The yearly auctions are coming in November in Geneva.

What pebble beach is for car collectors, the yearly November auctions are for watch collectors.  They are the biggest most important auctions that take place in the watch world.

We have gone through the Christies catalogue (still regarded as the leading house for watches) and picked out four particularly attractive Rolex that are for sale. Each watch will have a separate post.

We start with a very simple watch.

A classic Rolex submariner which should be part of every watch collection. Early submariners are always sought after especially the no date subs with gilt dials. The watch above is a Rolex Submariner ref 5513 but an early one from 1964. While reference 5512 is rarer, there are some nice 5513 to be had and this is one of them. What makes this watch attractive? Several things. To start with the dial is flawless. It is very glossy (something collectors prize-the dial is like a mirror) and the writing has remained completely gilt or golden. The combination makes this watch very attractive. Furthermore the lugs and case are almost mint and it is most certain that his watch has never been polished. The watch comes also with the correct crown (only showing the Rolex symbol with no line), it is a minor detail but one which is also important. Furthermore the bezel insert is the correct one- a fat font early insert which appears to be a Mark I or II.

The only negative we can find with this watch is the following: The box and papers. Why would this be a negative? Because it looks strongly like the seller is a dealer. In principle I have nothing against dealers. Some of the best watches in the world are sold by dealers. But in this case the seller in an attempt to make the watch more ‘complete’ just put in a box  (not original to the watch – but perhaps correct from the era) and papers (it could appear that someone took an empty guarantee Rolex paper and just wrote the  case numbers of the watch on).

Even if I am wrong and the guarantee is original then where is the original submariner booklet? Where is the original receipt? These are important questions to ask. If someone is selling papers then it should be complete and not just a guarantee with numbers written on it. The seller (presumably a dealer) would have been much better off just selling the watch alone and not trying to make something that is ‘not complete’ – complete.

Nonetheless the watch itself is superb and that is what counts. The original listing can be found here. 

by Edmond Saran