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ROLEXAHOLIC · 13 August 2007, 12:48 AM

I have given my father my rootbeer GMT ll - he is 83 years old and he is a former aviator during WWll - he also had his own private plane for some time - and so I thought that this watch would be good for him - as it turns out, he loves the watch, but he is having trouble reading the time because he gets confused with the extra hand. I was going to have the extra hand removed and stored for later use one day. Are there any sugestions or comments ? What would you do ?

frostie · 13 August 2007, 12:49 AM

i would remove the 24 hour hand but i think that a gmt master II with a removed 24 hour hand would look strange

Letsgodiving · 13 August 2007, 12:59 AM

I see no problem removing the hand and holding onto it for down the road. If he loves the watch and that is the only thing that bothers him I say go for it. Your dad sounds like a lucky man.

mike · 13 August 2007, 01:10 AM

I would seek the advice of a watchmaker. I don't know if altering the hand stack would affect how they work

Tools · 13 August 2007, 01:11 AM

Is your dad having trouble reading (visually) the GMT, or is he having trouble comprehending what he is seeing ?

My father is 89 and has the beginning of Alzhimers so we keep things as simple as possible for him. We have also provided him with a good Quartz watch since he does not move as much as he did while younger, and an automatic watch is seldom wound fully.

I think removing a hand from a vintage GMT is unlikely to do much except risk the potential loss of an original hand....and defeats the whole prupose of the GMT.

Get your dad a good used, or new 14060M... It will be yours one day, and then you will have a very memorable watch indeed.

ROLEXAHOLIC · 13 August 2007, 01:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tools

Is your dad having trouble reading (visually) the GMT, or is he having trouble comprehending what he is seeing ?

My father is 89 and has the beginning of Alzhimers so we keep things as simple as possible for him. We have also provided him with a good Quartz watch since he does not move as much as he did while younger, and an automatic watch is seldom wound fully.

I think removing a hand from a vintage GMT is unlikely to do much except risk the potential loss of an original hand....and defeats the whole prupose of the GMT.

Get your dad a good used, or new 14060M... It will be yours one day, and then you will have a very memorable watch indeed.

He is having trouble comprehending what he is seeing and he often mistakes the 24 hour hand for the other hands

Tools · 13 August 2007, 01:38 AM

You could have that extra hand "blacked out". It would be a simple operation to restore it at a future date...

John685 · 13 August 2007, 01:48 AM

Why not set the extra hand the same as the hour hand. With one on top of the other it might eliminate the confusion.

Letsgodiving · 13 August 2007, 01:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mike

I would seek the advice of a watchmaker. I don't know if altering the hand stack would affect how they work

If that is a problem could you cut the hand off and just keep the base on the watch and replace it at a later date. I guess you run the problem of not having the original hands so maybe you could get another and cut that and keep the original. It wouldn't be very noticeable IMO.

I would hate to do that to my watch but considering the circumstances it may be an option if just removing the hand will not work.

Erix · 13 August 2007, 02:14 AM

Just set the two hands to overlap and that would be the end of this problem.

Perpetuator · 13 August 2007, 02:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John685

Why not set the extra hand the same as the hour hand. With one on top of the other it might eliminate the confusion.

That wouldn't work because the red hand makes one turn of the dial in 24 hours (i.e., the red hand and hour hand only 'coincide' twice a day).

SPACE-DWELLER · 13 August 2007, 03:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FLACGC

I have given my father my rootbeer GMT ll - he is 83 years old and he is a former aviator during WWll - he also had his own private plane for some time - and so I thought that this watch would be good for him - as it turns out, he loves the watch, but he is having trouble reading the time because he gets confused with the extra hand. I was going to have the extra hand removed and stored for later use one day. Are there any sugestions or comments ? What would you do ?

Difficult! But wouldn't he get used to seeing the difference between the GMT hand and the others, you think?

Anyway, I'd leave it on there! I am not sure, but I don't think the movement would care, if you had it removed, though, since the pin the hands move on would turn anyway.

wandyprawira · 13 August 2007, 03:16 AM

Trade it in with a ND Sub, maybe? Simplicity is always the best for the elderly.

Rubenonfire · 13 August 2007, 08:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mike

I would seek the advice of a watchmaker. I don't know if altering the hand stack would affect how they work

I'm right here on this one. Obviously it makes sense to remove the hand if there's no functional harm to the watch or the movement in doing so AND you can store that "spare" hand in a place you'll KNOW it'll stay until it's time to replace it.

You may want to consider giving your father a different watch all together. I'm not sure if that's even a possibility but it'll be easier for him and will save you a lot of hassle with your GMT, as well. Win/win!

ROLEXAHOLIC · 13 August 2007, 11:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Letsgodiving

I see no problem removing the hand and holding onto it for down the road. If he loves the watch and that is the only thing that bothers him I say go for it. Your dad sounds like a lucky man.

Any Rolex watchmakers able to give a technical opinion on this.

Vanessa CW21 · 13 August 2007, 12:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FLACGC

Any Rolex watchmakers able to give a technical opinion on this.

It's no problem to remove the 24 hour hand. It doesn't harm the watch in any way. Just make sure a skilled watchmaker does it!
I would do the same if it was for my father!

Regards,
Vanessa

BiG JeEzY · 13 August 2007, 03:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vanessa

It's no problem to remove the 24 hour hand. It doesn't harm the watch in any way. Just make sure a skilled watchmaker does it!
I would do the same if it was for my father!

Regards,
Vanessa

I would do the same for my father as well if I was faced with the same situation. My father personally did not like the rootbeer GMT because it was also difficult for him to see the time when he tried it on at AD a long time ago. There is not enough contrast in that model. You have yellow gold hands and a brownish dial that kind of camouflages the hands a little bit. As long as Vanessa the watchmaker says that it wont harm the watch, then I also say that its completely okay to do!

ROGU808 · 13 August 2007, 08:04 PM

You're father is a lucky man!!! I'm sure he wants THAT watch!! After all...he got it as a gift from you. I'm sure he wouldn't give it up for any other watch in the world. He may even feel bad that he can't read it correctly.
I'd take Vanessa's advice...remove the 24 hr hand for him.

Good luck with this...
Aloha

ROLEXAHOLIC · 13 August 2007, 08:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vanessa

It's no problem to remove the 24 hour hand. It doesn't harm the watch in any way. Just make sure a skilled watchmaker does it!
I would do the same if it was for my father!

Regards,
Vanessa

Thank You for Your expertise Vanessa, I'm going to look into having the 24 hour hand removed. I'll keep the 24 hour hand, so that it may be used sometime in the future. Luckily I have a Rolex trained watchmaker not to far away. Thank You all for your input.

Respectfully,

Richard

13 August 2007, 12:48 AM	#1
ROLEXAHOLIC Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Real Name: Richard Location: usa Watch: 116528 Posts: 376	Problem with hands I have given my father my rootbeer GMT ll - he is 83 years old and he is a former aviator during WWll - he also had his own private plane for some time - and so I thought that this watch would be good for him - as it turns out, he loves the watch, but he is having trouble reading the time because he gets confused with the extra hand. I was going to have the extra hand removed and stored for later use one day. Are there any sugestions or comments ? What would you do ?

13 August 2007, 01:48 AM	#8
John685 "TRF" Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Real Name: John Location: Kansas Watch: YG DD Posts: 497	Why not set the extra hand the same as the hour hand. With one on top of the other it might eliminate the confusion. __________________ Regards, John There is never enough time, unless you're serving it. His: TT DJ (116233) YG/Oyster/White dial, romans TT DJ (116231) RG/Jubilee/Black dial, romans Universal Geneve Polerouter Sub Hers: TT LDJ (179171) RG/Jubilee/BMOP dial, romans

13 August 2007, 02:14 AM	#10
Erix "TRF" Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Nice, France Watch: D Sub date 16610 Posts: 929	Just set the two hands to overlap and that would be the end of this problem. __________________ Nice is nice

13 August 2007, 03:16 AM	#13
wandyprawira "TRF" Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: hub Posts: 520	Trade it in with a ND Sub, maybe? Simplicity is always the best for the elderly. __________________

13 August 2007, 12:49 AM	#2
frostie 1,000,000th PostMember Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Earth Posts: 14,048	i would remove the 24 hour hand but i think that a gmt master II with a removed 24 hour hand would look strange

13 August 2007, 12:59 AM	#3
Letsgodiving "TRF" Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Real Name: Mike Location: Virginia, US Watch: SD 16600 Posts: 4,319	I see no problem removing the hand and holding onto it for down the road. If he loves the watch and that is the only thing that bothers him I say go for it. Your dad sounds like a lucky man.

13 August 2007, 01:10 AM	#4
mike "TRF" Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 22,683	I would seek the advice of a watchmaker. I don't know if altering the hand stack would affect how they work

13 August 2007, 01:11 AM	#5
Tools TRF Moderator & 2024 SubLV41 Patron Join Date: May 2007 Real Name: Larry Location: Mojave Desert Watch: GMT's Posts: 43,514	Is your dad having trouble reading (visually) the GMT, or is he having trouble comprehending what he is seeing ? My father is 89 and has the beginning of Alzhimers so we keep things as simple as possible for him. We have also provided him with a good Quartz watch since he does not move as much as he did while younger, and an automatic watch is seldom wound fully. I think removing a hand from a vintage GMT is unlikely to do much except risk the potential loss of an original hand....and defeats the whole prupose of the GMT. Get your dad a good used, or new 14060M... It will be yours one day, and then you will have a very memorable watch indeed.

13 August 2007, 01:38 AM	#7
Tools TRF Moderator & 2024 SubLV41 Patron Join Date: May 2007 Real Name: Larry Location: Mojave Desert Watch: GMT's Posts: 43,514	You could have that extra hand "blacked out". It would be a simple operation to restore it at a future date...

13 August 2007, 08:04 PM	#18
ROGU808 Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Honolulu, Hawaii Posts: 288	You're father is a lucky man!!! I'm sure he wants THAT watch!! After all...he got it as a gift from you. I'm sure he wouldn't give it up for any other watch in the world. He may even feel bad that he can't read it correctly. I'd take Vanessa's advice...remove the 24 hr hand for him. Good luck with this... Aloha

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