Reply With QuoteThat's a beauty, what size is the case and is that the original bracelet? It looks a bit like the Seiko H link.
Update: I've contacted the Rotary archives and they confirmed that it's probably a piece Unique or ProtoType. They asked me if they could use my story and have listed this watch on their website.
https://rotarywatches.com/blogs/rotary-blog/discovered-unique-rotary-chairman-watch
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/354887226139
I have a vintage Rotary with a unique case design and unique dial. Story of this watch goes that it was owned by Teddy Dreyfuss who was the Rotary Chairman during the 1970s-80s. The watch has a large case and the dial is signed ''chairman''. Its believed that this watch was gifted to Teddy Dreyfuss, or a custom made order by himself. How cool is that, I mean what would you do if you were the chairman of a large watch company, wouldn't you have ordered a few unique pieces for yourself.
I own this watch now for circa 30 years and recently rediscovered it again after I had to clear out my old parents house. But I'm not really familiar with the brand and don't know what to do with it? Should I keep it, or sell it? What would you do?
Back in the 1990s when I was in my 20s, I was buying and selling shoes, clothes, jewellery, wristwatches and what not, as a source of extra income.
One day a friend of our mother visited us and noticed how I was cleaning and changing straps on some of the watches which I had to get ready for re-sale. We started chatting and she told me that she had a few dozens wristwatches which she had inherited from her late father and didn't mind selling them. Her old man used to be one of the Rotary Sales Representative for the UK and British market. After a little bit of negotiating we agreed that she would gift me all the watches in return for a one proper ladies watch which she could daily wear and could keep as a investment. This was a fair deal for me and I ended up with 30+ rotary watches, which I all sold, and with part of the profits I bought here a secondhand gold plated Tank Must De Cartier, which were back than selling only at a couple hundred pound :)
But there was one watch in the collection which she pointed out which was very special to her father. It was a Rotary watch which was gifted to him by the back than Rotary chairman Teddy Dreyfuss. It was given to him on his retirement, and she remembered how her father would only wear the watch on special occasions, and how he was always showing off the watch and proudly telling the story how Teddy Dreyfuss took the watch of his own wrist and handed it to him as a token for his service and accomplishments.
But back in the 1990s we had no internet, no eBay or Chrono24, and I was selling watches of my wrist, backpack and relaying on mouth-to-mouth. I was selling these Rotary watches anywhere from £20 to £50 or such, depending on condition and what it was and some I swapped. But what is see now as a ''stroke of luck'' is that I caused a crack in the acrylic crystal and I couldn't sell the chairman watch anymore, and it ended up in one of my drawers. Looking back that is the only reason why I still got this watch today, and I love it!
The watch case looks like a typical traditional vintage rotary design, but it way different than any other Rotary case design Ive seen, and is believed to be a one-off. You can find similar Rotary models from the period, but none have the same case design with the same polished and brushed lines and angles, which makes this watch one of a kind. The same is true for the dial configuration, making it a unique Rotary watch issue.
I know that Rotary these days are issuing limited editions in their Heritage and Les Originales watch line collection. But I don't know of any existence of a Rotary which is a piece unique / one-off-a-kind.
The way I see it is, this watch should not even be in public hands, and should have been kept within the circles of the Dreyfuss family or the Rotary watch organization. I guess this watch is also historically important for the Rotary watch brand it self. Value wise, I don't know, still try to figure it out, but it will defiantly not be cheap when I decide to sell itTry to find another one!
Last edited by benbenny; 3rd July 2023 at 09:42.
That's a beauty, what size is the case and is that the original bracelet? It looks a bit like the Seiko H link.
Thank you, its indeed a beautiful watch. The watch case is 36mm in diameter but wears much larger, and lug to lug is 42mm.Originally Posted by estoban7
No the bracelet is aftermarket and not original to the watch. I just thought it looked cool on it. Dont know if its a Seiko bracelet, it doesn't have any branding on it.
Last edited by benbenny; 18th November 2021 at 16:04.
That's lovely, a very interesting post.
I have a thing for 1970s stainless steel Rotary, as you can see by the watch I'm wearing this week (ignore the date!)
Rotary is no longer owned by the Dreyfuss family, they sold their interests some time ago. I'm not sure how you could get in touch with them to offer the watch for sale to them (if they were even interested).
It may well have the same mechanism as my (pictured) Monza GT but in the larger custom case, however the crown seems a bit large for that period of Rotary watches.
I expect it would need a service and general tidy-up after all this time.
Not sure what it would be worth but if you are thinking of selling, I may well be interested.
Sent through the ether by diddling with radio waves
That's also a beautiful looking Rotary watch you got there. I love the dial on yours.That's lovely, a very interesting post.
I have a thing for 1970s stainless steel Rotary, as you can see by the watch I'm wearing this week (ignore the date!)
Rotary is no longer owned by the Dreyfuss family, they sold their interests some time ago. I'm not sure how you could get in touch with them to offer the watch for sale to them (if they were even interested).
It may well have the same mechanism as my (pictured) Monza GT but in the larger custom case, however the crown seems a bit large for that period of Rotary watches.
I expect it would need a service and general tidy-up after all this time.
Not sure what it would be worth but if you are thinking of selling, I may well be interested.
Sent through the ether by diddling with radio waves
Yes the Rotary brand is not owned anymore by the Dreyfuss family. Think they sold it back in 2014 I believe.
I don't think the crown is replacement, but there is nothing out there to compare it with. Everything is unique on this watch except the aftermarket bracelet. Case design is unique, dial is unique with the ''Chairman'' inscription, dial layout and hour batons are also unique.
The watch is also in top condition (exept for the crack in the glass) and probably not worn that much. So maybe very unlikely that the crown is a replacment. Other giveaway which tells the crown is original is, when you look at the crown area you can see that the crown is slighty recessed into the case , and that are is hollowed out large enough to accommodate the large size crown.
Regarding the movement. It has a automatic Adolph Schild movement with the caliber reference 1903 (AS 1903).
Yes the movement will probably need a service because of its age, but it still sounds and feels so crisp like if it was issued yesterday. You can really feel the gears echoing throughout the case when you manually wind the watch.
The watch case and dial are also crisp with unpolished lines, with some case areas with brushed design.
I'm also not sure what it would be worth these days, nothing out there to compare it with, and piece unique rotary watches don't really exist.
But I will defiantly keep you in mind if I'm thinking of selling,
or swapping.
Last edited by benbenny; 18th November 2021 at 19:07.
I just had a look at the Seiko H link. I think you could be right. It does look like a Seiko H link.
What do you think. Should I leave it like this or replace it with a leather strap?
The metal bracelet does look stretched and doesn't do the watch any favours. My Rotary was bought NOS about 15 years ago, it came with the original Rotary leather strap but it just fell to bits when I started to wear it. I replaced it with the black Di-Modell rallye strap you can see on my picture.
https://www.watchobsession.co.uk/pro...iant=337253991
Sent through the ether by diddling with radio waves
What an interesting story and a lovely watch.
Thank you for sharing all that.
I don't think I could sell that watch, but I'm sentimental. Whatever, it would be important to make sure that its story goes with it.
great story. i have a soft spot for older rotary watches, and although prices are rising there are still bargains out there. for a while this was my go to solid gold dress watch until usurped by a solid gold omega seamaster. should have kept it, it was a in stunning condition.
and it's replacement...
ktmog6uk
marchingontogether!
Hi all I thought i give you guys an update on the watch. Rotary checked their archives and couldn't find any other watch case or dial that is identical to this one. How cool is that
Last edited by benbenny; 22nd January 2022 at 20:35.
Nice story.
IMO The watch was gifted to you, and it was of sentimental value to the woman who gave it and her father as it was apparently gifted to him by Teddy Dreyfuss, so not particularly appropriate to profit from as per your "it definitely won't be cheap when I decide to sell it" comment on the initial post.
Feels a bit like breaking a line of generosity to make money which doesn't sit comfortably.
I would hope that when and if you decide to move it on it would be donated to Rotary.
I just listed this watch on ebay for whoever is interested. The item number is 354860527500
Rotary also wrote an article about this watch on their official website
https://rotarywatches.com/blogs/rotary-blog/discovered-unique-rotary-chairman-watch
Last edited by benbenny; 20th June 2023 at 15:37.
Someone who lies about the little things will lie about the big things too.
No picture of the crown on the listing (that I could find). No returns.
Was there a problem with the crown? Looks OK in the pics above?
EDIT: I count 4 pics of the crown
Last edited by Onelasttime; 21st June 2023 at 08:12.
I think a watch you have owned for ~30yrs is yours to do with as you wish. A donation would be a very generous gesture though.
I meant on the eBay listing this morning
EDIT specifically, this thread had mentioned the crown so I wondered if the eBay ad showed it. When i looked, it didn't.
He must have just been listing because he has a good spread of images now.
The crown looked OK to me but I'm no expert on period Rotary watches.
And I think the seller is genuine, just a little bit optimistic. £1500? It's a nice enough watch but, good luck with that.
I'm sure a generous donation to the fundraiser will be forthcoming from him when he gets his £1,500
Got to admire the pricing skills.I'm sure a generous donation to the fundraiser will be forthcoming from him when he gets his £1,500
Nature loves [to eat] a chancer!
It is a PIECE UNIQUE!Nature loves [to eat] a chancer!
I think it might get a tad more interest if it was owned by Teddy Ruxpin
Can’t see the attraction in the watch unless you are a die hard Rotary collector, I don’t think there are many of them in the world.
Last edited by Sinnlover; 21st June 2023 at 15:54.
Yes, the crown is now there. Fair play.
Just wondering since when we do sales posts in Watch Talk?
Taking advantage of the boss' poor health? Only the best....
Someone who lies about the little things will lie about the big things too.
Thx for noticing that there was no picture of the crown in the listing, I've added a picture of this. The crown is original to the watch and is a bit recessed into the case. This is actually a nice touch, it also functions as a safeguard for the crown, you don't see this so much on other rotary watches.
Regarding the price. Its so hard to put a value on a watch like this, you have the rarity and you have the provenance, considering these two factor, I think the price tag is fairly reasonable. Take for example a rotary aquaplung. These models were made in the thousands and there are plenty of them for sale and they are fetching £1000 - £1500 ish.
So for a rotary watch that is one of its kind and with a provenance, I guess £1500 is fair.
I'm open to any suggestions regarding price estimates for a watch like this. For how much would you guys sell it for if it was yours???
I'm also open to offers or a swap against a other watch?
There is a sub-forum for watch trades on this forum. It's not called Watch Talk.
Someone who lies about the little things will lie about the big things too.
The way I read it Rotary said there was no provenance, since there was no record of such a beast?
Heresay and a marketing blog entry do not cut threshold for me.
It could equally be a prototype that never made it to market - but that is equally not provenance.
"Bite my shiny metal ass."
- Bender Bending Rodrķguez
Is Eddie well enough for a glitch?
Dubious story at best, and a chancer linking from here.
You keep saying provenance... do you know what it means?
I hear its lovely there in summer?
I understand. It's not a Cartier or a Rolex but it's still one off a kind and the rotary brand has a good history with many collectors.
I've listed the watch on eBay in a no reserve auction starting at 0.99p. Let's see how much it will fetch. The item number is 354887226139 for the ones that are interested to see how much it will go for.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/354887226139
Might be worth doing a quick spelling/grammar check on the advert.
So youve gone from never selling it to listing it for 99p?
YOLO.
"Bite my shiny metal ass."
- Bender Bending Rodrķguez
I am watching benignly.
OP has a watch with an interesting history; he values it at considerably more than I would, and is in the process of selling it at auction. That is the best way of settling any argument as to its true worth.
I wish him well, may try a cheeky bid, and await the outcome with moderate interest.
I am sure there is a good eBay friend standing by to make sure it doesn't end a bargain for someone.
And then all that free publicity from breaking the forum rules by marketing it through Watch Talk.
Someone who lies about the little things will lie about the big things too.
There is that.
LOLZ.
No returns accepted because I will be travelling from next week and will not be home, so I can not receive or process a return, please keep this in mind.
Someone who lies about the little things will lie about the big things too.
Like he has a choice!
Bidding seems to be stuck around the fiftyone quid mark. There may be a flurry of activity at the end, maybe reach three figures?
Right now, a bid of £56.01 will win you the auction. Some bidders really are so stupid that they should be banned from using eBay for their own good.
Someone who lies about the little things will lie about the big things too.
So are you currently the highest bidder Ralf?
Pssst.
Someone who lies about the little things will lie about the big things too.
Teehee
Urgent call to Ralf, you've been outbid and may miss out on this once in a lifetime opportunity to own this unique and priceless piece of horological history! ;)
Lolz, people are really dumb as mud, aren't they? I was correct, the high bid was £56.
I can also tell you what the current high bid is: £59.
Someone who lies about the little things will lie about the big things too.
And it's not just a bit grubby - looking at the closeups, it's minging.
Some of herr Dreyfuss DNA is not to be missed by a collecter of fine horological history I would bet.
£77.00
I guess a lesson for us all
Expectations vs reality
oh.
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