Help identify/price Vintage Rolex Oyster/Explorer Model 5501?

[DJoyce]

Hello. This is my first post to this forum.

Almost 6 years ago, my father passed away and I inherited a Rolex that he purchased in 1999. He bought it off an estate sale from the son of a man that had recently passed away in B.C., who apparently was the original owner.

It was appraised in 1999 by a reputable jeweller, and this is how he described it in the appraisal:
"One Rolex Oyster Perpetual wristwatch Explorer design #5501/OE Registration #846###. Stainless steel case, 18K yellow gold fluted bezel, black Arabic dial with 18K yellow gold indices, mechanical jeweled movement with date, acrylic hardlux crystal. Watch is fitted with stainless steel Rolex oyster bracelet design #78350 with fifteen links including end pieces" and he gave it a value of $4710.00 for insurance purposes. He also noted that the watch was circa 1965.

One thing to note is that the appraisal says that the watch has a date, which is not the case. Otherwise, everything else matches. I brought it to a local Rolex distributor and they took the bracelet off so that I could confirm that the serial number matches (it does), so they think that the appraiser above made a slight error in mentioning the date.

I want to sell the watch, and I wanted to be 100% sure that everything was on the up and up. The watch was serviced in 1999 at the same time it was appraised by Rolex and was sold to my father in a Rolex Service Division box and came with a one year warranty certificate (now expired, of course) verifying the model and serial number, and is wrapped up in a nice cotton Rolex cloth. I have every reason based on all this evidence that the watch is a legitimate and authentic Rolex (which I was paranoid about because I want to sell it). I did ask for a current appraisal, however the local Rolex distributor does not appraise vintage watches, and apparently neither does Rolex--the Rolex head office here suggested having it appraised by Sotheby's.

Anyway, I couldn't find much information on this model; the few pieces of info. that I could find on the net (including this forum) suggest that the watch is a very rare Canadian version, made when Rolex was first testing out the Explorer design and not 100% sure about how it would sell. Apparently, they made some changes and so this model wasn't manufactured in large numbers? I've also seen similar watches described as a "dress explorer".

I would appreciate any information you could give me on the watch, such as provenance, current market value (approx.), and suggestions regarding selling the watch. I do want to make sure it is sold in a safe and reputable manner, but I'm not sure if selling it via an auction house is the best way to go (or if it's even possible?) via ebay or local online listing or eventually listing it on this forum. I want to sell because a) I need to pay for grad school and student loans may not cover it, and b) my Dad never actually wore the watch and so there is no sentimental value (and if he were around, he'd have wanted to help me with my education).

Attached are some pictures of the watch (hopefully I did it right). Thanks in advance for any help and for reading this longwinded post :)

Thanks in advance for