Is This An Authentic 1601?

[wesdaniel]

A friend of mine recently brought me this 1601 to look at and possibly buy. The bracelet is definitely a fake, but, he also brought what appears to be an authentic (though trashed) bracelet that goes with it.

On the 12:00 side, it's stamped REGISTERED DESIGN 1601 and has the serial number (2,000,000 series) on the 6:00 side. But, on both sides, the stamps are ground down to being almost illegible without a loupe - presumably from years of dirt and wear.

There are things that lead me to think that it's authentic:
* It's an automatic
* It keeps good time (despite its age and condition)
* I don't think that a 1601 non-quick-set would be a widely faked model and, even if it were in the past, I don't think it would have been of the quality this one seems to be


But also things that lead me to think it might not be:
* The printing on the dial looks off
* The date wheel numbers seem odd
* The engraving between the lugs seems to be shallow, but again, if this is a 1970'ish watch that wasn't well cared for (actually, was quite abused), I could see dirt getting in it and grinding it down.


Any opinions on authenticity? Thanks in advance!