Shoebox DateJust

[watchnoob307]

Hello all,

I recently bought this old Datejust on a whim at an estate sale and wanted to see if I could get outside opinions on it since I know almost nothing about old Rolexes. From a quick scrub through google, the movement, engraved serial number, and reference number all match up and the bracelet’s year code seems to be reasonably close to the watch’s year of manufacture. But I’m not sure if there are good fakes of vintage watches floating around or if there are any red flags. I have some pics of it with the caseback off thanks to a local jeweler.

There are also two potential problems with the watch:
- Hands are replacements. They still glow
- Dial doesn’t seem to match any reference I can find. Silver with gold crown and weird lume blots

Anyways if it’s real, it definitely needs a service since it currently runs at about +45s/day and the crystal is cracked.

[thesharkfactor]

Looks good to me.

[tifosi]

Looks good to me. I've seen that dial before. No issues.

[HERITAGE82]

Great looking watch!

[Bryan81]

Looks good. Hopefully you got a good deal on it at the estate sale!

[watchnoob307]

Originally Posted by Bryan81

Looks good. Hopefully you got a good deal on it at the estate sale!

I got it for just under a grand which was why I was initially very suspicious

[HogwldFLTR]

Cool watch! Congrats!

[Lightsped]

That's a nice one and an awesome price! Have a similar one from the late 80s (I believe) but mine has the machine bezel (I think that is what its called).

[Jack T]

I don’t know anything about how to authenticate a Rolex, but it looks nice, decent shape. And I’ve heard, read about those T Swiss made T dials, but don’t know much about them, other than the were in use a while back.

How old do you recon? I’ve seen those YouTube videos where a watchmaker deconstructs an old watch, runs everything through a cleaning process, reassembles it and voila! Like new beauty.
Yours may not that old or neglected, but a full service will do wonders. Nice find.

[dhknola]

I would have spent a grand on that in a second; great score!

[peptide45]

Nice pickup. Has some character to it already. Agree that a service would be a good idea.

[kegan]

What a great find!

[Little machines]

Nice pick up !

[TimeLord2]

Great pick up! And a great price too. Look at this link for a 16014 Datejust review. https://www.bobswatches.com/rolex-bl...ing-guide.html

[Dufresne]

Originally Posted by watchnoob307

I got it for just under a grand which was why I was initially very suspicious

What!!!! Holy cow. If genuine, what a find!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Calatrava r]

Originally Posted by Lightsped

That's a nice one and an awesome price! Have a similar one from the late 80s (I believe) but mine has the machine bezel (I think that is what its called).

I think it was "engine turned." Whatever, they are really neat.

[Kevin of Larchmont]

Good score. I take it to a local independent and get it serviced and just run it as a beater. You can’t lose money on that watch.

[csaltphoto]

Looks good and you did OK. It's not a highly collectable model but it's cool vintage and all Rolexes are special. Basically any running Rolex is worth at least 3K.

[EndlessEight]

That crystal is wild.

[Watchsprings]

Looks like a great deal to me!

[Dawgprint]

Nice!