So I bought a disassembled 1955 GMT Master...Now what?

[Orange123]

Surly everyone needs to know what you bought it for before telling you it's worth repairing?

If you paid too much might be worth cleaning the parts and selling it, if you got it cheap then worth spending on a repair?

[Ranchmanben]

I'm holding out on telling what I paid for it.

Ben

[Runnin' Rebel]

Originally Posted by Ranchmanben

I'm holding out on telling what I paid for it.

Ben

Nooo. Nooope. Your not aloud to do that ! Spill it

[eightbore]

Fix it up....ASAP!

[MonBK]

Originally Posted by Ranchmanben

I'm holding out on telling what I paid for it.

Ben

Which means he paid 50 bucks for it (or less)

[Vincent65]

Shame it ended up in such a state, but it could be worth restoring. All depends on the relative costs, of course. Cracked bezel insert could maybe be rescued and carefully installed in another bezel ring to hold it together. Maybe best left where it is. Quite a project, overall, but as suggested, there are great people who are capable of doing it, assuming all the required parts can be sourced. Good luck.

[R.W.T.]

PM sent Ben.

[Malverne]

Wow that are cool vintage pieces! Very desirable watch indeed!

[CharlieMae]

Ben, your PM box is full but, if you want to sell it or partner up on restoring and flipping it let me know. Looks like it could be a fun project.

[watchcrank]

You got good advice from one of the best techs on VRF. It will be easy to sell or trade for something you like plus $ as it is a project that is mostly there and worth $. I have owned a dozen of these in various conditions. Expensive to do correctly buy worth it imho. If you have limited resources I'd trade for a nice 1675, 5513 etc. and put the extra into the college fund :-) Best of luck. M

[Ranchmanben]

Hi Charlie. Sorry about that. Feel free to email me at bensnure3 at gmail dot com.

This whole this is like a dream. I keep going back and forth on what I should do.

[subtona]

I am no expert and i am not a vintage guy.

But

When it comes to the restore, less is more.
Be careful with that dial, it is a beauty... Extra Light touch on the work is necessary!!!!
Imho

The case & crystal look beautiful, wouldn't touch them at all unless there is any damage or burrs where the seals make contact.

[jban5]

I'll follow that "less is more" with a "correct parts are the most"

Doing a worthy restoration will be expensive, yes, but what could be more of an issue is that it will likely be lengthy to do it right.

Of the couple of watchmakers mentioned and a couple of others that are out there who are top in their field there is likely little difference overall. One factor is parts and I think Rikki pulls ahead in this in that he apparently has a lot of them.

Did you say that this was all stored in a Pan Am box with paperwork but you didn't keep that?

[JerimiahLee]

Looks like everyone tried to send a PM :)

[eightbore]

Originally Posted by JerimiahLee

Looks like everyone tried to send a PM :)

I offered him a 100% profit....but I think it will take a good bit more than that to get a deal done.

[MitchSteel]

In Philadelphia ,it's worth 50 bucks, haha

OP good luck, would be an awesome, but costly project.Id sell it for parts, and buy beer, but that's just me.

[V.lats97nsx]

This will be interesting

[Dr.Smellody]

Wow!!

[jdmi32]

Nice find. I cringed when I saw the dial mixed in with all the other pieces.

[MitchSteel]

+1......that Dial

[Floorguy]

Thats beautiful!! Send that bad boy to Rikki!! You won't be sorry!!

[donaker]

Are you sure it's a '55? The case back seems to read "II 1958". And that being said, did Rolex ever use a 4 digit year on their case backs? I'm sure no expert but I've never seen that before.

A hell of a find if it checks out. Congrats!

If my 5508 is any indication, I'm thinking this will take somewhere north of $3k to get cleaned, fixed and reassembled assuming no super exotic (read expensive) parts need purchasing. I have no idea what a set of hands would cost for such a beauty.

Good luck. It'd be a worthy project considering what these sell for in today's market.

[Ranchmanben]

Hi folks, sorry my mail box is full. It's hard to keep it empty when you only have 10 slots. I can't figure out where to buy a membership so I can have a larger mailbox. For the time being, email is best. Bensnure3 at gmail dot com

This watch has blown my mind. Thank you very much to everyone for some great advice on how to take care of it and how to proceed.

Ben

[Floorguy]

Originally Posted by Ranchmanben

Hi folks, sorry my mail box is full. It's hard to keep it empty when you only have 10 slots. I can't figure out where to buy a membership so I can have a larger mailbox. For the time being, email is best. Bensnure3 at gmail dot com

This watch has blown my mind. Thank you very much to everyone for some great advice on how to take care of it and how to proceed.

Ben

General discussion, become a pledge member

[willang]

Good luck Ben!

[Ranchmanben]

Thanks Rob.

[Ranchmanben]

It looks like I've found a home for this watch. I'm headed out to California in the morning to deliver it.

[morafa4]

I'm semi glued to the refresh button, hah. Excellent find and please more updates on this "found a home" turn of events

[dysondiver]

its got a lot of potential ,,, good luck with it , which ever way it plays out

[cajuntiger]

Congrats