17 jewel 1530 cal. only sold to US market?

[eye4detail]

Hi there,

I've read that the 1530 cal. movement was, at one time, supplied to the US market in 17 jewel format, to reduce import duty:

"Undadjusted 1530, 17 jewels

US market.

Less jewels, unadjusted, less duty"

http://www.network54.com/Forum/20759...1530+17+jewels

I also found this information:

"Early calibre 1530 movements were available in either 17 or 25 jewel varieties. Later ones were available with 17 or 26 jewel movements. With your watch being made in the mid 60s, it's possible that it could have had a 25 jewel movement (I don't know exactly when the change from 25 to 26 jewels was made, but it was during that time frame).

The difference between 17 and 25 or 26 jewel types is only in the rotor (self winding) mechanisms, which are jeweled on 25 and 26 jewel models, but not in the 17 jewel ones. In short, you could still have your original movement, with just the wrong self winding mechanism attached to it. On the other hand, about 50% of all Air Kings originally had 17 jewel movements, so unless you're really certain that yours originally had a 25 jewel one, it's quite possible that you have now what you've always had -- a 17 jewel Air King."

http://mb.nawcc.org/showthread.php?6078-Rolex-Air-King

So my question is: was the 17 jewel version only sold in the US, or were there other places it was sold too?


Thanks