Vintage Rolex Dial Markings

[Joe_Rolex]

Good afternoon, gentlemen of the forum. I have an interesting question that I'll enjoy posing to the group.

I'm wondering if anyone has ever seen a vintage (1960's or earlier) Rolex that DOESN'T have the words "SWISS" or "SWISS MADE" below the 6 o'clock position. I've most recently procured a (purported) 1952 ref 6022 manual-wind (see image of the face, below), and there's no reference to "SWISS" or "SWISS MADE" anywhere on it.

Is this a potential red-flag, in anyone's opinion?

As always, thank you. I truly enjoy the forum.

Happy Holidays.

Joe_Rolex

[southtexas]

There’s a small chance swiss is “hidden” under case edge at 6 o’clock, but greater chance it’s just missing as result of being refinished.


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[lupus66]

Redone dial

[Joe_Rolex]

To thoroughly display my ignorance... What does “refinished” or “redone” mean? And what implications does it hold for the value of the watch?

And... to sound like an engineer for a moment... Every Rolex absolutely started life having a “SWISS” reference somewhere on its dial? The fact that mine doesn’t have it unquestionably means either a fake or a refinish?

Thanks gents...

[Tools]

Refinished and redone likely mean the same thing, just depends on who is speaking.

Sounds like you are hopeful? The Swiss are very proud of their watches, and so is Rolex. It is unlikely that you will find any standard dials from typical watches that intentionally left off their mark of proudly being Swiss.

For a 60 plus years old dial to appear that clean would be astounding. It is much more likely that it has been repainted.

The good news is that this watch is not sought after, so a good clean refinished dial is not likely to impact value much.

[Old Expat Beast]

Another vote here for redone/repainted/refinished. The word "oyster" doesn't look level, either.

[miamiclay]

I’d assume a repaint - Also either the chapter ring or the markers at the 1, 2, 4 & 5 markers are off center.

[Joe_Rolex]

Wow, fellas. I consider myself scrupulous, and I didn't see any of the things you all have brought to light. The watch goes back, tomorrow. (Which is too bad, because I truly enjoyed the not-so-flashy look of this Rolex.)

Nonetheless, thank you for opening my eyes.

[Dan S]

OYSTER is crooked, and the minute track is clearly misaligned in places, e.g. the 4 o'clock applied marker. The dial has typical signs of a medium-quality re-paint. Not hard to see with a bit of practice. To be fair, old dials were not always perfect even from the factory, but these issues are outside what one would expect to see IMO.

[Claven2]

Not sure I'd noticed that hand shape before?

[Joe_Rolex]

Thank you, gentlemen! The watch has been sent back home. If anyone knows of a nice, 1950's ref 6022, I'm certainly interested.

I truly appreciate the scrutiny you all applied to my purchase.