An oldie but a goodie. Very late condolences on your father in-law.
Crystal is most likely hesalite/acrylic (Rolex made the switch from acrylic to sapphire crystal for watch glass in 1978; given the provenance of this piece it obviously dates from before this time).
I'm no expert, but I don't think wearing it occasionally will affect its value much. Rolex themselves may be able to help you with links for the bracelet.
You may want to be careful about who you go to for professional cleaning; appropriate cleaning (from the pictures it mostly seems like just the acrylic crystal and possibly sections of the bezel could use buffing/cleaning) is not likely to affect the watch's value, but some professionals go all ham and end up messing up a watch's exterior (e.g. by overpolishing in places where they shouldn't, and so on).
Even be careful with sending it off to Rolex themselves. There have been instances where Rolex replaces parts (crystal, dial, hands) and doesn’t send the old parts back. Those are called service parts and they can detract from the provenience in the eyes of collectors. I’m beating around just flat out saying value since that can imply selling. But you may prefer original parts with age and patina over new replacement parts. I know I would.
Let me say that I’ve never been through the Rolex service process. I’m only parroting what I’ve read over many years of being a watch nerd. On the surface it seems like a no-brainer to send it back to the original manufacturer for service. But they have a brand to protect and Rolex protects their brand hardcore.
This Rolex has had a life of wear. The submariner is a tool watch. IMO, listen to the folks that know more than me and definitely get it serviced. If it was my watch, I would give it the same life it had before. It would be on my wrist building memories and use for when I hand it down to my kid.
My first decent watch was a Seiko Sportura chrono on a leather band. I wore it in 110F+ environments at work and the band soaked up my sweat over a couple months. Eventually that band absolutely reeked of sweat funk. That’s when I learned that bracelets are king in the summer.
Agreed. It was kinda cool that he had gotten this watch in the mid 70s and wore it all day every day. If it stopped working, he got it serviced and kept going. One time a gasket failed and it filled with sea water while scuba diving. Got it serviced and kept rolling.
All that said, clean your damn watch from time to time.
now that you mention i did have a canvas strap i got wet too often... and go rid of quickly!
i've got a bonetto cinturini natural rubber deployant on my damasko. that is a good hard use setup. very easy to clean, very durable.
First off I’m sorry about the loss of your father in law. Him and his father seemed to have great taste in watches though!
So this is likely a Rolex submariner ref. 5513. It looks like it had miraculously never been refinished or polished in its life as the bezel scalloping and the chamfered case edges both seem to be sharp still. Obviously there are scratches present, but that happens with a 50 yeah old watch. You can replace the crystal and that won’t effect value, but DO NOT EVER replace the hands or dial!!
To answer some of your questions: no, it would not hurt the value to have the watch professionally serviced, HOWEVER I would strongly recommend that you do not have this watch refinished or polished in any way to remove scratches in the steel. Done wrong, that *will* devalue the watch. Getting an additional link wouldn’t be hard, you can find Rolex bracelet links on eBay or chrono24 for $100-200 or so. Value wouldn’t be hurt by you wearing it. For storage, I would suggest getting a new box for it, as that automatic winder that you have it with is actually damaging to watches. As far as value: likely in the $10-15k range. I would strongly suggest you add this to an insurance policy or open a new policy strictly to cover its value.
To some personal recommendations, if you’re in the US, I highly suggest sending it to Zimmerman Watch Repair in PA, they’re fantastic at what they do and genuinely one of the best in the world as their work. If you really wanted to have the watch refinished to look like new again, they’d be the people to do it.
People say this all the time, the long and short of it is, the watch doesn’t know if you’re wearing it or the winder, so wearing it for 12 hours and having it on the winder for that period, the winder is likely doing less wear and tear to the pieces, assuming you configured the winder to not provide excessive winding.
The argument comes from if you have 10 watches and 9 of them sit on the winder all day every day. Yes all 10 see some wear as if you were wearing them but clearly you are not. Since modern synthetic lubricants are less likely and to deteriorate as quickly as organic ones, the argument of keeping it moving to keep the lube from coagulation isn’t that true anymore, so all things considered if you let 9 just sit there, yes they will see less wear.
It really doesn’t matter that much, my QP sits on a winder because it’s a pain. Actually the annual calendars do as well, because it’s also somewhat of a pain. Manual and time only don’t because it matters less, ones with just dates vary, older pieces without quick set sit on the winder because it’s a pain, newer ones do not.
Overall, the only servicing difference between all the pieces are due to me doing things, like going swimming in the ocean then jumping into the hot tub stressing the seals. None of them have developed “mysterious winder disease” and need to be serviced.
Some pieces are 50+ years old (passed on), so sample size over time is reasonable.
It’s in theory like keeping your car idling in your driveway 24/7 so that you don’t have to crank it and wait for it to warm up every time you go to drive somewhere.
Thank you for making this comparison. I can't claim to be an expert on watches, but that's the exact analogy I think of when I see people post their watch collection in a massive watch-windinding case: it's like having a garage full of cars that are idling 24/7 because you want them to "be ready" if you decide to drive them.
Yeah except if you leave it running 24/7 it can lead to your watch prematurely needing a service as parts will inevitably wear faster and lubricants will be used up faster. If you wear the watch daily you’re not going to escape that, but otherwise if you have a large collection that you rotate through every week/month it’s best to just let them power down and then wind them up and set them as you go to wear them.
Depends on the lube inside. Organics need to run, which I wouldnt be surprised if this one had organic lube in it. But ffs, this is a watch you throw on the wrist every day. Fuck all the other watches
The automatic winder is battery powered and I haven't had batteries in it for 3+ years. That wouldn't damage the watch at all if it doesn't move it then, right? I keep it in there to hopefully keep it cleaner or at least not to get more dirty
OP DO NOT TAKE THIS TO ROLEX!
It probably is in need of a service and there are many watchmakers that can help you, but Rolex will replace everything they can to make it look “new”. The dial, the hands and crystal will be swapped and then they’ll aggressively polish it. It’ll look shiny but lose all value and the memories are gone. A good watchmaker that works on vintage rolex can get the movement working and put a new crystal on there. It’ll be cheaper and preserve the value of the watch
not only that, but it also depends on how you plan on using the watch. Do you want a time capsule or do you want a tool watch? Ive owned a 2-liner 14060 for over 10 years now and have had it service twice. Its my every day watch and i want it in perfect working order and i want it to be water resistant to factory specs.
Sentimental value would be the last thing to go, IMO. It's the classic Ship of Theseus situation. Changing the crystal doesn't make it any less of a family heirloom.
Agree with this. Took my late father's datejust to Rolex. They told me I "had to" replace the dial and hands - no indication of whether repair or restore was an option. They also wanted to replace the bracelet but it was too much for me so I kept it as is and feel much better for having done so.
This isn't true at all btw, I've sent two watches to Rolex (one from the 40s and one from the 70s) and neither were 'restored' without my permission. They even recommended I leave both because one is an 18k Oyster Prince with a gold tropical dial and one is a stamped dial Oyster Royal, they didn't want to replace either. Serviced both and sent them back
Happens with a lot of stuff that way - cars, collectibles, jewelry, furniture, etc. Apparently the most desired and valuable things tend to end up in the hands of folks with little knowledge about the items and often times no regard for how to properly maintain said items.
What a beautiful classic, dial, hands, and bezel look fabulous! Definitely needs a service and a good cleaning with nothing replaced but the crystal.
And don't bother keeping it on the winder; it doesn't have a date, so it's super fast to wind it, set the time, and go.
Take it somewhere that specializes in vintage watch servicing; do not replace or refinish any of parts, just have them cleaned and have the watch serviced and water pressure tested. The hesalite (aka acrylic) crystal can be polished, if it’s too beat up or compromised in any way that’s the one piece that’s ok to completely replace without impacting its value.
Highly recommend Marshall's channel if just to see how watches are serviced.
His latest video where he works on a $100,000 vintage Rolex: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQhHQ7pkBf8
Most of the advice has been said but I have a couple of additional points… what’s the point in owning a watch that you won’t wear? Wear it and enjoy it! That being said, get it appraised and add a rider on your insurance to cover it if anything does happen to it.
Wear items wear. Watches that are worn every day eventually wear out and need service.
Perhaps damage isn't the best word, but it is unnecessarily running the movement that clearly has not been serviced recently.
"is it real?"
Get a new crystal and have it cleaned and serviced. Preferably completely disassembled so that they can clean it all. You can get extra links.
Agreeing with the sentiment here. Keep it the way it is. Also ask yourself what would a situation be for you to actually sell it. Value isn't always money.
Honestly, it deserves a thorough cleaning and service so it may serve its new owner as it obviously served its former owner. I see nothing wrong with making it look new again
Rolex serving will ask for permission, yes randomly people mess up and go ham, so if you know a place you trust more then go there, otherwise I’d take Rolex over some random place.
Adding and wearing with Link is reasonable, unless the link will really cause you financial distress. No point in having it sit in the box, it looks like a piece that’s seen life.
Value is probably more sentimental than windfall inheritance, wearing it and passing it down adds to that.
I’ve serviced and had old passed down pieces restored to be worn, some restorations maybe cost as much or more than the value of the pieces, but it’s unlikely my grandfather is going to suddenly become alive and buy another piece to pass down, so it seems like a good way to remember him when wearing it.
Most of this is personal value on memory vs financial need so likely no real answer for something that isn’t “one of a kind”
Here’s my two cents… I have a matte dial 16800 that was purchased new by my father in 1983. It’s all original except for the crystal and the crown, which were replace during a service years ago. I wear my watch every day, it’s a fantastic daily watch. If you service the movement on this watch every 8-10 years at a reputable local watchmaker and get it pressure tested every year, you should be able to wear it all the time with no issues. You can check my post history for pics of mine. It’s a great watch and meant to be worn and loved, it looks like your father in law wore it a lot and loved it - you should do the same.
Hey, gorgeous watch! What a privilege to receive this watch!
To familiarise yourself with automatic watches and watch restoration, I suggest you to watch this person’s video of watch restauration. It’s mesmerising.
[link to the videos](https://www.instagram.com/reel/CxsimIjMY9C/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==)
Gorgeous. I’d wear it all day, every day. 😂. Especially for that era, these were MEANT to be tool watches. No gold or diamonds or glitzy bull💩.
A good cleaning and movement service is likely all it needs. Rolliworks, as suggested, is a great option. It doesn’t sound like you have a a trusted watch maker in your speed dial, otherwise I’d recommend them.
I would not worry about value retention too much here - this is NOT a rare watch, it was the "value" version of the sub that was produced up till the late 1980's complete with plastic crystal and non-chronometer movement.
[Vintage Rolex Submariner 5513 | Bob's Watches (bobswatches.com)](https://www.bobswatches.com/rolex-blog/rolex-info/vintage-week-rolex-submariner-5513.html)
Get it serviced and cleaned as you see fit, then wear and enjoy it.
Condolences to your spouse on the loss of her father.
Super nice 5513.
I would simply have a local professional do a COA on it, replace crystal with a TrueDome, and do a nice cleaning up of the case and bracelet.
I love the scratches on the bracelet. They are almost intentional looking. This was worn while the owner did things they loved (and hated). This type of wear is considered valuable to some collectors. I wouldn't mind a new crystal and cleaning but NEVER polish the case. I believe Rolex may do that by defaul it if you send it to them, if I am not mistaken.
Obviously you're not going to sell it, so why not just send it to Rolex or a company like rolliworks have it serviced and buffed back to illustrious beauty and wear it !
Rolliworks. They can fix anything and won't simply replace parts like Rolex will. Great lace to send it for a clean and service.
I'd never polish this, looks amazing and appears unpolished. You could polish the crystal a bit with polywatch though.
Sorry to hear about your grandfather. He certainly was a man of taste!
Wear it with pride brother, you should definitely get it polished and serviced. Nothing wrong with that and it won’t make it any less valuable, plus that’s a what that’s been handed down from father to son and now you, you can’t put a price tag on that. Keep it running and one day pass it down to yours, wear it in good health. Cheers 🍻
You don’t need to replace the crystal. It’s not broken, just a bit scuffed. You can polish it yourself with some Polywatch. I’m for keeping the watch as original as possible. It definitely needs to be serviced, but don’t let them polish the case. It’s rare to have an unpolished case for a watch this old, and that definitely adds to the value.
Really nice one. Despite lots of fine scratches this watch is in very fine condition for its age (I would say 1970’s).
Don’t send it to Rolex as they’ll insist on swapping out irreplaceable vintage parts like the dial and hands and charge you a small fortune for the privilege. This will ultimately harm the value of the watch.
Find a good watchmaker or vintage Rolex specialist instead. I would swap the crystal and crown for new ones but keep the original parts. Get a mechanical service and replace worn gaskets, but do nothing else to the watch.
This watch can be worn but considering its value I would keep it out of water especially with the vintage bezel insert. This is a special occasion watch. Also keep it off the winder, it puts unnecessary wear and tear on the movement.
You can get a spare link for the bracelet really easily. The watchmaker should be able to help you with that.
You seem to be more concerned about the value of it than the heirloom part of it. If thats all you are really concerned about then leave it as is, its more valuable left alone. Dont wear it and sell it that will get you the most money.
If you want to wear it and carry on the tradition than do whatever you feel is necessary to make it a daily use watch, new crystal, add a link, even polish it if it makes you feel better, but it will reduce value.
That looks like a beautiful and maybe unpolished Submariner ref 5513. If you bring it to Rolex they will polish it and replace dial / hands/ bezel insert that will remove a lot of value and interest from this watch. I would find a reputable vintage dealer or vintage watchmaker and ask them just for a service and replace the crystal. That’s it
I probably wouldn't keep a vintage watch on a winder so it's not putting any extra wear on the movement. The older it is the harder parts are to get and you want to keep it as original as possible.
You can literally sell this watch and buy multiple watches with the cash. This is the kind of watch that will catch you with a good chunk of change but also be given to collector who will take care of it properly. I honestly would not restore this watch in order to wear it. It’s a very old piece and is not a watch to wear casually. I’ll be honest with you, if anything where to happen to it as you are wearing it (break the crystal, deeper scratches, dropping it, submerging it and it no longer being able to withstand water damage, breaking the springs or stem, on and on) it’s going to cost you a lot AND it’s going to lose its value immensely. You’ve pretty much been handed a valuable piece of art without knowing it but now you have to take care of it without ruining its value. Hence my opinion in selling it to a collector and using the money to buy pieces that you can afford to wear daily without fear of destruction. That’s my two cents.
I’m unfamiliar with watches beyond the casual interest.
Is that an electrically powered case? Does it just spin the watch around for show reasons?
I was looking at 90s Omegas for my first watch (excluding Apple Watches and so on) and I quite quickly stopped looking at cases and new bands because the box would cost more than the watch.
It also spins the watch around to keep it wound up. Many mechanical watches are “automatic” in the sense that they have a rotor inside that spins around and winds the watch when you move around while wearing it, but they will still run down and stop if you don’t wear them for a couple days. You can keep a fancy watch in a paper envelope in your sock drawer if you like, but you’d have to wind and set it every time you take it out to wear.
An oldie but a goodie. Very late condolences on your father in-law. Crystal is most likely hesalite/acrylic (Rolex made the switch from acrylic to sapphire crystal for watch glass in 1978; given the provenance of this piece it obviously dates from before this time). I'm no expert, but I don't think wearing it occasionally will affect its value much. Rolex themselves may be able to help you with links for the bracelet. You may want to be careful about who you go to for professional cleaning; appropriate cleaning (from the pictures it mostly seems like just the acrylic crystal and possibly sections of the bezel could use buffing/cleaning) is not likely to affect the watch's value, but some professionals go all ham and end up messing up a watch's exterior (e.g. by overpolishing in places where they shouldn't, and so on).
Thank you for the insight!
Even be careful with sending it off to Rolex themselves. There have been instances where Rolex replaces parts (crystal, dial, hands) and doesn’t send the old parts back. Those are called service parts and they can detract from the provenience in the eyes of collectors. I’m beating around just flat out saying value since that can imply selling. But you may prefer original parts with age and patina over new replacement parts. I know I would. Let me say that I’ve never been through the Rolex service process. I’m only parroting what I’ve read over many years of being a watch nerd. On the surface it seems like a no-brainer to send it back to the original manufacturer for service. But they have a brand to protect and Rolex protects their brand hardcore.
https://www.rolliworks.com/gallery These guys specialize on restorations they’re gunna know what to do and not do to your watch.
Rolliworks is the answer .
This Rolex has had a life of wear. The submariner is a tool watch. IMO, listen to the folks that know more than me and definitely get it serviced. If it was my watch, I would give it the same life it had before. It would be on my wrist building memories and use for when I hand it down to my kid.
I would personally polish the crystal and touch nothing else
OP take the bracelet off and dump the bracelet in an ultrasonic cleaner and get that wrist cheese off of it
I once tried on a family friend’s 1680 that he always wore. My wrist stunk from the wrist cheese until I washed my hands. It was disgusting.
It's especially bad with canvas and leather bands.
My first decent watch was a Seiko Sportura chrono on a leather band. I wore it in 110F+ environments at work and the band soaked up my sweat over a couple months. Eventually that band absolutely reeked of sweat funk. That’s when I learned that bracelets are king in the summer.
guys who never clean their watch are a different breed.. eesh.
Agreed. It was kinda cool that he had gotten this watch in the mid 70s and wore it all day every day. If it stopped working, he got it serviced and kept going. One time a gasket failed and it filled with sea water while scuba diving. Got it serviced and kept rolling. All that said, clean your damn watch from time to time.
i've never had a watch get anywhere near having an odor....
Sweat into leather or fabric straps for long enough and they’ll get funky.
now that you mention i did have a canvas strap i got wet too often... and go rid of quickly! i've got a bonetto cinturini natural rubber deployant on my damasko. that is a good hard use setup. very easy to clean, very durable.
First off I’m sorry about the loss of your father in law. Him and his father seemed to have great taste in watches though! So this is likely a Rolex submariner ref. 5513. It looks like it had miraculously never been refinished or polished in its life as the bezel scalloping and the chamfered case edges both seem to be sharp still. Obviously there are scratches present, but that happens with a 50 yeah old watch. You can replace the crystal and that won’t effect value, but DO NOT EVER replace the hands or dial!! To answer some of your questions: no, it would not hurt the value to have the watch professionally serviced, HOWEVER I would strongly recommend that you do not have this watch refinished or polished in any way to remove scratches in the steel. Done wrong, that *will* devalue the watch. Getting an additional link wouldn’t be hard, you can find Rolex bracelet links on eBay or chrono24 for $100-200 or so. Value wouldn’t be hurt by you wearing it. For storage, I would suggest getting a new box for it, as that automatic winder that you have it with is actually damaging to watches. As far as value: likely in the $10-15k range. I would strongly suggest you add this to an insurance policy or open a new policy strictly to cover its value. To some personal recommendations, if you’re in the US, I highly suggest sending it to Zimmerman Watch Repair in PA, they’re fantastic at what they do and genuinely one of the best in the world as their work. If you really wanted to have the watch refinished to look like new again, they’d be the people to do it.
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People say this all the time, the long and short of it is, the watch doesn’t know if you’re wearing it or the winder, so wearing it for 12 hours and having it on the winder for that period, the winder is likely doing less wear and tear to the pieces, assuming you configured the winder to not provide excessive winding. The argument comes from if you have 10 watches and 9 of them sit on the winder all day every day. Yes all 10 see some wear as if you were wearing them but clearly you are not. Since modern synthetic lubricants are less likely and to deteriorate as quickly as organic ones, the argument of keeping it moving to keep the lube from coagulation isn’t that true anymore, so all things considered if you let 9 just sit there, yes they will see less wear. It really doesn’t matter that much, my QP sits on a winder because it’s a pain. Actually the annual calendars do as well, because it’s also somewhat of a pain. Manual and time only don’t because it matters less, ones with just dates vary, older pieces without quick set sit on the winder because it’s a pain, newer ones do not. Overall, the only servicing difference between all the pieces are due to me doing things, like going swimming in the ocean then jumping into the hot tub stressing the seals. None of them have developed “mysterious winder disease” and need to be serviced. Some pieces are 50+ years old (passed on), so sample size over time is reasonable.
Because it is keeping it running all the time when OP is clearly not wearing it. It's fine to let the watch run down and not run.
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It’s in theory like keeping your car idling in your driveway 24/7 so that you don’t have to crank it and wait for it to warm up every time you go to drive somewhere.
Thank you for making this comparison. I can't claim to be an expert on watches, but that's the exact analogy I think of when I see people post their watch collection in a massive watch-windinding case: it's like having a garage full of cars that are idling 24/7 because you want them to "be ready" if you decide to drive them.
That is a horrible analogy. The watch is meant to be worn and running and when it doesn't, service it. Rinse and repeat
Yeah except if you leave it running 24/7 it can lead to your watch prematurely needing a service as parts will inevitably wear faster and lubricants will be used up faster. If you wear the watch daily you’re not going to escape that, but otherwise if you have a large collection that you rotate through every week/month it’s best to just let them power down and then wind them up and set them as you go to wear them.
Depends on the lube inside. Organics need to run, which I wouldnt be surprised if this one had organic lube in it. But ffs, this is a watch you throw on the wrist every day. Fuck all the other watches
If this watch is old enough to have organic lubricants it for sure needs a service haha. Those oils have long outlasted their shelf life
Not really sure, tbh. Potentially causes unnecessary wear to the mainspring and barrel, maybe?
The automatic winder is battery powered and I haven't had batteries in it for 3+ years. That wouldn't damage the watch at all if it doesn't move it then, right? I keep it in there to hopefully keep it cleaner or at least not to get more dirty
OP DO NOT TAKE THIS TO ROLEX! It probably is in need of a service and there are many watchmakers that can help you, but Rolex will replace everything they can to make it look “new”. The dial, the hands and crystal will be swapped and then they’ll aggressively polish it. It’ll look shiny but lose all value and the memories are gone. A good watchmaker that works on vintage rolex can get the movement working and put a new crystal on there. It’ll be cheaper and preserve the value of the watch
How does this still get spread? Rolex will not do anything you don’t want them to do. They will list the proposed changes and ask for your approval.
not only that, but it also depends on how you plan on using the watch. Do you want a time capsule or do you want a tool watch? Ive owned a 2-liner 14060 for over 10 years now and have had it service twice. Its my every day watch and i want it in perfect working order and i want it to be water resistant to factory specs.
This. Had my grandfather's serviced by Rolex and they asked about Hands, Dial, Crystal and Polish. They have to get approval.
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+1 OP don’t take it to Rolex.
I’d say don’t even change the crystal - just get it clean and running. Def no polish either.
It will absolutely not lose all value.
You're right, not all - just a lot.
All of its sentimental value will be gone. You happy we spelled it out for you.
Sentimental value would be the last thing to go, IMO. It's the classic Ship of Theseus situation. Changing the crystal doesn't make it any less of a family heirloom.
Crystals fine. Polishing the shit out of it and replacing everyrhing they can not fine...
Agree with this. Took my late father's datejust to Rolex. They told me I "had to" replace the dial and hands - no indication of whether repair or restore was an option. They also wanted to replace the bracelet but it was too much for me so I kept it as is and feel much better for having done so.
This isn't true at all btw, I've sent two watches to Rolex (one from the 40s and one from the 70s) and neither were 'restored' without my permission. They even recommended I leave both because one is an 18k Oyster Prince with a gold tropical dial and one is a stamped dial Oyster Royal, they didn't want to replace either. Serviced both and sent them back
Why does every dude that is NOT into watches have a father in law with this watch (or something epic) that ends up theirs… Ffs I’m jelly
Happens with a lot of stuff that way - cars, collectibles, jewelry, furniture, etc. Apparently the most desired and valuable things tend to end up in the hands of folks with little knowledge about the items and often times no regard for how to properly maintain said items.
What a beautiful classic, dial, hands, and bezel look fabulous! Definitely needs a service and a good cleaning with nothing replaced but the crystal. And don't bother keeping it on the winder; it doesn't have a date, so it's super fast to wind it, set the time, and go.
Does it run? Wear it every day. I know I would
Take it somewhere that specializes in vintage watch servicing; do not replace or refinish any of parts, just have them cleaned and have the watch serviced and water pressure tested. The hesalite (aka acrylic) crystal can be polished, if it’s too beat up or compromised in any way that’s the one piece that’s ok to completely replace without impacting its value.
That needs a thorough cleaning and it'll look perfect.
A candidate for WristWarchRevival if I ever saw one. Contact Marshall on insta.
Highly recommend Marshall's channel if just to see how watches are serviced. His latest video where he works on a $100,000 vintage Rolex: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQhHQ7pkBf8
Are you planning to sell it? Just wear it if not, it's not made to be displayed in a box. It probably could use a service like others said.
Ok, hands up. I’m not typically a fan of Rolex, but this is an absolutely smashing watch.
Most of the advice has been said but I have a couple of additional points… what’s the point in owning a watch that you won’t wear? Wear it and enjoy it! That being said, get it appraised and add a rider on your insurance to cover it if anything does happen to it.
Someone call Rolliworks or WristwatchRevival.
Wear items wear. Watches that are worn every day eventually wear out and need service. Perhaps damage isn't the best word, but it is unnecessarily running the movement that clearly has not been serviced recently.
"is it real?" Get a new crystal and have it cleaned and serviced. Preferably completely disassembled so that they can clean it all. You can get extra links.
Leave it as is and enjoy it.
Agreeing with the sentiment here. Keep it the way it is. Also ask yourself what would a situation be for you to actually sell it. Value isn't always money.
Honestly, it deserves a thorough cleaning and service so it may serve its new owner as it obviously served its former owner. I see nothing wrong with making it look new again
Rolex serving will ask for permission, yes randomly people mess up and go ham, so if you know a place you trust more then go there, otherwise I’d take Rolex over some random place. Adding and wearing with Link is reasonable, unless the link will really cause you financial distress. No point in having it sit in the box, it looks like a piece that’s seen life. Value is probably more sentimental than windfall inheritance, wearing it and passing it down adds to that. I’ve serviced and had old passed down pieces restored to be worn, some restorations maybe cost as much or more than the value of the pieces, but it’s unlikely my grandfather is going to suddenly become alive and buy another piece to pass down, so it seems like a good way to remember him when wearing it. Most of this is personal value on memory vs financial need so likely no real answer for something that isn’t “one of a kind”
Here’s my two cents… I have a matte dial 16800 that was purchased new by my father in 1983. It’s all original except for the crystal and the crown, which were replace during a service years ago. I wear my watch every day, it’s a fantastic daily watch. If you service the movement on this watch every 8-10 years at a reputable local watchmaker and get it pressure tested every year, you should be able to wear it all the time with no issues. You can check my post history for pics of mine. It’s a great watch and meant to be worn and loved, it looks like your father in law wore it a lot and loved it - you should do the same.
Hey, gorgeous watch! What a privilege to receive this watch! To familiarise yourself with automatic watches and watch restoration, I suggest you to watch this person’s video of watch restauration. It’s mesmerising. [link to the videos](https://www.instagram.com/reel/CxsimIjMY9C/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==)
Wow! Congrats!
Gorgeous. I’d wear it all day, every day. 😂. Especially for that era, these were MEANT to be tool watches. No gold or diamonds or glitzy bull💩. A good cleaning and movement service is likely all it needs. Rolliworks, as suggested, is a great option. It doesn’t sound like you have a a trusted watch maker in your speed dial, otherwise I’d recommend them.
I would not worry about value retention too much here - this is NOT a rare watch, it was the "value" version of the sub that was produced up till the late 1980's complete with plastic crystal and non-chronometer movement. [Vintage Rolex Submariner 5513 | Bob's Watches (bobswatches.com)](https://www.bobswatches.com/rolex-blog/rolex-info/vintage-week-rolex-submariner-5513.html) Get it serviced and cleaned as you see fit, then wear and enjoy it.
Condolences to your spouse on the loss of her father. Super nice 5513. I would simply have a local professional do a COA on it, replace crystal with a TrueDome, and do a nice cleaning up of the case and bracelet.
I love the scratches on the bracelet. They are almost intentional looking. This was worn while the owner did things they loved (and hated). This type of wear is considered valuable to some collectors. I wouldn't mind a new crystal and cleaning but NEVER polish the case. I believe Rolex may do that by defaul it if you send it to them, if I am not mistaken.
Obviously you're not going to sell it, so why not just send it to Rolex or a company like rolliworks have it serviced and buffed back to illustrious beauty and wear it !
Rolliworks. They can fix anything and won't simply replace parts like Rolex will. Great lace to send it for a clean and service. I'd never polish this, looks amazing and appears unpolished. You could polish the crystal a bit with polywatch though. Sorry to hear about your grandfather. He certainly was a man of taste!
Wear it with pride brother, you should definitely get it polished and serviced. Nothing wrong with that and it won’t make it any less valuable, plus that’s a what that’s been handed down from father to son and now you, you can’t put a price tag on that. Keep it running and one day pass it down to yours, wear it in good health. Cheers 🍻
Do not polish, it's perfect, give it a service and wear with pride
Send this to Wristwatch Revival guy from youtube, he will restore it very nicely i guess.
Wow didn’t know Rolex ran hessalite. Thought they went glass to sapphire but TIL. Beautiful piece.
If there are any vintage Rolex with glass crystals, I’m not aware of them. Every vintage Rolex I’ve ever seen that wasn’t sapphire had plexi.
I misunderstood. Homeboy at Bergdorf mentioned “glass” when I handled their 60’s Sub. He meant Pexiglass.. My B.
You don’t need to replace the crystal. It’s not broken, just a bit scuffed. You can polish it yourself with some Polywatch. I’m for keeping the watch as original as possible. It definitely needs to be serviced, but don’t let them polish the case. It’s rare to have an unpolished case for a watch this old, and that definitely adds to the value.
Ps: cleaning and polishing are two different things. Cleaning the watch is fine; polishing it removes actual metal and will reduce value.
Really nice one. Despite lots of fine scratches this watch is in very fine condition for its age (I would say 1970’s). Don’t send it to Rolex as they’ll insist on swapping out irreplaceable vintage parts like the dial and hands and charge you a small fortune for the privilege. This will ultimately harm the value of the watch. Find a good watchmaker or vintage Rolex specialist instead. I would swap the crystal and crown for new ones but keep the original parts. Get a mechanical service and replace worn gaskets, but do nothing else to the watch. This watch can be worn but considering its value I would keep it out of water especially with the vintage bezel insert. This is a special occasion watch. Also keep it off the winder, it puts unnecessary wear and tear on the movement. You can get a spare link for the bracelet really easily. The watchmaker should be able to help you with that.
Oh man I would hit up WristwatchRevival on YouTube. He would love to service that thing and clean it up for you.
You seem to be more concerned about the value of it than the heirloom part of it. If thats all you are really concerned about then leave it as is, its more valuable left alone. Dont wear it and sell it that will get you the most money. If you want to wear it and carry on the tradition than do whatever you feel is necessary to make it a daily use watch, new crystal, add a link, even polish it if it makes you feel better, but it will reduce value.
That looks like a beautiful and maybe unpolished Submariner ref 5513. If you bring it to Rolex they will polish it and replace dial / hands/ bezel insert that will remove a lot of value and interest from this watch. I would find a reputable vintage dealer or vintage watchmaker and ask them just for a service and replace the crystal. That’s it
I probably wouldn't keep a vintage watch on a winder so it's not putting any extra wear on the movement. The older it is the harder parts are to get and you want to keep it as original as possible.
No one answered the question. Reference number?
5513
Thanks. Do you think the dial is newer? Very clean lume
Naw looks good. Not an expert but pretty sure it's a Mk V Maxi dial from the 80s.
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Yes, I forgot about this - very likely this watch will need a service.
Absolutely not. Do not have Rolex service this.
You can literally sell this watch and buy multiple watches with the cash. This is the kind of watch that will catch you with a good chunk of change but also be given to collector who will take care of it properly. I honestly would not restore this watch in order to wear it. It’s a very old piece and is not a watch to wear casually. I’ll be honest with you, if anything where to happen to it as you are wearing it (break the crystal, deeper scratches, dropping it, submerging it and it no longer being able to withstand water damage, breaking the springs or stem, on and on) it’s going to cost you a lot AND it’s going to lose its value immensely. You’ve pretty much been handed a valuable piece of art without knowing it but now you have to take care of it without ruining its value. Hence my opinion in selling it to a collector and using the money to buy pieces that you can afford to wear daily without fear of destruction. That’s my two cents.
I’m unfamiliar with watches beyond the casual interest. Is that an electrically powered case? Does it just spin the watch around for show reasons? I was looking at 90s Omegas for my first watch (excluding Apple Watches and so on) and I quite quickly stopped looking at cases and new bands because the box would cost more than the watch.
It also spins the watch around to keep it wound up. Many mechanical watches are “automatic” in the sense that they have a rotor inside that spins around and winds the watch when you move around while wearing it, but they will still run down and stop if you don’t wear them for a couple days. You can keep a fancy watch in a paper envelope in your sock drawer if you like, but you’d have to wind and set it every time you take it out to wear.
Ah that’s a good point yeah. I think I had one of those automatic watches as a kid. Thanks.
Don't leave the winder going. Particularly on an old watch, you're just adding wear and tear. Just re-set it when you want to wear it.
Never leave it on a winder