Bracelet after 20 years of daily use.

[subtona]

Submariner TT 16613 Bluesy. The watch was purchased new by me in 1991.

just came across these pics i took of my bracelet, if you ever asked how do they get so worn...

i wore it as my only watch for exactly 20years, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

just wanted to share the wear and tear after all that time.

the watch never came off my wrist regardless of the activity & work, it was cleaned only in the shower with me, occasionally i would use a toothbrush for the crevices.

it was previously polished once during a visit to RSCNY

[SohAIS]

wow amazing. Kudos for sticking to it for 20 yrs

[Clay]

I love it...

[schinie]

do you have pictures of the whole watch?

[SohAIS]

oh yes i would like to see that too

[subtona]

Originally Posted by schinie

do you have pictures of the whole watch?

cant find pictures of whole watch before, it cleaned up pretty well though

this is after a service and with a new SS bracelet... i sold watch a couple of years ago.

and the bezel wear (rounding out) was done courtesy of RSC, NOT 20 years of wear

ps if you look close in the straight on pic with the white background, you can see the inside lug wear from the point the old style 93150 bracelet would rub.

[ray0750]

looks great

[cop414]

Wow Gus, gotta ask, do you regret getting rid of it!

[Rags]

Looks great with a SS bracelet..

[subtona]

Originally Posted by cop414

Wow Gus, gotta ask, do you regret getting rid of it!

Tim,
I regret bringing it to RSC where they butchered it.... They tainted it enough that the magic was lost... But thats another story

& since then i have found some satisfactory replacements, thanks to TRF & the never ending supply of enablers

[c.rod]

what did they do to the bezel? looks weird

[floater156]

Originally Posted by Rags

Looks great with a SS bracelet..

x2

[Daytona-Dan]

Thanks for sharing! It's very cool to see how the gold centre links have worn much faster than the SS outer links. I know they were not solid, but it shows the main reason Rolex ditched the hollow links. Would love to see how sold links would hold up after 20 years..

[stockae92]

Polished off too much metal?

Originally Posted by subtona

Tim,
I regret bringing it to RSC where they butchered it.... They tainted it enough that the magic was lost... But thats another story

& since then i have found some satisfactory replacements, thanks to TRF & the never ending supply of enablers

[subtona]

Originally Posted by stockae92

Polished off too much metal?

*Rounded the bezel
*Replaced insert with luminova , vs tritium.
*Bezel insert also used a different color gold for the numerals
*Removed caseback sticker
*Scratched & replaced original dial

I call it butchered.


All the things are minor, but if i can take care of it for 20 years, its a bummer when someone alters it, when they were only supposed to service it.
Live & learn

[stockae92]

I agree with you. they made it into a different watch

[rolio]

That is a beautiful watch. Now I know why JJ loved his so much.

[Rolex-10]

Love that old bracelet.


Looks kinda cool on new SS too.

[Sous]

I gotta ask, Gus--did you wear the bracelet tight, or loose?

[c.rod]

Originally Posted by subtona

*Rounded the bezel
*Replaced insert with luminova , vs tritium.
*Bezel insert also used a different color gold for the numerals
*Removed caseback sticker
*Scratched & replaced original dial

I call it butchered.


All the things are minor, but if i can take care of it for 20 years, its a bummer when someone alters it, when they were only supposed to service it.
Live & learn

why would they round the bezel? is that protocol on any watch?

[Bangel]

Thanks for the pictures.

Given your experience when it returned from service, I can completely understand why some of the magic died for you.

[nick c]

GREAT

[greekbum]

Gus I like the look on the SS bracelet

[cop414]

Originally Posted by subtona

Tim,
I regret bringing it to RSC where they butchered it.... They tainted it enough that the magic was lost... But thats another story

& since then i have found some satisfactory replacements, thanks to TRF & the never ending supply of enablers

Gus, that's a crying shame. You loved it for two deacdes and in one fell swoop they totally screwed things up. If you don't mind me asking who do you use now for any service or refurbishing?

[JohnAndrew]

Originally Posted by Rags

Looks great with a SS bracelet..

X3

[c.rod]

Originally Posted by cop414

Gus, that's a crying shame. You loved it for two deacdes and in one fell swoop they totally screwed things up. If you don't mind me asking who do you use now for any service or refurbishing?

because it was so bad, maybe they let the apprentices' have a go at it?lol

[GradyPhilpott]

Did I understand you to say that Rolex put an SS bracelet on the watch?

I'm sorry they butchered the watch and I do understand your disappointment, not that that word captures your true sentiment.

[Andad]

Looks good.

Is that a replacement Tritium dial?

[Atomant]

Originally Posted by subtona

*Rounded the bezel
*Replaced insert with luminova , vs tritium.
*Bezel insert also used a different color gold for the numerals
*Removed caseback sticker
*Scratched & replaced original dial

I call it butchered.


All the things are minor, but if i can take care of it for 20 years, its a bummer when someone alters it, when they were only supposed to service it.
Live & learn

Thanks for sharing. Enjoy looking at pictures of real Rolex wearers. As for your watch I'm sorry to hear what RSC has done to it. I thought this only happens in RSC Singapore where they totally over polished and rounded the lugs off of a Rolex i sent it for a full service. cheers:

[mruhland31]

I love the wear..my Sub is on my wrist every day. I assume mine will look like that too...very cool