Help Appraising a Vintage Rolex Oyster Perpetual

[Our_Snowman]

This is my first post on these forums, so I apologize if I make a mistake in etiquette.

I recently came to have a gold Rolex Oyster Perpetual in my possession that's got a few quirks that are stumping my ability to identify it. The watch is 18k yellow gold, and overall in spectacular condition; however, there's no crown on the clasp.

I'm now left trying to figure out what is going on. I pulled the serial number up, and it's from 1953 which is a period beyond my expertise in Rolex watches. The bracelet is the riveted expansion type, and is stamped "MECAN" in under the clasp along with Rolex, Swiss Made, the gold grade 750, 1 56. The movement is genuine, as well. Just in case, I tested the gold to be sure that it was real; it was. The crown is an original "Super Oyster" so is doesn't thread down; I understand that this was a brief experiment from the 1952-1953 period.

Maybe, I'm just missing something because everything else seems correct but I have never seen a Rolex clasp without that crown logo on it. It's possible the crown was removed but there's no evidence of that; no inconsistencies in thickness, colour, finish; it's weird.

If anyone has any idea what the deal is with this clasp, and what this particular specimen might be worth, I'd be very interested to learn more about it.

[Dan S]

This is also pretty far out of my wheelhouse, but the clasp certainly seems to have been aggressively polished, possibly a long time ago. It's hard to say what it originally looked like. The bracelet is pretty impressive, regardless.

[Our_Snowman]

Originally Posted by Dan S

This is also pretty far out of my wheelhouse, but the clasp certainly seems to have been aggressively polished, possibly a long time ago. It's hard to say what it originally looked like. The bracelet is pretty impressive, regardless.

I honestly can't say whether it's the original, and the crown fell off, being promptly polished instead of replaced for some reason; or if it's not Rolex, and is instead a "generic" 18k gold clasp. Given the finish of the underside, and absence of numbers on it, I'm inclined to say it's the latter. The curious thing, then, is why it wasn't just replaced with a Rolex option. The actual fold over parts are definitely genuine, but the cover is a bit suspect.

As for the bracelet, thank you. Remarkably the springs are in immaculate form; there's been no loss of tension.

[usling15]

Would the crown on the clasp originally been soldered on ?

[Dan S]

Originally Posted by usling15

Would the crown on the clasp originally been soldered on ?

I was assuming that the correct clasp would have had a Rolex coronet logo embossed or soldered on. I supposed it could have been completely polished away, but that would be a bit strange, and I see no sign of it. However, except for the missing coronet, it looks correct. Quite a valuable bracelet even as-is.