6567 Dial

[LLDUB]

In 1958 my mother took a trip to Europe, sponsored by her church. Dad gave her some money to buy a Rolex. According to a letter she wrote to him in July of '58, she had just bought the watch below in Lucerne, Switzerland, which was one of the stops.

She was telling him that the least expensive gold watch they had was $150, and that was just the watch (and it had a stainless back). She said that the band that went with it was another $150, and she didn't have enough money to buy the band, so he was going to have to put a band on it when she got home.

Well, they both got back home. I can remember that generally, the watch never left his hand. No matter what he did, like building a pier in waist high water in a local lake, he was wearing this watch. They're both gone now and I inherited it in '97. The first thing I did was take it to deBoulle jewelers here in Dallas. Although I'm not sure they were an "authorized" Rolex dealer, I was acquainted with the owner and figured as they were one of the most upscale jewelers around, they could handle a cleanup.

You could hardly see through the original crystal, so it was replaced with what I was told was an appropriate one. It had a complete cleaning, of course, and new band attached.

Sorry the story is so long, but I though some background might help. I can't see that this watch will ever be sold. Once I'm gone, I have children it can go to. So although I'm always interested in value, I'm not from a "selling" point of view.

My issue is with the dial. To my knowledge the sealing of the watch was never compromised....I was told that the interior was fine and it keeps excellent time. So, is the pitting seen on the dial "common"? And is their a cause of such pitting, in general? On balance, the cosmetics of the watch are excellent, in general.

There is a local Rolex service center of some kind here in Dallas. Does Rolex refinish their dials? I understand the "value" issue on an "original" dial, and I'd never let just anyone work on this watch and didn't even ask about it when I had it cleaned. But I was thinking that if Rolex can refinish it, at least it'd still be "factory". The serial number is 30 thousand and change.

Any thoughts? Thanks.

[The Joker]

Hi and welcome.

I don't know much about vintage, sure someone will pop up with some better answers.

But I think it's common that older dials show some kind of ageing. I think the dial is beautiful as it is, and wouldn't touch it.

That watch is stunning!

[rms]

Really beautiful watch. I think the dial is perfect the way it is. It is so cool to own a watch with such family history.

[dddrees]

Fabulous story, great looking watch.