Please help a newbie!

[The donkey]

So, to begin, this is one of the best resources and most helpful communities I have ever seen for advice/guidance on new and vintage watches. I never wore a watch for 43 years of my life until I got my Hulk that my wife pushed me into, thankfully.

I have a March 2017 purchase date Rolex Hulk. I love the watch but (without going into much detail - my father decided he liked it as well and copied me. Now I rarely wear it).

I am looking for a birth year or close (1973) no date submariner or seadweller or Tudor snowflake/sub. The problem is that the learning curve is enormous for these vintage watches. This watch will be a watch that he can’t copy and will be mine with character, history, etc.

Do you have any guidance as to where to look, how to not overpay, choices of 5512 vs 5513, etc?

Thanks again for the help.

Wm

[offrdmania]

Its all going to come down to originality, completeness and condition on a vintage piece. Be sure to stick with the trusted sellers when looking for vintage. Check the classifieds here or take a look at HQ Milton, Craft and Tailored, Hodinkee, etc, etc and see if any jump out at you. These sites are a great starting point to narrow down your hunt. Once you find something you like, post it here and we can evaluate it for you.

[lhanddds]

Watch the HQ Milton website. They have a lot of choices. Check out the list of trusted sellers. You may pay a little more but you’ll have peace of mind.


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[lee fowler]

Originally Posted by lhanddds

Watch the HQ Milton website. They have a lot of choices. Check out the list of trusted sellers. You may pay a little more but you’ll have peace of mind.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Originally Posted by offrdmania

Its all going to come down to originality, completeness and condition on a vintage piece. Be sure to stick with the trusted sellers when looking for vintage. Check the classifieds here or take a look at HQ Milton, Craft and Tailored, Hodinkee, etc, etc and see if any jump out at you. These sites are a great starting point to narrow down your hunt. Once you find something you like, post it here and we can evaluate it for you.

[The donkey]

Thanks fellas. Great advice.

[sensui]

Yeah no 2 ways around it.....either you do your own research and hunt for the watch off the market (difficult and takes a lot of effort.....though one should research and know what they're buying in the first place) or you go through some of the regular vintage dealers and pay the "going" price. Best of luck and my only real advice to you would be to not be too locked down in a serial range looking for a specific year of manufacturing.....all the information out there are estimates pooled together by enthusiasts so it's not 100% accurate....I'd go with circa and be happy with that....buy condition and originality.

[ILuvSubs]

If you're on Instagram, it's worth following these trusted sellers (e.g., Andrew Shear, Eric Ku, Jacek Kozubek, etc.) as often these highly sought after Rolex / Tudor vintage sports watches are featured on their IG feeds and sold prior to making it onto their websites.

It's also worth letting them know what you're looking for and they may give you a heads up if something that you're after is coming in. Best of luck!

It's pretty cool owning a watch that is as old as you are