A few questions about an 1803

[CBarclay]

Hello everyone!
I'm new here and new to high end watches in general. I was recently given an old 1803 with a 1967 serial # that has been in my family since new. It has been in a safe deposit box since 1977 and is not currently working. I have had it looked at by a Rolex certified watchmaker here in St. Louis to see what it would cost to get it working again. He says there is some corrosion inside the case which is why it is not working. He's asking $900+ to get it in good working order (work done in house by him).
So let the questions begin...
Does this cost seem reasonable? (I'm going by there today to ask a few more questions about what the work would entail so I hope to give an update later)
What questions should I ask him to confirm that he is qualified to do the work?
I'd like to get a second opinion but I'm not sure where to look and do not want to be taken advantage of.
Any thoughts in general?
Sorry for the vagueness of my first post but I'm just now learning about all this fascinating stuff!

Here are a few pictures (sorry for the poor quality):




Thanks!
Chris

[bulldog90]

Chris - $900 seems strong for a local day date redo unless there are known parts that must be replaced. Corrision seems unlikely to me since the face looks pristine. Sounds like a good cleaning is where I would start. How much do they want for the watch

[Eulogy]

Nice watch. If the guy is truly a certified watchmaker and he is willing to show his creds I'd be inclined to believe him. A basic RSC service is not much lower for routine service on a working watch.

[Vlad]

Some people would disagree, but a cal 1520 movement is actually a relatively simple movement to work on. I had many cal 15xx and cal 10xx serviced for $150 (basic COA).

Having said that, if ANY part needs to be be replaced - that's expensive (unless you have extra parts). If you want the case polished, that adds money (though not much money, and it's a bad idea to polish anyjhow). If you want the shop to be 'rolex' certified with the latest cleaning/timing/pressure testing equipment ($20K to $30K just for cleaner, timing machine, and a pressure tester) - you will be paying for it!

Gaskets are cheap. Oil is cheap. Labor is well determined. What you're paying for is: labor, equipment cost, 'insurance' (if the watchmaker breaks something, he will have to replace it), his other over head, and his profit.

Keep in mind - watchmakers charge $100 to change a Tag battery not because it's any more challenging than a Timex battery, but because if something breaks, they will have to replace a Tag not a Timex. 'insurance' is a huge part of the cost.

[crowncollection]

at that price you may as well send it to rolex, a day date service is about 900 dollars, i would ask him does he mean the movement is corroded because a 18k solid gold case and band may tarnish but does not really corrode in my experience.

[CBarclay]

Thanks guys. I talked with him further this afternoon and he showed me what he meant by 'corrosion'. From what I could tell, the movement is corroded and needs to be cleaned thoroughly for the watch to work again. No broken parts. We compared my watch with another and I could see what he means. I think I'm going to go ahead with the work. It's a lot of money to shell out but I feel that I can trust him.

[kooltzar]

I had a corroded 1570 movement fixed with some Rolex exchange parts (clutch wheel ,spring) and cleaned/oiled for 320 CHF (approx. 350 USD). Rolex would have done the same job for 900 CHF.

[CBarclay]

Hello everyone, I picked up the watch yesterday and am very impressed with the work that was done on it. It's keeping time properly and looks amazing. No parts replaced, just cleaned very well.
Now, for some more questions...I see references in other threads to Oyster Perpetual, Day Date, Superlative Chronometer, Officially Certified, etc. but I don't know what these things mean practically. Can someone give me some guidance on where to find a glossary of these terms? The amount of info that I come up with via the forum search function is a bit overwhelming.
Also, what's the difference between an older watch like this one and a more modern watch of the same model?

[CBarclay]

Posted a response earlier today but it didn't show up for some reason. In that post I stated that I got this watch back and it works and looks beautifully.
I also asked about some of the nomenclature and meaning of Rolex wordings (Day-Date, Oyster Perpetual, etc.) I was able to answer some of my own questions by digging deeper and giving it some more time.
I am curious, however, about what differentiates this watch from newer counterparts? When were the changes made? Or are Rolexes like Martin guitars with, sometimes at least, no traceable changes per year just random makers' choice sort of differences?

[crowncollection]

many things differentiate it from newer models, evolution of the movment from no quickset to single quickset and double quickset, the weight has steadily increased each model, change from plexi to sapphire crystal, flat dial instead of pan pie, clasp changes X 3 to name the major changes regards

[CBarclay]

That makes sense, thank you.

[gpfps]

When my dad had his DD serviced Rollex said movement was corroded that they will not fix it but replace the whole thing. He gave the ok what else could he do !

[Kingair]

Originally Posted by CBarclay

Posted a response earlier today but it didn't show up for some reason. In that post I stated that I got this watch back and it works and looks beautifully.
I also asked about some of the nomenclature and meaning of Rolex wordings (Day-Date, Oyster Perpetual, etc.) I was able to answer some of my own questions by digging deeper and giving it some more time.
I am curious, however, about what differentiates this watch from newer counterparts? When were the changes made? Or are Rolexes like Martin guitars with, sometimes at least, no traceable changes per year just random makers' choice sort of differences?

Try again !

Would love to see the pics

HAGOne

[CBarclay]

Okay, here's the result!

[imono]

Looks fantastic!
Can you take clear shots of the inside of the clasp?
Are there are numbers you see in the clasp?
Typically it would be like I/67 or II/67 or thereabouts.
I was looking at a 1965 DD with a concealed clasp and I was not sure it the band was original to the watch.
There was no indication of the year of manufacture on that band.

[Kingair]

Originally Posted by CBarclay

Okay, here's the result!

Really nice one . . .

Just a tip . . . put something between the bracelet and the back of your watch . . . gold is really soft and you'll get pretty soon some scratches if you keep putting your Day Date this way . . .

HAGOne

[CBarclay]

Imono,
Do these help?








If you need anything else, I'd be happy to try some different shots. Unfortunately I'm not much of a photographer and my camera is not the greatest but I'll do my best.

[CBarclay]

Originally Posted by Kingair

Really nice one . . .

Just a tip . . . put something between the bracelet and the back of your watch . . . gold is really soft and you'll get pretty soon some scratches if you keep putting your Day Date this way . . .

HAGOne

Thank you for the tip. I'll do that.

[imono]

Thank you for the pictures.
My previous 1976 DD has this clasp identical to yours.
See if you can find the numbers like that - 22/69 - meaning a production from 1969.
Yours could have a different set of numbers.

[tedscott3]

I have this same watch and my clasp said 11/70. I was always under the assumption from my serial that the watch dated to 1969. Is it possible the watch and bracelet and date to 2 different years?

[CBarclay]

I'll check and will get back to you tonight, imono.
Tedscott, good question - I wonder if that is possible? I have no clue.

[imono]

Originally Posted by tedscott3

I have this same watch and my clasp said 11/70. I was always under the assumption from my serial that the watch dated to 1969. Is it possible the watch and bracelet and date to 2 different years?

Yes it is normal. The numbering system is not an exact science.

[CBarclay]

Imono, thanks for the feedback. I am not able to get a good picture of the numbers on there but what it looks like to me is a 1 over a 65, 66 or 68. I honestly can't tell exactly what it is but I think it's a 68. Does that mean it's a 1968 band on a watch with a 1967 serial number?

[imono]

Originally Posted by CBarclay

Imono, thanks for the feedback. I am not able to get a good picture of the numbers on there but what it looks like to me is a 1 over a 65, 66 or 68. I honestly can't tell exactly what it is but I think it's a 68. Does that mean it's a 1968 band on a watch with a 1967 serial number?

Yes.
And your watch could be from 1968 or even 1969.

[CBarclay]

Makes sense. Thanks!