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1 December 2019, 09:20 PM | #31 |
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Let us not forget that the rich Arab market (royalty, etc...) routinely gets custom items from basically any manufacturer as a matter of regular business. Cars, watches, jewelry, you name it.
Depending on how pedantic you get with the letter, I’d say that it doesn’t rule out this kind of thing. Also, I would not expect Rolex to divulge anything regarding the origins of a piece tied to a royal family or government to a new owner... Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk |
1 December 2019, 11:54 PM | #32 |
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The title of the post is misleading.
Nowhere does the letter state that these all-blue inserts are fake. It just says GMTs were never produced with them, which ties in with the common notion that they are service parts. I don't have a dog in this fight either way, but this letter doesn't stand up as conclusive evidence for the OP's assertion. As you were. |
1 December 2019, 11:57 PM | #33 | |
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Why make an all blue service insert if the 70’s 1675 should have a blro or a ln insert? XELOR Verzonden vanaf mijn iPad met Tapatalk |
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2 December 2019, 12:31 AM | #34 | |
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I don't even like these blue inserts. I don't have one. I don't plan to buy one. I'm just saying I haven't seen any evidence that proves they're not genuine *service* parts (as opposed to being originally provided on a new watch). |
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2 December 2019, 12:35 AM | #35 |
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2 December 2019, 12:42 AM | #36 | |
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If that’s the case why the blue insert never showed up in Rolex Parts catalogue? XELOR Verzonden vanaf mijn iPad met Tapatalk |
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2 December 2019, 12:46 AM | #37 |
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I doubt very much that Rolex ordered their fabrication contractor to produce solid blue GMT inserts for general production purposes. And my opinion extends to the concept of a service insert - no need for stocking blue inserts if they were never in general release.
Had either of those moves occurred in real life (vs. mythology) then we would have seen many more properly documented contemporaneous 1675 Blueberries in the wild. I suppose it is possible the fabrication contractor could have produced blue inserts for Rolex to use for a prototype release or special client request. But if that was true, then a supposedly original Blueberry could be presented to the RSC and they would service it without exception (because the s/n’s build data would reflect such a thing). Short of a set of RSC service papers with a description such as LB or Blue insert as evidence, anyone paying the uplifted price for a Blueberry is likely wasting money. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
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2 December 2019, 12:51 AM | #38 | |
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2 December 2019, 12:52 AM | #39 |
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2 December 2019, 02:31 AM | #40 | |
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All blue GMT fake
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I was always under the impression that these were commissioned for Arab nations - air forces, etc... The dial on the pictured watch certainly places this example in that region (UAE). It’s also very interesting to note that there are quite a number of UAE 1675 examples with blueberry inserts. That’s a strange thing to just happen collectively with all the owners. I would expect Rolex to be silent regarding this and unless you were the original buyer (said prince/government) they’d probably send a letter like this one. Also, if the origin is in fact a special commission for UAE, it would suggest that perhaps the examples without UAE crests are the ones that are suspect (unless they received sterile service replacement dials). Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk |
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2 December 2019, 02:52 AM | #41 | |
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If people like the look, and want to pay $15k for a service insert, that's totally fine. And obviously I don't blame dealers for selling desirable watches. But with all that is known about this reference, it's simply not credible to continue to insist that watches were originally produced this way. And IMO unsupported stories about Arab military-issued watches are just that ... stories. I would say that people should produce some evidence or stop telling the stories.
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2 December 2019, 03:08 AM | #42 | |
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As mentioned, the burden falls on proving them original. |
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2 December 2019, 03:43 AM | #43 | |
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2 December 2019, 04:04 AM | #44 | |
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Where is the proof that these things even existed prior to a few years ago? Why all of a sudden are these watches popping up? If they would have been available, we would have seen them and known about this for a long time already. The fact that there is no history with these watches and inserts gives me great caution. To the OP's letter. The reason Rolex stated that "To the best of our knowledge" it seems that photos were sent into them for authentication. Send the watch in with the insert to get a 100% no, it's not authentic or no, it's only a service insert. There are dealers out there, that have plenty of cash, to send one to Rolex for authentication. Do it already. |
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2 December 2019, 04:09 AM | #45 | |
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2 December 2019, 04:26 AM | #46 | |
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Lee - were those RSC papers? I’ll bet the next post after your answer (if that answer is yes) will likely say RSC papers are easier to fake than warranty paperwork. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
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2 December 2019, 04:30 AM | #47 |
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I think some people are over thinking this. Rolex don’t give a shit about vintage and they do not have a clue. At least not everyone working for Rolex. Just look at their 6241 post on IG. That watch is all wrong and still they market it. I wouldn’t put too much value what customer service, PR and marketing people say about nerdy details on 40-50 year old watches.
These are just as questionable today as they were ten years ago. Some like them, some don’t...
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2 December 2019, 04:34 AM | #48 |
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Wow..
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2 December 2019, 04:45 AM | #49 |
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Yes they were RSC papers/letter and it is Arthur Bonds watch.
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2 December 2019, 04:45 AM | #50 |
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I don’t have a dog in this fight, but did a quick search and found this example among many sold by said dealer with a solid rep. All are missing a specific UAE insignia and this one has papers, so was the insert legit or not and the service center had no comment, who knows? Personally put this in the 16520 Patrizzi dial bucket and wouldn’t pay a premium as a collector for either model.
https://www.hqmilton.com/timepieces/...nd-papers-7781 |
2 December 2019, 04:50 AM | #51 |
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Doesn’t really mean anything either. Concensus is pretty clear that the UAE watches originally came with pepsis. Service people just fills out the forms.
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2 December 2019, 04:50 AM | #52 | |
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I.e. it was not original to the watch... |
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2 December 2019, 05:04 AM | #53 |
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2 December 2019, 05:20 AM | #54 |
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Throw in the mysterious all red GMT hand to the bucket of things I’m not interested in paying a premium for as well...
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2 December 2019, 05:31 AM | #55 |
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I think there are Blue ones of those as well!!
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2 December 2019, 05:38 AM | #56 | |
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2 December 2019, 05:39 AM | #57 |
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Show us Lee
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2 December 2019, 05:42 AM | #58 |
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2 December 2019, 05:48 AM | #59 | |
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Rolex chooses to be silent about a lot of things so as much as your logic seems sound, it’s not unassailable. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk |
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2 December 2019, 05:54 AM | #60 |
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It seems that the Instagram post about the Blueberry-inserts is gone. Maybe the owner of the letter or Rolex themselves didn't want it to be posted?
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