Inheritance piece

[Grizzly45]

Hi all,First newbie post here and glad to be here.After just reading for a few hours I'm a bit more clued in on Rolex than I have ever been.
Anyways, I have a ,going by the serial numbers a 1961[?] GMT master.
It was a wedding present to my mother and lived on his wrist for about 30 odd years going thru all sorts of adventures in Ireland and in the greater world.
When he died it became part of a custody estate story between me and two half brothers I never knew in the States.Short story long one of them got it by default,and kept it for 30 years.I met him recently as we have more time now behind us than in front of us and he gifted it back to me.He basically kept it as a momento and went diving with it ,and consequently had to get the internals repaired in Rolex NY @800 dollars in 2000.After that it has been residing in a safe pretty much since.

So,my questions are the following; From what I can see about these watches its in pretty good shape. Bar an ugly scratch on the pepsi bezel and the odd scuff mark on the glass,what I need is two links for the bracelet to lengthen it again as it is too tight,and the Rolex dealership in Ireland reckons it might be a job to get these. So does anyone ,if need be have two links for the bracelet?

I cant find any info on how to set this for dual time on the net.Plenty of info on the GMT 2 but zip on the vintage model?There is no facility to move the hour hand or the GMT hand when you pull out the crown.Its a two pull before the hour minute hand date starts moving.So how is this done on the vintage models??Or is there any downloadable instructions on the site here?

Also,the dealership suggested getting it serviced.Whats the average price and SOP for such a service?Does that re certify it as a chronometer?
Thanking in advance for the advice info from a Rolex newbie
Grizz.

[Tools]

It's always nice to have a family heirloom.

The GMT is a regular watch with a 4th hand that turns at exactly 1/2 the speed of the main hour hand. It cannot be set separately and when you set the main dial (as you would any watch) it will automatically be on the same time as it should be, you only need to make note if it is am or pm. You "read" the 24 hr hand on the outer bezel and set that bezel to a second time-zone as needed.

A service usually runs 600 bucks and up but it is never "recertified" as a chronometer. Actually, the standards for "chronometer" as used today didn't come about until ~1974, more than a decade after your watch was made.

[HERITAGE82]

Welcome!! And please post some pictures!!

[CrownMe]

Pics please

[shane0mack]

Tools nailed (oh boy, I love puns) the bit about the hand setting, so I'll just move to the bracelet. Michael Young is the resident expert on bracelet fixing, and I can guess he has additional links. Other folks may have links as well, but he would be perfect if the bracelet also needed a tune-up. http://www.classicwatchrepair.com/page7.html

If you literally just need the links, there are many vintage Rolex dealers that can be found in this thread: http://www.rolexforums.com/showthread.php?t=180461

I recommend poking around and seeing who can offer you links.

Can you share a picture or two of the watch? I'd love to see it.

[watchcrank]

A watch worth extra research. Pics will tell what parts last service changed. Lot of value in the old parts but since its a keepsake not that important to you. Do not have serviced until you do your due diligence. M

[Grizzly45]

Ok as requested pics of the GMT.
Last pic was supposed to show the luminosity of the dial,but I cant get a pic without the flash in low light.

Sheesh should have known a vintage Rolex can be just as expensive to maintain as a vintage car.Cant belive the prices for a nice condition pepsi cola dial insert replacement of Ebay. I think I'll just live with that scratch at the 22 hrs at that price.

There is some irony in art imitating life.I was reading up a bit on Magnum PI played by Tom Seleck and the Rolex he wore in the early seris [GMT master]

He was a private eye.So am I in real life

He has a Rolex GMT master in the TV seris of 1960s vintage.So do I.

He inherited it off his father who was a USN officer .Likewise here.

He lived on a large estate in Hawaii..Likewise large estate,but not in Hawaii,but still on an Island of Ireland.

One of his buddies flies choppers for a living,as does one of mine.
Another one runs a exclusive beach bar.Mine just runs an exclusive bar.

Unfortunatly thats where it ends.No Dobermans,no Ferrari,no exiting cases to be solved in an hour or so,and no good looking women dropping into my lap at a moments notice. But I am better looking if I do say so meself.

Grizzly45.