Opinions on an Meters First 5513

[mrj115]

Hi All -

I'm getting close to pulling the trigger on an eBay meters first 5513. The serial number (1.45M) puts it in 1966 which aligns with the case stamp (III.66) but this is a little earlier than Beaumont Miller suggests for the transition away from gilt. Obviously it is missing a bracelet and the original bezel insert but the dial looks clean and the hands appear to match. The case appears to have been polished but there are still has some bevel to it. What are your thoughts?

[HarryLime]

Looks like a shitty relume job.

[1675-David]

Rolex stopped using the butterfly rotor in the early 60’s, most agree 62-63 ish...

[mrj115]

Thanks for the insights. Glad I passed on this one.

[mrj115]

I had some additional conversation with the seller re: the relume and he provided the following pictures and contends that because it's not glowing it couldn't have been relumed. Could the smaller circles be the original thin layer of tritium for this early? A relume so old it lost the glow? Some other sort of sealant?

[HarryLime]

Originally Posted by mrj115

I had some additional conversation with the seller re: the relume and he provided the following pictures and contends that because it's not glowing it couldn't have been relumed. Could the smaller circles be the original thin layer of tritium for this early? A relume so old it lost the glow? Some other sort of sealant?

Bullshit. Any decent watchmaker who offers reluming, can give you the choice of whether or not you want the relume to glow.

Here's the list of services from Everest Watchworks:

Swiss Super-LumNova™
USA Noctilumina™
SuperLuminova™ Guide
Non-glow Lume
Radium color
Tritium color
Different textures

[Rolexator]

Hey there,

apart from the relume on dial and hands and the newer bezel insert the writing on the dial is not genuine. The letters and numbers are not correct for a meters first dial.