What lies beneath - DRSD incoming

[interestedwatcher]

I was on Gumtree (equivalent of Craigslist), when an alert came up - a Rolex had been listed near by - a claimed Rolex 1665 DRSD Mk II.

The pictures (I didn't save them sorry) were taken in bad lighting, and you couldn't tell much from them, you could barely even see the red writing, but it was enough to get me interested.

I messaged the seller, and we had a good conversation - he is the grandson of the original owner, who passed away, and he doesn't particularly like watches, so I said I'd like to come out and have a look. He was at his cricket club, watching Australia Vs India, and he said to come on down.

I grabbed my watchmaker, and we headed out.



First impressions - it looked rough, but under the façade I was fairly sure a nice watch existed.

The owner told me about his grandfather, a fisherman by trade who wore the watch almost daily, until he passed away recently, since then the watch had been stuffed into a drawer, eventually he decided to do some research, and he was shocked by how much the watch was worth, and decided to sell it.



I could barely make the dial out underneath the dome, I suspected it was a mk3 based on the crown, but you couldn't really see any detail on the dial, having said that no obvious damage was detected on the first sweep.

Under the blue light the dial reacted as you would expect.

I then started inspecting the rest of the watch, serial is the mid to late 3.X million, the bezel is the original thick DRSD one, and the case back correct. Band was an aftermarket cheapy.

I opened the case back, and was pleasantly surprised to find a serial in the back, that matched the case, movement was a nice 1570 with no rust or evidence of water ingress.

My watchmaker removed the movement, dial was in excellent condition underneath it all, the crown on the dial and the positioning of the wording told me it is a MK3.

I purchased the watch,

I have a spare superdome in my parts bin, but I decided to try and save the current crystal - reading online that metal polish and a cloth works (and if that doesn't, sand paper), I went to the hardware store and bought supplies.

I applied a metal polish to the cloth, taped off the watch and removed the bezel, then placed the watch face down and moved it in a circular motion for about ten minutes


After-





Still some scratches left on the crystal (I'm sure I could keep going and get them all out), but gee it's an improvement. So before replacing a crystal, give some thought to giving it a polish up.

I'm now chasing a 9315 and MK3 insert.

[Sublovin]

Thanks for sharing. It’s interesting that someone who knows nothing would advertise it as a DRSD mk II. Thanks for sharing.

[interestedwatcher]

Originally Posted by Sublovin

Thanks for sharing. It’s interesting that someone who knows nothing would advertise it as a DRSD mk II. Thanks for sharing.

He works at a well known Australian auction house, and had it valued by one of the people they use for jewellery.

[Sublovin]

Originally Posted by interestedwatcher

He works at a well known Australian auction house, and had it valued by one of the people they use for jewellery.

Gotcha. And they were wrong...
So I guess it wasn’t the deal of a lifetime. Thought this was a estate drawer find. Thanks again


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[interestedwatcher]

Originally Posted by Sublovin

Gotcha. And they were wrong...
So I guess it wasn’t the deal of a lifetime. Thought this was a estate drawer find. Thanks again


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yes, they were wrong, or maybe he missed off an I in the description for the add - I don't know.



I picked it up for a price that was fair to both parties, I'm happy with what I paid.

[swaini3]

Woooow. Congratulations. What a find. Nice patina and personally I like that the hands look like that...... Have the grandson search in the house. May find a box and papers..... you never know

[1665fan]

Maybe it was advertised as mark2 because they are much more rare and expensive than the mark3......and then act like it was a mistake lol.....if I paid mark2 prices I would be mad....

[interestedwatcher]

Originally Posted by 1665fan

Maybe it was advertised as mark2 because they are much more rare and expensive than the mark3......and then act like it was a mistake lol.....if I paid mark2 prices I would be mad....

Jeez you lot are a hard bunch aren't you.

I didn't pay MK2 money, and I'm very happy with the price I got it for.

[brandrea]

Very nice, congratulations

Good that you have a watch maker at your disposal to assess the watch.

[stmoore]

Wonderful find. Congratulations.
One day please please please replace that ghastly aftermarket insert and pearl.

[interestedwatcher]

Originally Posted by stmoore

Wonderful find. Congratulations.
One day please please please replace that ghastly aftermarket insert and pearl.

Already done, it currently has a service insert in there - hence me looking for a MK3.

[1665fan]

Originally Posted by interestedwatcher

Jeez you lot are a hard bunch aren't you.

I didn't pay MK2 money, and I'm very happy with the price I got it for.

I just think it’s funny how dealers claim to know the mark and it’s not hard to find out the correct and they still get it wrong.....funny he didn’t say it was a mark4 lol.....then price would be lower......it’s a great watch just tired of the lies or uneducated in this game......

[interestedwatcher]

Originally Posted by 1665fan

I just think it’s funny how dealers claim to know the mark and it’s not hard to find out the correct and they still get it wrong.....funny he didn’t say it was a mark4 lol.....then price would be lower......it’s a great watch just tired of the lies or uneducated in this game......

That makes sense, I thought you were insinuating that I was taken for a sucker.

[swish77]

Wonderful story! Congrats! Would be curious to know how much you paid, other than "fair," but I understand you might not want to reveal that.

Please post some close-ups of the dial. As a fellow DRSD MK3 owner, I love seeing them, especially when they're raw like that.

[1665fan]

Originally Posted by interestedwatcher

That makes sense, I thought you were insinuating that I was taken for a sucker.

Not at all just calling the dealer shiesty and dishonest.....nothing new these days

[FTX I]

Love this post. Huge congrats brother.

[1675-David]

Great pick up, very well done

[swish77]

Originally Posted by 1665fan

Not at all just calling the dealer shiesty and dishonest.....nothing new these days

Maybe the seller just made a mistake. It happens. Not everyone is a crook.

[btinl]

Wow, nice pick up!

[narembeen]

Very nice pick up!

[JustinK]

Nice, congrats!

It might have been listed wrong as you could not clearly see the dial through the crystal.

[Dan S]

Big congrats!

[TheVTCGuy]

Congrats, and if it was advertised as a Mk II, V, 39 or 112, if it is something you wanted and YOU are comfortable with the price you paid, then nothing else matters.

[Eric88]

Awesome story and great looking DRSD! I'm amazed at the crystal transformation.

[narembeen]

Gumtree is pretty much a bin, so to find this is amazing. Well done!

[BigBlue1]

Wow. It looks amazing. Well done I say. Thanks for sharing the story.

[emersm]

Congratulations on that beauty!

[drockadam]

Love stories like this! Huge congrats

[Andad]

Well done.

To find one of these locally in Oz is amazing.

As for the description there have been much bigger genuine errors make by much smarter watch sellers in he past.

Enjoy your new acquisition.

[00Seven]

Sweet. Nice find!