Solid Gold Rolex 1601. Am I getting lucky?

[JasonBetts]

Background:

My long-time trusted independent watchmaker / part time dealer called last week and offered me a gorgeous solid gold 1601 grey/copperish dial with 5.24 million serial.

The watchmaker did a complete overhaul and guaranteed the movement is all original. He asked for USD2500 which was dirt cheap because he believed the case is not original and dial has been 'touched up'.

I have never bought a knockoff and never will but honestly I fell in love with the dial color. So I thought what the heck it's cheap and worst come to worst I got a freshly overhauled movement and a gorgeous dial I can swap for my other 1601s.

Last week I went to one of my regular watch dealer, one of the largest, most experienced and longest established shop in town with 25+ years dealing in vintage Rolex.

I asked his opinion about my newly-acquired gold 1601 and to my surprise, apart from polished case and cleaned lumes, he liked it and said everything's OK.

Now I'm torn on the status of this watch.

The watchmaker (the one who sold me this piece) is a seasoned technician and has stripped the watch to overhaul it. He believed the case was not good but the movement and dial were original but the dial was touched.

The Rolex dealer is a respectable and seasoned dealer with long experience in buying and selling vintage pieces. He has a much more 'flying hours' in dealing with trading watches than the watchmaker.

Both are good friends of mine and I trust them both.

To settle this, I'm calling TRFers who may have this reference or ever handled one to voice your opinions.

I tried to take as detailed photos as possible but apologize if they're not good enough.











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