Any thoughts on this Rolex 1016 auction?

[pk552502]

Hi All, this ebay auction caught my eye and I'm curious to get your thoughts. There is one lug where the lug hole is pretty close to the edge- but I think that may be normal for this model's case.

I think it has a Mk-1 frog foot dial and original hands based on the length of the minute hand. The listing says the crown is stuck when in the winding position which could be a problem but the watch is running when wound via automatically.

This one may go for above my budget but I do like these older 1016 models.

Any general thoughts or feedback welcome as I'm just diving into the details of the 1016.

you should be able to find this auction easily on Ebay. I included a couple photos.

[pk552502]

additional photos

[TimeLord2]

I am not entire familiar with the minutia that defines this reference and am not one of the experts but have seen many a vintage watch.

You nailed it on the lugs. Too thin IMHO with lug holes too close to the edge. Also between the lugs the leading edge of the lug profile is very soft. In other words, over polished, to inject an overused term. Still the watch is over 50 years old so not unexpected. The movement looks like it has sustained some water intrusion in the past and sat for a while. Given potential water intrusion, from a purely condition standpoint, the dial looks too perfect. It appears to be relumed/repainted to me given the non-uniform edges to the hash mark plots between the numbers. I know these were not perfect to begin with but the Lume plots do not have the mass and puffiness I have seen on other examples, nor much of a patina. Hands have a few cracks in the tritium. The images are crap to be honest and blown out. very hard to decern much of anything on the dial.

That's all I got. The experts will be along shortly…

Edit: given the wear from a bracelet above model number, I would expect to see some notches on the underside of the lugs too, which is not present.

[studioal]

That case is for too gone. The dial looks of a different era when compared to the case.

Without starting a new thread, this has gotten me thinking. Why is it that Rolex seems to the brand that sees the most polishing or over-polishing compared to other brands?

[MrBlobby]

It’s not the best case but at the same time I think it is something that will look when you are wearing it. I can’t just dismiss the case as no good.

Overal I’d say it looks okay. Just not the most exciting frog foot that is out there.

[MrBlobby]

I’d also like to see a photo of the dial in the watch. Is there one on the listing?

I don’t think these photos are doing it justice.

[MrLemon]

the auctionnis now over 10k, plus tax, plus missing a very expensive bracelet

[pk552502]

Here's a pic of the dial in the case. I agree with you guys that the case appears to be over polished- especially one lug in particular where the lug hole is bordering the top edge.

But I have to say, I think this model 1016 case has small lugs to begin with. I'm having trouble finding an example online with "fat" lugs.

This is how the seller describes the watch: "This watch has not been serviced - possibly ever. It runs, but the manual winding is completely dry. The overall condition is really beautiful and completely original. It has not been refinished or restored in any way and is truly a rare find."

I don't think I'll be bidding on this one- the bidding is already over $10K and the auction ends Sunday night. I'm curious to see where it goes though.

[Dan S]

Polished, but still an appealing watch overall IMO.

[rmagoo57]

my thought is to steer clear of auctions.

[offrdmania]

It will depend on the sale price. Lugs can be built up with laser welding and reshaping but the overall job will run a couple grand so the auction price will have to be right.

[XavierM]

I am not sure « over polished » would be appropriate here.
I think this case is quite close to how it left the factory, plus some serious wrist time.
Cases in the 60s were finished by hand and I doubt Rolex employees were using digital calipers to make sure each lug was perfectly equal to the other.

Pictures aren’t great to bet on this one but looks like an honest vintage watch that has not been manipulated to look like something it is not.
Wondering what happened to the caseback (inside)

[Toronto Soup King]

Lugs look like on my 1016, frankly. 10:00 and 2:00 similarly close to the edge, with 4 and 8 just like yours too. My watch didn't see a lot of servicing before I got it but who knows what happened with polishing in the fifty years between its manufacture and my purchase. Anyway it's just like OP's example

[TuRo]

Case looks totally fine to me, dial ok, but hr hand probably relumed given the unusual shaped edges/some overrun/heavy texture/darker hue and breakup near the Merc circle. Minute hand also possibly rather than probably relumed, with a weird beige colour on tip of minute hand!

[designer_wrench]

Following!

[Jaegodylan]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/375333356616

[pk552502]

I wonder who ended up buying that watch. I was thinking about putting in a bid in the high 10s but I decided against it. looks like it went a little bit higher than I thought. I think it was a nice example overall. I was a bit concerned that the crown wouldn't turn in the manual wind position- I wonder if that would be costly to fix.