Printable View
Found this for sale today....might be of interest ...with 2 year warranty.
http://www.austinkaye.co.uk/Rolex-Ge...te-3481-p.aspx
A phone call revealed bracelet not original, but later Rolex.
The serial number starts in the 2 mill........lume is as shown in the images with patina more to the left side, which appears a little odd.
Not a bad price if original etc.
It's been in a little while, I saw it a few weeks ago, seems like a good price. Austin Kaye are great to deal with by the way.
..that's good to know .....Quote:
Originally Posted by dougair
..any thoughts on why the lume would vary ...?
Hands seem to be newer than the dial, and the dial has weird uneven ageing on the lume.
Think it's "cheap" for these reasons
Looks 'cheap' for a genuine red sub at first glance but maybe a few things to note?:
1) the change in colour of the tritium from one side if the dial to the other would drive me crazy (and would most others I would suspect?).
2) the case has had a good polishing over the years by the looks of it.
3) bezel insert and pearl don't look original to the watch to me, which again, would bug my OCD.
Don't know if there are any more things worth mentioning without handling the watch but the dial lume plots alone would knock it on the head for me right away.......shame as it does look kosher to me.
sooooo...cheap ???......all you need to do is find a matching set of hands 250 quid , a bezel insert 100 quid ish , a pearl 100 quids, a nicer dial that isnt uneven say 1k to upgrade ....and you'll have one of the ones on Sales corner for less than 1k more .....
and if someone does fancy it , might pay to check serial if its earlier than 2.5 and a feet first ( which the dating to 1968 would suggest ) it really shouldn't be a feet first ....
...interesting observation.....gotta a feeling they said serial was around 2.3mill.....so worth checking out before a purchase...Quote:
Originally Posted by jedly1
Could the lume have faded unevenly due to poking halfway out from under a shirtsleeve for many years?
Quote:
Originally Posted by TikTokTrev
Don't think so - would have had to have been worn on the right wrist too & the wearer would have had to keep very still:winkskull:
Ah yes the lesser known 'Trucker Arm' lume syndrome...Quote:
Originally Posted by TikTokTrev
Andy, I was told that a dark lume would suggest the watch has been out of the light, like in a safe or under a shirt cuff or somewhere? So that would fit with a left arm wearer on this one. Still doesn't sound very plausible though unless yes a trucker who drives on the continent who wears long sleeve shirts with a double cuff.Quote:
Originally Posted by andy tims
..that would be my thoughts too....that patina is gained from exposure...Quote:
Originally Posted by andy tims
Is there general consensus on patina effect ..... being linked to exposure rather than "boxed" ?
The wealthy trucker with one arm out the window and a shirt sleeve stuck midway across the watch face theory ..... is interesting...... but then we were all crazy in the 60's ;-)
Maybe it was like when you had a lazy eye as a kid and someone put tape over half of it!
I would say usually being boxed leads to darker plots (that or some dial moisture), bright sunlight should lighten the plots.Quote:
Originally Posted by rjwanderer22
That dial would drive me crazy - so would the hands.
The dial on the one for sale on SC looks lovely though :couple_inlove:
Quote:
Originally Posted by tz-uk73
Unless Steve McQueen owned it?
He wore his Rolex Sub on the left.
I should be in advertising.......
That difference in the patina of the lume is a deal breaker, I think. My boss told me he took his Red Sub diving about 15 years ago (when they were much cheaper than today) and hadn't had the waterproofing checked recently. Exit one Sub...
Perhaps it belonged to a lorry driver.
I'm developing a mental picture of the previous owner, and I'm not sure I'd want to bump into him in a dark alley!