Rolex genuine NOS leather straps?

[bonheur]

Hi everyone,

I recently came across some Rolex straps that might be very interesting.
Of course, they can be replicas, hopefully they are the real thing.

I found these in a local flea market and I got them for cheap.

They look like nato leather straps for ladies' watches.
The clasp is stamped, although the gold plated ones have different markings than the steel ones.
Also, all the straps have a JK mark.
They are 19cm in length without the clasp and 12mm in width.

Additionally, there were some Universal Geneve straps as well. This enforced a bit the idea that these things might be authentic, because Tiffany was an AD for UG in their good days.

And everything was in an old Tiffany box.

So what do you think? Are these things genuine or just some replicas? Thanks in advance.

Here they are:

[dhknola]

Great find, they look right to me, but I AM NOT AN EXPERT.

[swish77]

If those straps are authentic, surely you'd be able to find an example online with one mounted on a watch.

I'm not familiar with ladies' Rolexes, but I'd be very surprised if Rolex ever offered this option. It would seem very out of character.

[ratty]

I’ve never seen anything like that before.

[MorningTundra]

I believe these are for vintage, Rolex Orchid Charmeleon (ladies)... from the 1960'.

[swish77]

Originally Posted by MorningTundra

I believe these are for vintage, Rolex Orchid Charmeleon (ladies)... from the 1960'.

Wow, good work. Looks like those Rolex straps are legit. I'll be darned.

[MorningTundra]

We often forget that back in the day (the 1950s and 60s) a bracelet was sold as an expensive "upgrade" and (exotic) leather was the default. NOS vintage leather traps are quite the find...

[zapokee]

I doubt anybody would go to the trouble of faking these, although I have no knowledge of them.

I'd get those gold buckles tested by a jeweler. If they're real yellow/white gold, you can assume they're genuine. Somebody making a replica would be unlikely to use actual gold.

[zapokee]

Originally Posted by swish77

Wow, good work. Looks like those Rolex straps are legit. I'll be darned.

Hmm. That black strap in your pic has long holes, while the OP's have round ones...

[MorningTundra]

Originally Posted by zapokee

Hmm. That black strap in your pic has long holes, while the OP's have round ones...

Gotta remember they were made under contract for Rolex by goodness knows who. Similar to Hencho En Mexico etc... And who knows if the one in the pic is "authentic".

[bonheur]

Wow, thanks a lot for all the information, deeply appreciated.
I did not know until now about the Orchid Chameleon, so this model kind of explains the nato straps design.

Regarding the buckles, I looked more carefully on the internet to find out what the markings on them might be. For the Rolex ones I think the best option is to go to a jeweler and have them checked for real gold. There's just one with I/2012K mark, the rest just have ROLEX on them. Possibly to be just gold plated?

As for the UG ones, the I/2012KGF stands for 12 karat gold filled:
https://firstquarterfinance.com/is-1...orth-anything/
Gold-filled: May be marked 1/20 12K GF, indicating it contains 5% solid 12K gold; 1/5 12K GF, meaning it contains 20% solid 12K gold; or 1/10 12K GF, meaning that it contains 10% solid 12K gold

[bonheur]

Quick update: I did not go to the jeweler yet but I did manage to do a test with vinegar - there are multiple sources on the internet that say that this is a good method to test gold authenticity.
So after leaving the clasps in vinegar for 30 minutes I'm happy to report that they kept their color and did not turn green/black.
This doesn't necesarily mean that this is gold but it is a good sign.
Here are some photos after the vinegar bath and also a shot with one of the springbars.







image host

[motoikkyu]

Sometimes things are what they appear to be. This looks like someone's collection of straps for their Rolex Orchid, which makes sense, since the cool thing about the watch was that you could change straps for coordination with different clothing choices.

This is a cool find, I don't think it's supremely valuable, even if you have the Orchid watch to go with it, but an amazing snapshot of changing 20th Century fashions and attitudes. I congratulate you!