New to site/just received late Grandfather's Rolex

[wolfenhowie]

Hello everyone,
I am new to the site and have just received my Grandfather's 1979 18K Gold Oyster Day/Date President watch. I have a couple of questions:

1. The user guide is in German, I believe. How do I set the date? I do not want to fool with it without knowing what I am doing. Granted, any other watch I would, but, of course this is a Rolex

2. The watch is in pristine condition and I have seen on some sites what this watch goes for. I have been told that new, the watch was over 20,000.00.
What designates a Rolex a "President"? This watch has no diamonds, just solid gold. The serial number dictates it was manufactured in 1979. I t has the brown leather case, the user guide, and certificate of authenticity. The only thing it does not have is the red tag.

Thanks for your input and I hope someone can tell me how to set the date. By the way-the watch is NOT for sale.

[Rockrolex]

Welcome to TRF, Wolfenhowie (that's rather a long moniker - any way we can shorten it - either Wolf, or Howie, or something else - otherwise it's too much to type ). Hope you enjoy your stay here and feel free to chime in on just about any subject.

As for the DD President, you have a great watch there. I've got one that's not quite the same vintage but reasonably old. What makes it a President is the design of the bracelet. President bracelets differ in design from Oyster bracelets and Jubliee bracelets. The differences between the President and the Oyster are somewhat subtle, but if you study them you can easily see the differences.

You probably have a single quick set. That means you can set the date separately from the time and day. The crown has three positions. The outermost position sets the time and the day. This position has a hacking function. That means the second hand will stop until you push the crown in one notch. You have to go through 24 hours to change the day. The next innermost position will set the date without setting the time. You turn the crown (I forget whether it's clockwise or counterclockwise - if it dosn't change the date one way, turn the crown the other way to change the date). The next inner position is a winding position. If you need to wind the watch use this position and give the crown about 30-40 turns for a full wind.

Good luck with your DD. Wear it well and enjoy it.

[Uncle-AJ]

Hello wolfenhowie and welcome to our gang of nut cases. I hope you stay around and make this a regular stop off.

[Seadweller]

Welcome wolfenhowie I hope you enjoy posting here and get the info you require. I will leave the watch advice to the real experts on here.
Goodluck and thanks for dropping in.

Craig.

[JJ Irani]

Hi Wolf,

Congrats on a superb acquisition and inheritance. Wish my grandfather had left me something like that!!

Anyway, a big welcome to this forum. Please feel absolutely free to ask any and every kind of question you wish. We are here to help.

Cheers - JJ

[padi56]

Hi Wolf nice watch welcome to TRF,just a little tip never try and change
the date between 8pm--2am with crown winder.

[JJ Irani]

Originally Posted by padi56

Hi Wolf nice watch welcome to TRF,just a little tip never try and change
the date between 8pm--2am with crown winder.

I'm sure Wolfie would have more interesting things to do between the hours of 8 pm and 2 am other than fiddling with his crown!!

[Rockrolex]

Originally Posted by padi56

Hi Wolf nice watch welcome to TRF,just a little tip never try and change
the date between 8pm--2am with crown winder.

The way to deal with that problem is to temporarily reset the time to, say, 6 AM, then reset the date, and then reset the time correctly.

Originally Posted by Rockrolex

The way to deal with that problem is to temporarily reset the time to, say, 6 AM, then reset the date, and then reset the time correctly.

LOL... WnH, if you're wondering what that's all about, you can actually damage the ebauche by changing the date too close to midnight. You see, the mechanism that changes the date wheel builds up energy all day long, so when the date changes, it happens instantaneously, unlike quartz watches that gradually change the date over a period of a few hours.

[Goodwatch]

Originally Posted by JJ Irani

Please feel absolutely free to ask any and every kind of question you wish. We are here to help.

Cheers - JJ

Can I have your YM then?


Take care,

Frans.

[Goodwatch]

Originally Posted by wolfenhowie

Hello everyone,
I am new to the site and have just received my Grandfather's 1979 18K Gold Oyster Day/Date President watch. I have a couple of questions:

Hi and welcome. Please don't pay any attention whatsoever to these other goofballs, I'm the only sane one around here. These guys will testify to that.



Take care,


Frans.

[Rockrolex]

Originally Posted by Goodwatch

Hi and welcome. Please don't pay any attention whatsoever to these other goofballs, I'm the only sane one around here. These guys will testify to that.



Take care,


Frans.

Now that's the funniest thing I've heard today.

And who do you expect will testify for you?

[padi56]

Originally Posted by Goodwatch

Hi and welcome. Please don't pay any attention whatsoever to these other goofballs, I'm the only sane one around here. These guys will testify to that.



Take care,


Frans.

Would that be one ball or two Frans.

Originally Posted by Rockrolex

Now that's the funniest thing I've heard today.

And who do you expect will testify for you?

JJ will easily testify for Frans. But don't judge us here by the company we keep.

[Goodwatch]

Originally Posted by Rockrolex

Now that's the funniest thing I've heard today.

And who do you expect will testify for you?

Now I must admit this is a wee bit disappointing. C’mon guys, you’ve had your laugh, now bail me out. JJ, Atomic, Padi, dMan, Uncle-AJ? (Sounds of slamming doors and squealing car tires in the background). C’mon, don’t leave me here, ‘cos now those men come and bring me back to my room


Frans.

[JJ Irani]

Originally Posted by Goodwatch

Now I must admit this is a wee bit disappointing. C’mon guys, you’ve had your laugh, now bail me out. JJ, Atomic, Padi, dMan, Uncle-AJ? (Sounds of slamming doors and squealing car tires in the back ground). C’mon, don’t leave me here, ‘cos now those men come and bring me back to my room


Frans.

You do have a sense of humour, Frans!!