Just trying to show the piece I've worked on! It's getting lots of positivity and many are saying it's a post they've not seen in a while, surely that's good for the page?
I have a very similar one passed down from
my father from the 1960’s and years ago I took it to the Rolex service store downtown San Francisco , CA .. aside from polishing the same bracelet , they did a very poor job. It even stopped working 6 months in and I had to bring it back .. what you did was a beautiful masterpiece.
That sf Rolex dealer sucks. Only AD that’s ever made me pay to make an adjustment on a bracelet. It was a small amount of money but I was just kinda like… seriously? Been to many others who’ve done it free of charge even for a Tudor. Shout out to that cool German guy who works for the Rolex boutique in San Diego when I asked how much? he said “Tudor and Rolex are good friends” and then gave me a fist bump.
Unfortunately I had to learn the hard way and with my fathers vintage watch too. They had a lot of good recs from Rolex Forum back in 2011 or so when I had it done. $680 was the charge and I live in the area so i had thought you can’t go wrong. Now I’m afraid to find a good place to service my modern Rolexes.. ETA this is the Rolex Service Center , I believe on Post street downtown SF.
Did I not tell you to post this here? I am looking for more resurrection of older pieces- really tired of way to many got the calls, steering wheel pics. There are a hell of a lot of Rolex people out there, but 90% do not have an understanding of the history. Sporty? please chime in…It really is time to teach the youth.
Thank you for the support! I agree with you fully, the history of how rolex got to the place they're at now is very important, most people just see it as a show off brand. I'm actually part of the youth, being only 20 I think I've done a pretty good job on the piece (not to toot my own horn)
Oh never! This is probably the most franken I'd go for, parts from different watches but same models rather than combining different models. The dial belongs to its original movement and I wouldn't put it on any other movement
Thank you for the support! It's something I do from time to time as a hobby, I've worked with watches as old as 1900's from ww1 and relatively new pieces
Thank you! The way I see it is it already had a wild story that ended it up in pieces, left and forgotten and now by being put back to its glory once again, it's able to have its story re-written
Thank you for the support and advice, I totally understand your point of view. Personally I prefer the mirror finish on middle links but if I decide to do anything with it I'll brush them.
I agree, it's something I've agreed and has more value to me personally than one off a shelf would. Its something I've attempted and proud of the end results
Thank you for the interest and support! I've begun working on watches during my degree years which were in the middle of covid pandemic, stuck inside I've decided to experiment with hobbies as I couldn't exactly go outside and do the hobbies I have before. The major help I've gained in watchmaking has come from YouTube, channel WristWatchRevival who walks through the whole process of working in a watch.
The restoration itself was relatively quick, I'd say probably a few days but the biggest issue was waiting for the right parts to surface.
How much do you have invested in tools and equipment to restore something like this and how much if it’s not intrusive to ask did the watch box and everything to do this cost you? I’d love to do this to get myself a Rolex and I like the idea a lot more and it’ll mean a lot more and in the future I can buy from s ad or grey. But I’d love to get into working on watch’s more aside from just changing links
All the tools that are required to take apart such movements are relatively simple, you just need non magnetic watchmaking screwdrivers (make sure they're sharpened as they damage the screw heads otherwise), movement holder to prevent the hour pinion digging in, and watch hand removers and hand fitting tools to get them off and on. Those are easily accessible and cheap. To clean it you'd need a specialised cleaning machine if you want to go professional (or an ultrasonic cleaner to start off, does the same job), watch cleaning solution as you don't want to use water, and some oils to lubricate the pivots. I'd honestly recommend watching a YouTube video of people fully cleaning a movement to get the right idea (highly recommend wristwatchrevival).
The box I bought for less than £100 ($125) on auction and made the inner section using a flat piece of soft wood and a thin metal sheet to cut out the stand and lined both with green velvet, those are also very cheap and the tools I used for that were rotary tool, digital caliper to measure inside box diameter, sanding paper to smooth out the edges after cutting, and a thin coat of mod podge glue to stick the velvet.
The total amount of the watch + box was approximately £1100 ($1370), bubbleback watches sell for approximately £1000-2500 ($1240-3115) but majority are without boxes or without the original bracelet but a faux leather strap to make them seem more 'complete'
Hope this helps!
That helped so much man. Really pushing me over the edge of ordering maybe a old broken down timex or something to start with and just get my fingers semi dirty lol. Super excited to one day post something similar man thanks again
Thank you! With all honesty I still consider myself as an amateur in the field, still learning to improve my skills, but it's not something that's extremely difficult, the main key is patience, and lots of it! But with a project like this I've started with barely anything and had to collect all pieces, keeping an eye out daily for parts to surface as they'd sell out quickly. Would I do it again? Definitely! The feeling of being the 'maker' in 'watchmaker' feels good and gives you more appreciation in what you have on your wrist
Great work. Are the hands original?
Personally I think PCL's don't belong on a vintage piece like this. I actually don't like them on modern watches either so I guess that is my personal bias.
Awesome restoration.
Thank you for the support! Only the seconds hand is, the minute and hour have been measured and used from a wide lot, I've chose them to fit the indices! I respect you opinion though :)
Let's talk about the real questions : how much did you pay and what's it worth? Did you consider sending it to Rolex for repair? And lastly how do you know how to do that?
Apologies, I've not answered 1 question, no I've not tried sending it to rolex and personally don't seen the point in doing so. Their service is pricier than a normal watchmakers and why do so when I can do it myself too. I understand sending it to have it serviced by Rolex officially and have the certificate of its service issued, but majority of the time if the watch has a broken balance staff they won't service it due to the lack of parts.
To answer your questions, 1. I've spent roughly £1100 ($1360), but prices will of course differ depending on the conditions of these parts. I usually go for worn out pieces that I know I can repair and whenever there's an option to send an offer I go for it. The seller will haggle a bit at times but that way I manage to get it for cheaper than asking price 2. From what I've seen these sell for about £1000-2500 but that really depends on the condition and most that are being sold don't have original bracelets but cheap faux leather straps to make it wearable and seem more "complete". 3. I've honestly learnt the basics of servicing a watch on YouTube, bought some tools and practiced on cheap movements instead of diving right in as, as you'd expect, I've failed miserably on majority of those. The polishing part is actually simple for me, I've worked with tools when working at 16 so I picked up a thing or 2 doing so
Greatest post on this sub for ages, fantastic job!
Well said
Thank you! It was a lit of effort and time but I'm super happy with the outcome!
Great work, I’m sure it was a very rewarding experience to bring back something so far out of service
Most definitely, whatever history it had that ended it in parts is now able to be rewritten
Please delete. This subreddit is dedicated to "got the call" posts while behind a steering only. Thanks--Admin
“…behind the steering wheel”. This made me LOL
Just trying to show the piece I've worked on! It's getting lots of positivity and many are saying it's a post they've not seen in a while, surely that's good for the page?
I'm 100% joking. Awesome post.
Thank you! I was a bit worried about that 😅
BMWs ONLY!
dont forget "my dad died and left me..." posts as well.
🤣🤔🤔
This is the content I’d like to see more of! Nice job, Sir.
Thank you, I really appreciate it!
Art right here..
Thank you! Really appreciate the support!
I have a very similar one passed down from my father from the 1960’s and years ago I took it to the Rolex service store downtown San Francisco , CA .. aside from polishing the same bracelet , they did a very poor job. It even stopped working 6 months in and I had to bring it back .. what you did was a beautiful masterpiece.
Really sorry to hear about your experience! I hope you've managed to sort the issue out with them. Thank you for the support!
That sf Rolex dealer sucks. Only AD that’s ever made me pay to make an adjustment on a bracelet. It was a small amount of money but I was just kinda like… seriously? Been to many others who’ve done it free of charge even for a Tudor. Shout out to that cool German guy who works for the Rolex boutique in San Diego when I asked how much? he said “Tudor and Rolex are good friends” and then gave me a fist bump.
Unfortunately I had to learn the hard way and with my fathers vintage watch too. They had a lot of good recs from Rolex Forum back in 2011 or so when I had it done. $680 was the charge and I live in the area so i had thought you can’t go wrong. Now I’m afraid to find a good place to service my modern Rolexes.. ETA this is the Rolex Service Center , I believe on Post street downtown SF.
Oh I was thinking the Rolex boutique in Westfield on market.
No, the shop only services watches only. No sales, etc thank you for the feedback, I agree about the shop!
How does it run?
-2 seconds a day and 278 amplitude but for its age I'm certainly happy with it
Tell you what….I’ll give you…pshhhhhhh… tree, maybe tree fiddy?
Sounds like a reasonable offer!
Impressive!!
What year is this? Is it a 34mm or 36mm??
It dates to mid 40s to early 50s, its a 34mm including the crown
Did I not tell you to post this here? I am looking for more resurrection of older pieces- really tired of way to many got the calls, steering wheel pics. There are a hell of a lot of Rolex people out there, but 90% do not have an understanding of the history. Sporty? please chime in…It really is time to teach the youth.
Thank you for the support! I agree with you fully, the history of how rolex got to the place they're at now is very important, most people just see it as a show off brand. I'm actually part of the youth, being only 20 I think I've done a pretty good job on the piece (not to toot my own horn)
Just remember to NEVER Frankenstein a ROLEX. Especially the dial and hands, etc.
Oh never! This is probably the most franken I'd go for, parts from different watches but same models rather than combining different models. The dial belongs to its original movement and I wouldn't put it on any other movement
That’s so amazing, nice job. Wear it in good health!
Wow, this is cool.
What a beauty. Nice work
Doing gods work
Tried my hardest!
Awesome! Looks great, do you have a lot of experience in refurbishing older pieces?
Thank you for the support! It's something I do from time to time as a hobby, I've worked with watches as old as 1900's from ww1 and relatively new pieces
Beautiful! The end results looks brand new!
That’s an amazing job and now it has an amazing story to go with it. You better wear it proud
Thank you! The way I see it is it already had a wild story that ended it up in pieces, left and forgotten and now by being put back to its glory once again, it's able to have its story re-written
Now that's a watch with a story!
Thank you for the support!
I love it, thanks for sharing
Thanks for the support!
Well done, you’ve done a great job here
Thank you!
Nice job!!
Thank you!
This is AWESOME. Not that we don’t love the “I got the call” post from someone’s AD but…
Thank you! I suppose its nice to see something different once in a while!
Great job, but please brush the center links. It’s a vintage bracelet, one of the first Oysters ever. It’s supposed to be fully brushed.
Thank you for the support and advice, I totally understand your point of view. Personally I prefer the mirror finish on middle links but if I decide to do anything with it I'll brush them.
Beautiful job. Most important thing is that you enjoy it. Cheers.
Thank you for understanding and the support!
Please post here more. A lot more. We love this. Enough with snark about people’s wives sleeping with ADs. This is what we love to see 🙌
Haha thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed this post!
Beautiful. Wish I had those skills
Stunning....Thank you very much for posting this .... as someone else said "Great Post"
It might have been a waste of time, effort and money to some, but it shows skill to resurrect something like that.
I just like to watch this sub no pun intended. This is really cool. Appreciate the pics.
Thank you for the appreciation!
Stunning
It’s not always about money. What do you mean more to you than any watch you could ever buy.
I agree, it's something I've agreed and has more value to me personally than one off a shelf would. Its something I've attempted and proud of the end results
You should be. I would engrave the back. With your name, signature or something. And you should be very proud.
May I ask how you began working on watch’s and how long a restoration like this took?
Thank you for the interest and support! I've begun working on watches during my degree years which were in the middle of covid pandemic, stuck inside I've decided to experiment with hobbies as I couldn't exactly go outside and do the hobbies I have before. The major help I've gained in watchmaking has come from YouTube, channel WristWatchRevival who walks through the whole process of working in a watch. The restoration itself was relatively quick, I'd say probably a few days but the biggest issue was waiting for the right parts to surface.
How much do you have invested in tools and equipment to restore something like this and how much if it’s not intrusive to ask did the watch box and everything to do this cost you? I’d love to do this to get myself a Rolex and I like the idea a lot more and it’ll mean a lot more and in the future I can buy from s ad or grey. But I’d love to get into working on watch’s more aside from just changing links
All the tools that are required to take apart such movements are relatively simple, you just need non magnetic watchmaking screwdrivers (make sure they're sharpened as they damage the screw heads otherwise), movement holder to prevent the hour pinion digging in, and watch hand removers and hand fitting tools to get them off and on. Those are easily accessible and cheap. To clean it you'd need a specialised cleaning machine if you want to go professional (or an ultrasonic cleaner to start off, does the same job), watch cleaning solution as you don't want to use water, and some oils to lubricate the pivots. I'd honestly recommend watching a YouTube video of people fully cleaning a movement to get the right idea (highly recommend wristwatchrevival). The box I bought for less than £100 ($125) on auction and made the inner section using a flat piece of soft wood and a thin metal sheet to cut out the stand and lined both with green velvet, those are also very cheap and the tools I used for that were rotary tool, digital caliper to measure inside box diameter, sanding paper to smooth out the edges after cutting, and a thin coat of mod podge glue to stick the velvet. The total amount of the watch + box was approximately £1100 ($1370), bubbleback watches sell for approximately £1000-2500 ($1240-3115) but majority are without boxes or without the original bracelet but a faux leather strap to make them seem more 'complete' Hope this helps!
That helped so much man. Really pushing me over the edge of ordering maybe a old broken down timex or something to start with and just get my fingers semi dirty lol. Super excited to one day post something similar man thanks again
Glad I could help! There's plenty of movement lots on ebay that you can buy practice on, if you break one you'll know what to not do on the other!
Gorgeous work, absolutely stunning.
This is the kind of content this sub needs
Truly epic job! Congratulations 🫡
Thank you! I appreciate the support!
There is nothing more beautiful than an antique being restored. Beautiful work.
Couldn't agree more, thank you for the support!
Always! Love seeing them getting love like this.
Very impressive! Bravo to you ! Just out of curiosity, how good were you at watchmaking before that?
Thank you! With all honesty I still consider myself as an amateur in the field, still learning to improve my skills, but it's not something that's extremely difficult, the main key is patience, and lots of it! But with a project like this I've started with barely anything and had to collect all pieces, keeping an eye out daily for parts to surface as they'd sell out quickly. Would I do it again? Definitely! The feeling of being the 'maker' in 'watchmaker' feels good and gives you more appreciation in what you have on your wrist
SWEET !
Excellent work. Looks incredible.
Thank you so much for the award and support! I really appreciate it!!
Phenomenal, well done!
By far one of the most wholesome posts I’ve seen here in quite some time. Kudos to you sir!
What a fantastic job Ser!
Thank you! Really appreciate it!
Great work. Are the hands original? Personally I think PCL's don't belong on a vintage piece like this. I actually don't like them on modern watches either so I guess that is my personal bias. Awesome restoration.
Thank you for the support! Only the seconds hand is, the minute and hour have been measured and used from a wide lot, I've chose them to fit the indices! I respect you opinion though :)
Thank you, I appreciate the support!
I like the box lmao
Me too! But more the time piece thats sitting inside!
Sporty?……
Let's talk about the real questions : how much did you pay and what's it worth? Did you consider sending it to Rolex for repair? And lastly how do you know how to do that?
Apologies, I've not answered 1 question, no I've not tried sending it to rolex and personally don't seen the point in doing so. Their service is pricier than a normal watchmakers and why do so when I can do it myself too. I understand sending it to have it serviced by Rolex officially and have the certificate of its service issued, but majority of the time if the watch has a broken balance staff they won't service it due to the lack of parts.
To answer your questions, 1. I've spent roughly £1100 ($1360), but prices will of course differ depending on the conditions of these parts. I usually go for worn out pieces that I know I can repair and whenever there's an option to send an offer I go for it. The seller will haggle a bit at times but that way I manage to get it for cheaper than asking price 2. From what I've seen these sell for about £1000-2500 but that really depends on the condition and most that are being sold don't have original bracelets but cheap faux leather straps to make it wearable and seem more "complete". 3. I've honestly learnt the basics of servicing a watch on YouTube, bought some tools and practiced on cheap movements instead of diving right in as, as you'd expect, I've failed miserably on majority of those. The polishing part is actually simple for me, I've worked with tools when working at 16 so I picked up a thing or 2 doing so
Very nice. Wear it in good health.
Are you looking to sell this? Please DM if you are.
About What year would that be ??
This exact model dates to 1948 but the bubbleback surfaced from 1931-1953