Datejust 1603 second opinion

[studioal]

Been looking at a lot of 1603's lately, and have found one that is in budget and looks all there. 2.9mil serial (sold in '75) It comes as a full set (pamphlets, receipt, tag, etc). Seller is asking $3400.

Bracelet is stretched, but wearable. Dial looks good, nice color to the lume dots. Hands are OK, a bit ashy. How's the case look? I don't mind the knicks and dents...I like an honest watch. Just want some more eyes on it in case I'm overlooking something. Thanks in advance.

[BigJim67]

Love these older SS DJs, they are becoming more affordable, still very classy.

I think the case wear matches everything else nicely@

[Dan S]

Looks ok to me.

[0nly5iv3Digits]

Case has quite clearly been polished to death. I couldn’t live with that. Just me, though.

[studioal]

Originally Posted by 0nly5iv3Digits

Case has quite clearly been polished to death. I couldn’t live with that. Just me, though.

That’s a bit of an overstatement, no? We shall see, at $3.3K I thought it was a good buy.

[TimeLord2]

I don't think the case looks overly polished. If it was, those spring bars would be peeking out the sides. That one lug hole at 7:00 looks a little distorted but could just be the reflections and angle. The others look quite nice IMHO!

[TuRo]

Service plexi, but all else in keeping, and $3250-3400 (c £2750) on the money esp as its on a 6251h (which is $600 alone).

[rootbeer7]

Originally Posted by 0nly5iv3Digits

Case has quite clearly been polished to death. I couldn’t live with that. Just me, though.

I don’t think so. It’s a well-worn, well-priced vintage watch

[kastor77]

I think it’s fairly priced. Looks nice vintage DJ!


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[TimeToGo]

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Full set? Papers, receipt, tag w/serial, booklets? If so, sounds about right, as mentioned by Turo. Only other thing to consider is the service history to make sure no additional costs have to be entertained.

[studioal]

Originally Posted by TimeToGo

.
Full set? Papers, receipt, tag w/serial, booklets? If so, sounds about right, as mentioned by Turo. Only other thing to consider is the service history to make sure no additional costs have to be entertained.

This is the photo from the seller. I don't know if this constitutes a true "full set", but it looks like there's a lot of documentation there. It was purchased in Japan. Anything missing that would have come with it?

[TuRo]

Ok. Good news is that green/cream outer box and silk Rolex Creation inner is worth $300-400, and dates to 70s if that is watch date.

I don't really know Japan mkt....but looks like 1972 written on the slip can't really make it out or serial number #11338?

Also would have expected books to be Japanese and the Horse Datejust booklet is c 1980/90s btw.

Period Datejust green books are quite rare to find btw.

There are two translations eg a green 80s booklet and a 80/90/00s cert which is bit odd.

Should be a raised crown Datejust green tag if full set they cost $50 btw on eBay.

The red seal should be non hologram not hologram, rope colour looks later hologram from poor photo. Btw Hologram cost $5 ....non holograms are $100 on eBay

The Your Rolex book is an earlier 70s style booklet.

There would be a calendar of year incl and all in a vinyl green wallet for a full set.

Having said all that if the watch is correct, show engravings perhaps, it's pretty cheap with green stripe and all that stuff and bracelet imho.

[studioal]

Thank you for sharing your knowledge. I realize that some seller's will piece together sets to fool uneducated buyers like myself. Hopefully that's not the case, but I will be sure to update with better and more detailed photos.

[Vedea]

I think for the price, the watch is in the condition that I would expect. I picked up a '78 1603 at the beginning of the year in very similar condition, no box or papers, for just a little bit less than the price your seller is asking. I would say go for it.

[Davidt]

I think the case is pretty poor. It’s very soft and has a lot of wear. I’d rather wait and pay slightly more for a better case

[swish77]

Originally Posted by TuRo

Also would have expected books to be Japanese and the Horse Datejust booklet is c 1980/90s btw.

Fair points on some of the mismatched pieces with the set, but booklets for watches sold in Japan are often in English, even though the Rolex paperwork is in Japanese.

[studioal]

Originally Posted by Davidt

I think the case is pretty poor. It’s very soft and has a lot of wear. I’d rather wait and pay slightly more for a better case

Too late. I don't think it's as bad as you think, unless you're a stickler for nicks and dings, in which case, yes, it's got them.

Originally Posted by swish77

Fair points on some of the mismatched pieces with the set, but booklets for watches sold in Japan are often in English, even though the Rolex paperwork is in Japanese.

Good to know. When the watch arrives I'm going to update this thread with the paperwork and booklets, hopefully some of you with more knowledge of this stuff can chime in with what would be typical versus what might be a added later to complete a set.

[javier]

Very very nice watch

[studioal]

I picked up the watch from UPS yesterday (side rant: 10 days for Ground delivery from CA to MN is atrocious. Watch was re-directed down to Texas for some reason. Just happy to have it.)

I'll follow up with the paper work later, but here are some shots of the watch in today's morning light. I don't know, looks pretty sharp to me and I'm very pleased with my $3.3K purchase, but I'll let you be the judge.

[TimeLord2]

I have been looking at these a lot lately. Looks quite nice with a polish but not excessive as I said earlier. A well loved but not well worn watch. Beautiful dial and I really like the patina. IMHO think you made a good purchase.

[MartiR]

They really have a timeless look, don’t they?

[studioal]

Originally Posted by MartiR

They really have a timeless look, don’t they?

They truly do. It's such a great design and is a breath of fresh air from wearing primarily 60's and 70's dive watches.

Originally Posted by TimeLord2

I have been looking at these a lot lately. Looks quite nice with a polish but not excessive as I said earlier. A well loved but not well worn watch. Beautiful dial and I really like the patina. IMHO think you made a good purchase.

I can see what you're saying. Not enough of a polish to soften the case or remove all dings and dents, but enough to give it a bit of a shine. Thanks for looking.

[swish77]

Very nice-looking DJ. You did well. Congrats.

Side note .... Ground shipping on a vintage Rolex? Yikes! FedEx Overrnight is the way to go, and even that has its perils.

[TuRo]

Lovely silver sunburst - the brown HR markers make it really pop. Service plexi btw as I suspected. Got yourself a bargain with papers and that old jubilee and rare valuable box and trinketry etc ...

[dhknola]

Nice one!

[studioal]

Originally Posted by swish77

Very nice-looking DJ. You did well. Congrats.

Side note .... Ground shipping on a vintage Rolex? Yikes! FedEx Overrnight is the way to go, and even that has its perils.

Thank you. I was surprised the seller shipped it ground. I should have asked, but when he wouldn't move much on price "because I'm covering the shipping cost" I assumed he was going with something expensive like overnight or 2 day.

Originally Posted by TuRo

Lovely silver sunburst - the brown HR markers make it really pop. Service plexi btw as I suspected. Got yourself a bargain with papers and that old jubilee and rare valuable box and trinketry etc ...

Looks even better in person. Service plexi is correct. Can you tell by the height or bevel? The jubilee is excellent, I lucked out in that it has minimal stretch.

Originally Posted by dhknola

Nice one!

Thank you

[TuRo]

Originally Posted by studioal

Thank you. I was surprised the seller shipped it ground. I should have asked, but when he wouldn't move much on price "because I'm covering the shipping cost" I assumed he was going with something expensive like overnight or 2 day.



Looks even better in person. Service plexi is correct. Can you tell by the height or bevel? The jubilee is excellent, I lucked out in that it has minimal stretch.



Thank you

Bevel(s), height, flatness of top and clarity

[Dr.Smellody]

Love it! Congratulations. I'd rock that!

[studioal]

Took the "set" out this morning and inspected it. Looks like some of the booklets that it came with are from the 90's. I've elected not to show them here, and only photograph what I suspect is original to the watch. It's nice that the outer box still has the reference sticker and some other inventory label. The non-Japanese "Your Rolex" booklet on the left is dated "73". I like that Rolex printed a serialized date on all (most) of their printed materials.

You can't wear boxes or papers, but it's neat to have. Thanks for looking.

[swish77]

Easy enough to track down an early '70s DJ booklet, if you wanted.

And the good news is that the prices aren't insane like they are for vintage booklets of Rolex sports models.