1803 President

[Rafabond]

What I don't like very much are the first three numbers that are recorded, those of the serial number, I see them weird, as poorly written

[Filipão]

Originally Posted by nevergiveup

What you have is a pile of brown stuff that smells ! You way over paid .

That's really classy.

[BigBlue1]

Originally Posted by Rafabond

What I don't like very much are the first three numbers that are recorded, those of the serial number, I see them weird, as poorly written

There were numbers engraved near the model number. I never showcased the serial number. It has to be cleaned up. That’s all.

[haven_seeker]

Looks like you did pretty good.

The bracelet may be salvageable. Rolliworks is in the USA and worth reaching out to.

Hopefully you can trade for the right handset without being out much/any extra cash.

Seems like a great buy - and for what it's worth, I would stick to the Buckley dial and get the right hands.

Nicely done

[BigBlue1]

[BigBlue1]

Originally Posted by haven_seeker

Looks like you did pretty good.

The bracelet may be salvageable. Rolliworks is in the USA and worth reaching out to.

Hopefully you can trade for the right handset without being out much/any extra cash.

Seems like a great buy - and for what it's worth, I would stick to the Buckley dial and get the right hands.

Nicely done

Thank you.

[offrdmania]

Originally Posted by BigBlue1

That 245 was most likely left during a service or for some other purpose to identify the piece. I dont think it was put there to deceive since its on the model number side of the case. How does the serial number side look?

[Rafabond]

Originally Posted by BigBlue1

There were numbers engraved near the model number. I never showcased the serial number. It has to be cleaned up. That’s all.

sorry, I found the serial number, it's strange to put numbers on that side

[Chewbacca]

Originally Posted by freefly

As surmised in the Watchout! thread, it's a franken 1803 with an (aftermarket) florentine/morellis finish.
As others mentioned, it's either a Buckley dial watch with the wrong hands, or a Wide Boy with the wrong dial (or it could be a complete parts-bin special).
Bracelet looks genuine, but severely worn.

Look at how much that clasp pin has worn through!

Easy $100 fix at a jeweller.

OP did well with this one.

[Claven2]

Originally Posted by offrdmania

That 245 was most likely left during a service or for some other purpose to identify the piece. I dont think it was put there to deceive since its on the model number side of the case. How does the serial number side look?

I've seen DD bracelets with an assembly number scribed inside the end links. Could it match the bracelet that shipped with the watch?

[BigBlue1]

Ill try and get a picture of the number scratched on the end link tomorrow

[77T]

One thing is certain, you now have about 6 different directions to take your pending project to get it “un-franked”. That is actually a good thing in disguise.

But to be honest, you will have to spend several thousand $ to get it to the final state including a good bracelet fix.

Perhaps swap out the hands, keep the Buckley since you like it, store the bracelet and slap on a strap. You should be happy with it for years.

Or just wear it as is and enjoy it.

I had a wideboy that I liked a lot - even though the hands were not original nor correct - so I just left it alone and only a super WIS would have noticed the faux pas.






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[miamiclay]

Originally Posted by 77T

I had a wideboy that I liked a lot - even though the hands were not original nor correct - so I just left it alone and only a super WIS would have noticed the faux pas.

As a non-super-WIS, what’s non-original/incorrect with those wideboy hands?

[ilikewatchest00]

Have you had someone open the caseback yet to make sure it's a real Rolex movement?

[77T]

Originally Posted by miamiclay

As a non-super-WIS, what’s non-original/incorrect with those wideboy hands?

The original ones for that model would not have tritium stripes inside the hands. Instead it would’ve had these:




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[BigBlue1]

The serial number is 7 Numbers.

[SunTzu]

Originally Posted by freefly

Or, you could go the other direction:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/323928233551
https://www.ebay.com/itm/362618040994
https://www.ebay.com/itm/332303038443

You could also scrap the bracelet if it's too far gone and/or too costly to restore.
Selling it (and the current dial) would fund a very nice strap/buckle, as well as a replacement dial, crystal, service, case refinish, etc. YMMV of course...

Smart thinking! I like this idea.

Or, sell the hands and bracelet and buy a proper set of hands and quality strap and what's left put towards a service and case polish. The vintage DayDates always look nice on a strap.

Lots of options to play with to keep additional cost down and come out with a fine vintage piece.

[emersm]

Congratulations, I love it!

[miamiclay]

Originally Posted by 77T

The original ones for that model would not have tritium stripes inside the hands.

Interesting, thanks! Obviously any lumed dial is useless without lumed hands, but the opposite isn’t true. Just to add more confusion, some stone dials have the T markings at 6, but no lume on dial nor hands.

Is “no-lume dial always came from factory with no-lume hands” a quirk specific to wide boys, like the Day-Date hyphen’s absence?

[77T]

I would be on very thin ice trying to say it’s always this way or that way with Rolex.

But remember the dial makers in that day were not Rolex employees - they were subcontracted companies. There would be no way for the dialmaker to know what hands were going to be put on a watch some months later. Even when the dial had no tritium on its surface. So when it was plucked to assemble the watch, there would be no problem if tritium hands were affixed by the watchmaker.

IMHO, with all the optics around radiation in that timeframe, Rolex just had every dial stamped the same T SWISS T to be on the safe side.


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[BigBlue1]

Originally Posted by submarine

correct handset is a blackened buckley handset. I have several pairs. Op, feel free to pm me. $6700 is a great piece, congrats.

pm

[BigBlue1]

So I reached out to Rolli to get an estimate on the Brcaelet and Lug rebuild. They can take on Bracelet at a price a little north of 1500 of course but are not willing to take on the case/lugz. What do I do? Anyone know where I could have the work performed? Here are some pics. Would you get the Bracelet redone?
Thanks

[BDII]

Have you priced it with Michael Young in HK?

http://www.classicwatchrepair.com/english/services


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[BigBlue1]

Originally Posted by BDII

Have you priced it with Michael Young in HK?

http://www.classicwatchrepair.com/english/services


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I have not, I am too afraid to send it across the pond.

[offrdmania]

$1500 is a great price to rebuild that bracelet considering what you paid for the watch

[Dr.Smellody]

Originally Posted by BigBlue1

I have not, I am too afraid to send it across the pond.

Wouldn't scare me. Lots and lots of success stories.

[zapokee]

Originally Posted by BigBlue1

I have not, I am too afraid to send it across the pond.

Fully understand this concern. Rolliworks seem to be the go-to guys in the US for the bracelet. No experience with them, but I've heard only good things.

What are you looking to do with the case? Laser welding with gold? That might be more expensive than just selling it and buying one with a fat case...

As there doesn't appear to be any sentimental value, I'd either: 1: just love it as it is, or 2. get the bracelet spruced up and buy a fat-case head to put on it. These bracelets are notoriously problematic and rare/expensive. Now that you have one, I think it makes sense to get it fixed up if you can.

Good luck with it.

[rootbeer7]

Originally Posted by zapokee

Fully understand this concern. Rolliworks seem to be the go-to guys in the US for the bracelet. No experience with them, but I've heard only good things.

What are you looking to do with the case? Laser welding with gold? That might be more expensive than just selling it and buying one with a fat case...

As there doesn't appear to be any sentimental value, I'd either: 1: just love it as it is, or 2. get the bracelet spruced up and buy a fat-case head to put on it. These bracelets are notoriously problematic and rare/expensive. Now that you have one, I think it makes sense to get it fixed up if you can.

Good luck with it.

This.

[ronricks]

Here is what I would do:

Get the watch serviced including a new plexi crystal, correct set of hands, and a new fluted bezel also get the bracelet repaired and buy a nice leather strap so you can use bracelet or strap if you want. Whatever you do post pics of the finished product this seems like a cool project that I would be interested in doing one day.

[haven_seeker]

Originally Posted by offrdmania

$1500 is a great price to rebuild that bracelet considering what you paid for the watch

That's what I was thinking.

Spruce up the bracelet for $1500, get a set of hands (shouldn't set you back too much), and for well under $10K you have a nice day date to enjoy for 5-10.

If you decide to sell it, even dumping the above money in, you should at least break even.