more due to how old they _think_ your movement is and thus more parts need changing.

no, you won't know for sure if the part changed really needs changing nor will you get the replaced parts back. but some standard things to be changed include a tube, crown, all gaskets and rings, mainspring, et al, and acrylic crystal (acrylic models only).

if your watch has the non triplock crown/tube then you won't get it back for sure and it will be changed to triplock for sure.

so it's best to know if your case is pitted or not and if what you want can be done at RSC or not before throwing money at them.

do not send it in, hope for the best, then argue with them (useless and pointless) when the result is not what you want.

good luck and welcome to the murky world of vintage rolex. and yes, it will get better with experience.

So that's what the seller meant by "it's going to be a whole new world of experience for you", LOL! Nah, love it the way it is. Thanks for the low down, and it helps heaps. Will make a note to self to only bring my SubC instead for diving trips!

[garis]

Replacement dial with feet first. A 68 5513 should spot a meters first dial.

[Gunbucker]

Replacement dial with feet first. A 68 5513 should spot a meters first dial.

Cool. Btw, what's the significance of the whole "feet first" vs "meters first" thing? I didn't even notice this on my 116610LV until you pointed out, yeah, it says "1000 ft = 660 meters". In the immortal words of Rodney Dangerfield, "would I go to hell for this?". Just kidding Enjoying every bit of it...

[Alexlow]

Means alot to a purist collector as it means that the dial is original/ period correct to watch, thus affecting the collectibility value.

Cool. Btw, what's the significance of the whole "feet first" vs "meters first" thing? I didn't even notice this on my 116610LV until you pointed out, yeah, it says "1000 ft = 660 meters". In the immortal words of Rodney Dangerfield, "would I go to hell for this?". Just kidding Enjoying every bit of it...

[Gunbucker]

Means alot to a purist collector as it means that the dial is original/ period correct to watch, thus affecting the collectibility value.

Thanks. Good thing I'm not a purist collector then Ok, ok, I confess, was after the patina of those yellowish markers on a matte dial face.

My next conquest is for a 1665. That, I'm prepared to be a bit more serious as it is equally a serious piece of equipment (and also with an equally "serious" amount of $$$ involved). Why didn't anyone warn me that this vintage thing is unstoppable?!?!

Thanks everyone for your advice, and for taking my tongue-in-cheek views of the mysterious vintage world. I blame it on the patina

[Alexlow]

I'm relatively new and is learning too. There are many interesting vintages other than rolex. Happy collecting!

Circa 1963

Thanks. Good thing I'm not a purist collector then Ok, ok, I confess, was after the patina of those yellowish markers on a matte dial face.

My next conquest is for a 1665. That, I'm prepared to be a bit more serious as it is equally a serious piece of equipment (and also with an equally "serious" amount of $$$ involved). Why didn't anyone warn me that this vintage thing is unstoppable?!?!

Thanks everyone for your advice, and for taking my tongue-in-cheek views of the mysterious vintage world. I blame it on the patina

[Gunbucker]

I'm relatively new and is learning too. There are many interesting vintages other than rolex. Happy collecting!

Circa 1963

That's a stunning looking watch! Love those broad arrow hands.

Rolex watches, especially the Sub are as close as it comes to genesis of tool watch design. Take the watch in your photo for instance. That inverted triangle (sans pearl), the ridged bezel, etc all originated from the venerable Sub, like the Fender Stratocaster inspired a whole boatload of double cutaway electrics. It's amazing how much they got it right with the Sub, both mechanically and aesthetically.

From pure aesthetics point of view, the antithesis of the Sub, the anti-hero, would be the Heuer Monaco. It too held the distinguished honor of being one of the earliest innovators of automatic chronographs (the "chronomatic"). Unabashedly, the Heuer 1133B is something I've always been on the prowl for, obviously within reasonable price.

Yep, we're all in it hook, line, and sinker!

[Alexlow]

Arh... The Steve McQueen of Heuer. Incidentally my watch spot a valjoux 92, similar to many Heuer's model like Camaro and Carrera but at a small fraction of the price.XD

[Gunbucker]

Arh... The Steve McQueen of Heuer. Incidentally my watch spot a valjoux 92, similar to many Heuer's model like Camaro and Carrera but at a small fraction of the price.XD

I know, the side-by-side bi compax arrangement is a dead giveaway.

[taxico]

Cool. Btw, what's the significance of the whole "feet first" vs "meters first" thing? I didn't even notice this on my 116610LV until you pointed out, yeah, it says "1000 ft = 660 meters".

in the world of (any type of) collector... the rarer, the better. the meters first dials were from the earlier subs and were made in smaller numbers.

to a non-collector it probably doesn't matter and remember: at the end of the day a watch is only worth as much as someone would pay for it.

there're many rolex watches that do not command any sort of "premium" although they are rare... oh, rolex changed the arrangement of the depth rating to make it look more impressive. or so they say.

[Alexlow]

Bro taxico is right, if you can find a MF dial, your watch value could increase significantly.

in the world of (any type of) collector... the rarer, the better. the meters first dials were from the earlier subs and were made in smaller numbers.

to a non-collector it probably doesn't matter and remember: at the end of the day a watch is only worth as much as someone would pay for it.

there're many rolex watches that do not command any sort of "premium" although they are rare... oh, rolex changed the arrangement of the depth rating to make it look more impressive. or so they say.

[garis]

MF dial that's period correct to the case serial would definitely command more than a FF that's period correct, but not much more, if it's a matte dial. I would rather pay premium for a period correct FF 5513 with a pristine dial and mature patina lume plots than a tired looking MF 5513. That said, some earlier MF lume plots, especially the first batch around 66-67, comes with a mixture of tritium lume compound that still glows green for a short while if exposed to a strong source of light. Many has mistaken this as a sign of the markers being relumed but it's not. Then, the lume in earlier batch of 5513 MF dials are applied thickly in such a way that it's 'fat and raised', like a small mound. Many has since disintegrated and powdered away leaving the dial looking pocked marked. It is only the last batch of MF dials from 68-70 and then FF that Rolex started to lessen the lume compound and stabilized the plots. That's why most of the FF 5513 plots still stays intact till this very day.