[MuchMoore]

I appreciate the kind words and warm welcome to the forum! I will be sure to post a couple more photos shortly.

Originally Posted by Jackie Daytona

Awesome story and awesome watch to go with it. Thanks for sharing. That was an enjoyable read

Originally Posted by jedione65

That’s an awesome story. The best part was when the jeweler offered you $700-1500 to sell it. That was a quick chuckle.

I would not worry so much about the box etc but a proper bracelet may make the watch wear better even if not period correct.

From what I'm gathering after much reading here and a bit on reddit - vintage watch enthusiasts overall have more tolerance and allow additional latitude when it comes to whether a watch is "correct" when it comes to missing box/paperwork and slightly mismatched bracelet date codes?

It also seems that the same flexibility does not extend to watches which have been overhauled with aesthetic service parts as they tend to reduce or remove the piece's character?

Originally Posted by 996marty

Great story and watch. I’d replace the bracelet and leave it at that

Much appreciated - I am on the hunt almost daily and would love any recommendations you have for good sources!

Originally Posted by BigBlue1

Too funny at the offer. There is a sucker born everyday but it isn’t you. Crazy. But wow, a beautiful looking watch. Love the story. Absolutely a keeper. Thank for sharing your story.

Haha thank you!

Originally Posted by joli160

Nice story, beautiful watch.

I’d keep the jubilee bracelet on it. It was common at the time that you could get any bracelet you wanted on it and it was your dad’s.
Perhaps have the bracelet restored

I've seen a couple examples on eBay with jubilee bracelets which has put my mind at ease a little more - although I still feel like the watch looks more proper with the oyster though, we shall see.

An ignorant question...the bracelet has a significant amount of stretch, is that something that can be remedied through restoration, or is that only a cosmetic process?

Originally Posted by dbhak22

Wow, a great read! Thanks so much for sharing. We have a saying in the watch community: Every watch has a story. Your watch certainly has a good one!

I'm so glad you're here posting this when so many things could have gone wrong along the way...discarding the watch thinking it's a fake, having it serviced and all the original parts being replaced, selling to that jeweler for an insulting sum, etc...

Again, thanks for sharing and enjoy that beautiful watch!

You are more than welcome and thank you for reading/stopping in! I'm relieved to have discovered it and dodged all the pitfalls along the way - it's nice to have unravelled the mystery.

Originally Posted by winst

Disgusting,what that local jeweller tried offering you. If it wasn’t the Manager who made the offer I would go back and ask to speak to the Manager and ask if his store regularly tries to rip people off.

They are "the" established jeweler in my area with a decent sized inventory of used/vintage Rolex watches which means they are well aware of values. I suspect they fish for steals or that type of offer opens negotiations extraordinarily low to their benefit. I will be spreading the bad word about them to friends and colleagues.