Find of the Month: Rolex Standard Official Service Watch
It certainly has been the greatest week, watch-collecting-wise. First there was the the fancy 14k watch. Then the hypnotic Ernest Borel Cocktail Watch. On Friday, I picked up an old gold pocket watch chain in a bag of broken jewellery from the VV (more on the later). Who could expect anymore watch action?
But today I went to visit my friend Jane in Hamilton. We went to a funny little shop called Olive’s Oddments that had lots of antique art pottery as well as non-vintage tchochkes. They also had a bag of old ladies wrist watches for $10. In that bag was this:
It’s a Rolex Standard, aka a “Canadian Rolex.” Its lady-sized and looks pretty much like the one pictured in the ad above. Click on the picture above to view it in its full glory. Check out the 24-hour military dials, lume and painted red second hand (‘tho most of the lume and red paint has crumbled away). A lot of these watches were sold to soldiers departing for active service in Europe during World War II.
Of course, this watch is not working. I’ve never been one to get all excited about Rolexes, but this one is so horologically interesting on account of the military tie-in and the Canadian connection that I couldn’t resist. But getting it working again could cost an arm and a leg. On the other hand, once you factor in the other watches in the bag, this watch cost me $1.
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I have recently come across what I believe to be a vintage, perhaps 1940’s or earlier, Ladies Standard Bracelet Watch. Inside on the back of the working part of the watch it says Swiss Made and 17 Rubies. There is no second hand on the watch, and it is only 12 hour, not a military 24 hour clock. Inside the case, the working part of the watch has both silver and gold coloured metal along with the visibility of 4-5 small rubies. The watch is in working condition and keeps time wonderfully and says ROLEX STANDARD on the face of it.
I am unable to find any serial/make/model numbers anywhere on it and am going to be bringing it to an authorized Rolex dealer tomorrow.
I’d greatly appreciate it if there is anything anyone can tell me about this watch.
I can’t tell you much other than it’s probably a “Canadian Rolex” like mine. Be advised that not all watch dealers are especially well-versed in Vintage watches. If you can hold off taking it in, I’d recommend checking out the Vintage Rolex Forum on Timezone.com (http://forums.timezone.com/index.php?t=threadt&frm_id=63). I don’t know if you just want an ID or if the watch needs servicing, but they can point you in the right direction.
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They are all from thrift shops or antique markets. I’m always on the lookout for turquoise!
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