Rolex

DrStrong
[Rolex Moderator]
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Ashes of Time

Why are some of us strangely attracted to vintage watches and especially vintage Rolex ? Maybe because we know that in the early days, these toolwatches were only worn by professionals in the kind of extreme situations that these watches were designed for ?

We imagine that our watch has an extraordinary history that makes it unique and its specific patina is the sign of its individuality.

The Submariner

Being often used on boats, beaches, in tropical countries, etc….diver’s watches were often more subject than others to moisture and heavy sun exposure. This has lead to some spectacular patinas on vintage Submariners !

Here’s a 1950’s James Bond ref. 5508 with a great tropical dial; the bezel has also faded to light grey… (Photo P. Stahl):

The same kind of color – but with a more even discoloration – is observed on this Big Crown ref. 6200: see how the radium of the hands is “burned”:

On this Red Submariner ref. 1680, the dial has turned to a brown color, with an amazing even tone.  The combo with the Nato strap is spectacular ! (Photo P. Stahl):

Another red 1680 with a darker dial color (Photo Ryan):

And a double red Sea Dweller ref. 1665 from the same owner, with a nice faded bezel inlay:

This Submariner ref. 5513 has little spots all over the dial… Is this a Stardust dial ? A Cosmos dial ? Any other fancy name for it ? (Photo Wilton)

And what about the brown color of the tritium on this 168000 ? Simply beautiful ! (Photo Wilton)

The GMT-Master

Some 1950’s and 1960’s GMT-Masters have probably been worn by pilots around the world in exotic countries and the scars from their adventurous lifes can be seen on their dials…..like on this ref. 6542 (Photo P. Stahl):

Here’s another example, with a lighter and more even dial patina (photo BJSOnline)

and an early 1960’s ref. 1675 with a tropical dial and a completely faded bezel:

See how the makings have turned to orange on this one (Photo nbtimes):

And finally the most spectacular…..what happened to the surface of this dial ?? Sun, moisture, oxidation ? (Photo A. Shear)

The Explorer

Explorers with a heavy patina are quire rare birds, as they were probably less exposed to water damage. Here a few scarce examples…

This ref.1016 with an underline has an amazing light brown dial (Photo Addict):

On this Freccione ref. 1655, the tritium of the indexes and hands has turned to a very unique yellow tone (Photo Premium Watch):

and on this one, the originally bright orange hand has completely faded to white (Photo A. Shear):

On this one also (Photo Wilton):

The Cosmograph

The Cosmographs are also subject to the dial color change phenomenon: here’s a pump pushers ref. 6239 where the black subdials have faded to light brown (Photo P. Stahl):

Here’s a ref. 6240 with prototype screw down pushers and a dial showing the same kind of patina:

Another one where the whole black dial itself has turned to brown (Photo O&M):

Here’s a ref. 6265 Fuerza Aerea del Peru with a beautiful dark brown color for the subdials (Photo bullibeer):

A little patina comparison between two tropical Cosmographs (Photo P. Stahl):

And another stunning duo:

And finally a firework of all the tropical Rolex sports models by P. Stahl:

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