1943 Oyster Perpetual

[NOPDK]

Would appreciate any input/knowledge on this piece.

Serial: 282xxx which would make it around 1943 production
On Swiss rivet stamped 1955

Story on watch. My grandfather was jeweler in Manhattan. Due to health issue he closed his shop in 1977. Stock was sold and some residual items remained with my uncle who I am currently visiting. He has a bag of some old jewelry pieces and a bag of some watches. Actual ziplock bag of watches. Anyway one of them is this piece. Watch has definitely been in drawer since 1977 and untouched.

There is case pitting on side with model designation. Rest of case looks good and serial visible. Alpha hands. Dial is nice shade of blue with waffle texture on it. There is cracking of dial and dial has a very shiny sheen. Dial surface is unlike any Rolex I've seen. It does not look like a gilt dial. Construction looks for lack of a better word cheap. If I didn't know history of piece and could confidently say it was untouched since 1977 I'd question if it were a knockoff.

Anybody with knowledge base on this model and any experience with blue dial variations I'd appreciate any education you can share. Can't imagine in the early 70's there was much of a market for forgeries of 40's OP's happening so would like opinions on legitimacy of dial. Educated opinions only please.

Bracelet is super crisp and has no stretch and coronet and rest of bracelet look unpolished to me. As I said 1955 date stamp so not original to watch.

[Dan S]

Serial numbers reset in the mid 1950s (https://www.rolexforums.com/showthread.php?t=54362), this watch is from about 1956. A photo of the inside of the case-back may confirm. The dial is repainted.

[NOPDK]

Originally Posted by Dan S

Serial numbers reset in the mid 1950s (https://www.rolexforums.com/showthread.php?t=54362), this watch is from about 1956. A photo of the inside of the case-back may confirm. The dial is repainted.

Thank you for input. 56 would match the date on the bracelet. Didn't realize Rolex reset the dates in 50's. Thanks for education on that. Too bad the dial is repainted. They did a marginal job at best. Case/bracelet are both pristine. Perhaps will look into sourcing a correct dial for it.

[R.W.T.]

It's gonna be a little later than that. 5504 has a 1530 movement at the very least and that wasn't available until the late 1957. If you open the case back it will have the date in it unless it has been replaced. This is a VERY early watch. Other watches at that time were still utilizing the 1030 series movement.

[NOPDK]

Originally Posted by R.W.T.

It's gonna be a little later than that. 5504 has a 1530 movement at the very least and that wasn't available until the late 1957. If you open the case back it will have the date in it unless it has been replaced. This is a VERY early watch. Other watches at that time were still utilizing the 1030 series movement.

Appreciate the info. Will work on sourcing a correct dial that is not refinished. Is the white waffle dial the only correct option or were there a range of dials available?

[R.W.T.]

Originally Posted by NOPDK

Appreciate the info. Will work on sourcing a correct dial that is not refinished. Is the white waffle dial the only correct option or were there a range of dials available?

Lots of dial options. Waffle is not mandatory. Period correct is better obviously so SWISS only at the bottom. These are hard dials to find these days..used to be much easier.