Reply With QuoteLovely , a real find and explanation.
May I be so rude to ask , is it a keeper with the reference collection or will it be sold ?
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Norbert
I bought this little treasure today. It joins other 1675s in my collection but this one is in some ways a tad more interesting:
Note the pointed crown guards:
Some parts replaced at service ("boooo....")
...but then this is an early bird. I record the earliest 1675s around 5xx,xxx case numbers. This one is from a batch of around 1,600 manufactured shortly after that, having II.61 (2nd quarter of 1961) case-backs, probably sold circa 1962:
I do like the provenance which case-backs can provide. Watch-makers' service marks can not only be decoded (this watch was booked in for service number 614xxx by Rolex UK in September 1992) but also checked against a register of others, to see that they fall into place / contemporary style of application.
1560 calibre looks to be in decent order
but look how crudely marked is its number :
"D" showing it was a movement with DATE feature, of course.
Now, have a look at the case number :
It would appear to have been applied not just by hand, but by the hand of Oliver Reed after a big night out. This is quite correct for this small batch and, indeed, if one compares two together one finds that the idiosyncrasies, errors and re-strokes of the same numerals are perfectly matched, proving that the numbers must have been applied by a machine, no matter how imperfectly it was set up.
An old watch is just an old watch, until you start listening to what it has to say!
H
Last edited by Haywood_Milton; 25th May 2018 at 15:21.
Lovely , a real find and explanation.
May I be so rude to ask , is it a keeper with the reference collection or will it be sold ?
Sent from my iPhone using TZ-UK mobile app
Norbert
I think we'll prepare a bed for it here ;-)Originally Posted by Norbert
Lovely watch Haywood!
Unfortunately most of us normal folk are deaf.
Implicit point that I am not normal - noted.Lovely watch Haywood!
Unfortunately most of us normal folk are deaf.
Lovely Haywood and like your watch I also made my first appearance in the second quarter of 1961. A perfect birth year watch for me, but knowing you as we do, it isn't going anywhere.
Is that the original insert.
But in a good way!
Insert replaced at service.
Watch is dirty, old and slow. I let the comedians join the dots.
You flip faster than a Russian gymnast so I'm not sure I feel that guilty depriving you of it.
Fascinating... I would never have thought those numbers could have been applied by a machine. I never get tired of learning more about these watches, so many variations and idiosyncrasies, thank you.
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I do admire your overt posts and clear information on these rare specimens that the majority of the forum dream of stumbling onto .
May she be happy and well nurtured in her new home until the next appears & who ever is privileged enough to own her will hopefully be as transparent and respectful to the next generation as the previous owner .
Thank you once again Sir , you could have chosen no comment re this acquisition but as we all have learned & respect that is not your trait .
Please don’t falter !
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Norbert
Haywood. I'm not sure what you mean about the case numbers being obviously applied by a machine - the 696 is engraved with two similar, but most definately not matching, 6's.
Yes, the two sixes within the case number are slightly different but if you look at another 696xxx the corresponding sixes are exactly the same. There are other numerals I have not shown here with similar, precise errors, double-strokes, slips or deformities which are also identical from one to another, even under a 10x. When you see them, the only conclusion possible is that a machine must have applied them.
H
Thats interesting. A machine, or some kind of stencil perhaps, to apply an otherwise fairly rough engraving.
I'd venture that, in the day, these watches were viewed differently to how they are today - quality for sure, but more of a "tool" (to add more wear to a perhaps already over-used expression).
The shift towards the brand being marketed as "luxury" would certainly mean that a modern day GMT-master couldn't get away with such a finish and stay within the companies current "mission statement".
This shift, l assume, can be seen across the other mid-range brands that have since changed their approach post "quartz crisis".
Edit - there's something quite charming and less pretentious about the rough engraving - similar to the scratched-in watchmaker marks to be found inside the casebacks of some vintage watches.
It serves as a reminder of the original purpose and perception of these watches.
Last edited by Umbongo; 26th May 2018 at 10:40.
You mention that some parts were exchanged and that it's one of earliest 1675, so the dial is service and should be gilt?
Also, should it have small GMT hand?
Thanks Haywood, I knew about the watchmaker markings but not that you had the Rosetta Stone to make sense of them. A classicist at work!
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Nice little time capsule
Definitely; a gilt dial was certainly fitted in this watch when new.
Probably. The earliest 1675s did.
H
Great to see these old girls, looks like a service date wheel as well, should be closed 6's and hookey 7's.
Thanks for posting both an interesting and informative thread.
I hope you enjoy the new addition to your collection.
Gary
Nice info, i wonder if a detailed breakdown of my '79 1675 would bear such interesting treasure, unlikely...
Hmmmm.....styling-wise we don't seem to have progressed much in 50 years!
Excellent watch, thanks for the (as usual) great explanation too.
I have heard from the editor of a magazine for engraving and engraving machine enthusiasts, that modern engraving machines that are pre-set often leave a 'zig-zag' effect on curved letters/numbers. This explains those little 'jigs' in the graving.
Great read and thanks for taking the time to photograph and post.
Lovely addition to the collection enjoy...
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