Advice on TswissT mark on 1959 Rolex 6694

[mineral]

Dear member,

I find I enjoy the smaller size vintage Rolex watches nowadays. Currently I am eyeing on vintage 6694 from year 1959. The watch look ok to me except I have concern in the TswissT mark at six o clock on the dial.

Based on my knowledge, the Rolex from this era should be Swiss only dial? The dial is also non luminous type (mean no radium luminous on your marker). The TswissT really bother me and make me hesitating to jump on it.

The movement look clean as well based on my untrained eye and according to seller the watch is running well.

Any inputs will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks TRF!




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[214270Explorer]

The "T" nomenclature, from my understanding, is to identify the use of "Tritium" luminescence. (FYI Tritium has a half-life of only 12.3 years.)
But I see no Tritium applique dots to the dial at the outer ends of the 5-minute markers, and those hands were certainly not designed to have lume on them.
Not knowing any more about that 6694 model, I will let others of real experience chime in to additionally advise you.

[mineral]

Originally Posted by 214270Explorer

The "T" nomenclature, from my understanding, is to identify the use of "Tritium" luminescence. (FYI Tritium has a half-life of only 12.3 years.)
But I see no Tritium applique dots to the dial at the outer ends of the 5-minute markers, and those hands were certainly not designed to have lume on them.
Not knowing any more about that 6694 model, I will let others of real experience chime in to additionally advise you.

Thanks for sharing your knowledge. I totally agreed with your comments. The T indicate the use of tritium in my opinion as well.

Hope other experts can chip in to help. It is not very expensive watch but I find it is more fun to collect these unpopular models. I love the size and the design of vintage Rolex.

Thanks all in advance for your time.



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[nigelk]

1. The Rolex crown logo's a little too long.
2. The 'ROLEX' is definitely too thick and i don't remember any 6694s to have applied 'ROLEX' on the dial.
3. The blue second hand is definitely not on any 6694 i have ever seen.
4. Datewheel if i remember correctly should be silver instead of the "golden" one here in the pics.

The dial is definitely off in soo many ways.
You could do a quick google to see how the crown logo should look like :)

Not to sure about the movement but it looks pretty legit to me.

Would definitely steer far far away just cause of the dial and the handset.

Just my thoughts :) Do correct me if im wrong :)

[mineral]

Originally Posted by nigelk

1. The Rolex crown logo's a little too long.

2. The 'ROLEX' is definitely too thick and i don't remember any 6694s to have applied 'ROLEX' on the dial.

3. The blue second hand is definitely not on any 6694 i have ever seen.

4. Datewheel if i remember correctly should be silver instead of the "golden" one here in the pics.



The dial is definitely off in soo many ways.

You could do a quick google to see how the crown logo should look like :)



Not to sure about the movement but it looks pretty legit to me.



Would definitely steer far far away just cause of the dial and the handset.



Just my thoughts :) Do correct me if im wrong :)

Hi thanks for your inputs.

I have exact concern regarding the shaker or the Rolex crown in the dial 12 o clock position. But upon checking and comparing with other 6694, I do notice that there are dial with prolonged crown. Not sure if these are genuine (not redone) dial?

For example I uploaded two of them for discussion. (Note: photos are not mine and credits to the original owner)




I actually have seen applied Rolex wording on early vintage oyster especially from 50s or early 60s. I’m not very concerned about the applied Rolex wording on the dial. I may be wrong and hope other experts can chip in.

And I have 6494 from 1959 one owner watch with the same blue second hand as well. I think the blue second hand is correct for this 6694 from 1959.

The only concern I have is the TswissT mark at six o clock. I’m not too sure about this and I suspect it is refinished dial.

Look forward to other experts opinions.

Thanks in advance for your time and participation in this discussion.

Cheers


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[venkersteell]

I have not seen an applied Rolex logo on dials of this vintage myself, but you say that you have seen them?

That was my first big concern. The tritium marking with no lume being the second. The third would be the discoloration of the date wheel compared to the more pristine looking dial.

I don't know about this one...

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[Mike Wood]

The dial is refinished and the text is incorrect for this watch...

[offrdmania]

That dial is correct for the mid 1950s. Most likely the hands were swapped out at one time, possibly early on. The T SWISS T could mean luminous hands which it may have started life with. You never know what may have been done in early services. Back then, these were very inexpensive watches and all kinds of different things happened to them.

Heres what luminous hands of the period would have looked like and it says T SWISS T on the dial.

[venkersteell]

After some more research, I offrdmania's assessment is correct. I have seen some applied logo dials in that year range.

The T markings would be on the dial if the hands originally had Tritium lume on them. So at some point in the life of this watch one or more of following occurred: the dial was changed and the hands were kept (would explain the more pristine dial) or the dial is original and the hands were swapped out).

Originally Posted by offrdmania

That dial is correct for the mid 1950s. Most likely the hands were swapped out at one time, possibly early on. The T SWISS T could mean luminous hands which it may have started life with. You never know what may have been done in early services. Back then, these were very inexpensive watches and all kinds of different things happened to them.

Heres what luminous hands of the period would have looked like and it says T SWISS T on the dial.

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[mineral]

Originally Posted by offrdmania

That dial is correct for the mid 1950s. Most likely the hands were swapped out at one time, possibly early on. The T SWISS T could mean luminous hands which it may have started life with. You never know what may have been done in early services. Back then, these were very inexpensive watches and all kinds of different things happened to them.

Heres what luminous hands of the period would have looked like and it says T SWISS T on the dial.

Hi Matt, thanks for chipping in and provide your advice. I remember that we had chatted on the PM about some early air king and oyster date and I always impressed with your knowledge of these vintage watches. Thanks again :)


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[mineral]

Originally Posted by venkersteell

After some more research, I offrdmania's assessment is correct. I have seen some applied logo dials in that year range.

The T markings would be on the dial if the hands originally had Tritium lume on them. So at some point in the life of this watch one or more of following occurred: the dial was changed and the hands were kept (would explain the more pristine dial) or the dial is original and the hands were swapped out).

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I agreed this may be the likely case. It is still beautiful watch despite the hands had been changed. What I like is the smaller size at 34mm and make it comfortable to wear.


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[mineral]

Originally Posted by Mike Wood

The dial is refinished and the text is incorrect for this watch...

Hi Mike, always pleasure to hear opinion from expert like you. I appreciate your time in reviewing this watch and provide your inputs. Appreciated


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[offrdmania]

Originally Posted by Mike Wood

The dial is refinished and the text is incorrect for this watch...

In my opinion, the text looks ok. It may have been redone but a very good job if true. Won’t effect value on a 6694 if it was.

[mineral]

For discussion, I own few vintage Rolex from 50s and all of them are radium dial and still glow and show greenish plot under black light. the TswissT marking on this late 50s 6694 raised my concern if it is too early for tritium plot.


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