Tudor 7928....What to do.....

[Luke777]

Hello to all.

My friend just dropped around and handed me a box and said: "You are tinkering with watches and you have put together some that look and work well.. see if you can clean this one up for me so I can wear it from time to time. It was given to me by Dad on my 21st birthday, straight off his wrist onto mine"

He left quickly and on looking at the box it is a Tudor Oyster 7928 in its original box (box is in poor shape) original red velvet display clamshell with original signed and dated sales/guarantee papers. Watch has a broken (brobably not original) bracelet. Face and hands are in poor shape. Plexiglass has been polished before and I can see some fractures in it if I hold it at the correct angle but it is intact.

Movement manually winds and runs but I have not assessed it any further than to see if it. His father is in his late 80's now and whilst still in good health relatively speaking he can't remember if the watch was ever serviced.

This watch was aparrently daily-worn by him (fisherman) from the day he purchased it brand new on 25th November 1964.

My friend is the same age as me (46) and the watch stayed in his bedside drawer since he was given it 25 years ago.

So..... What to do...I would like your advice as I am relatively new to watch repair.

First of all, my friend's wishes are to refurbish the watch so it looks nice again and functions well so he can on occasion wear it and enjoy it. But I would like to know if the watch is more valuable if left in it's original condition. If this is the case I will tell him this and he can then decide whether to go ahead with the refurbishment or to leave it and purchase another similar watch to wear.

He does not seem to be too concerned with the cost of refurbishment as long as it is not over the top.

I do not know where to start to find a face and hands apart from looking on ebay but I would likely get ripped-off purchasing from there. 

I have not opened the case yet to see what movement it is fitted with as I wanted to ask questions of you learned people first.

I will post some photos ASAP.

 

[Klassiker]

Watches UK has pictures of a similar-looking Tudor with a calibre 390 inside. I can't advise you, but your questions are the right ones.

[Nucejoe]

That is a tall order. I would concentrate on giving the movement a good service. A good thing about Tudor is often spare parts of( lower grade) movements fit it so you are not all at the mercy of Tudor. 

I am not sure if a brand new genuine dial is out there to be found and yes any non genuine replacement will devalue the piece.

Take pictures at every stage of disassembly and hopefully a data sheet is available.

Good luck.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[markr]

Face and hands can be replaced at any time but are only original once.  Replace them and the value will drop.  Nothing wrong with an old watch looking old.

[Delgetti]

I would try to get some opinions from vintage tudor experts, who don't have commercial interest.

The whole rolex and tudor (which is some kind of sister brand to rolex) vintage world exploded some years ago into complete price madness. So this watch (if genuine of course) could be worth several thousand bucks for a collector, especially because it has a "SWISS" marked early dial and a PCG (pointed crown guard)-case.

Here is a link to give you an idea about original parts prices:

https://tswisst.de/tudor-ersatzteile/rolex-zeigersatz-fuer-tudor-7928-3/

I would take some good pictures (daylight, smartphone-camera and 6 inches distance do the job) and ask your questions on www.rolexforums.com (as mentioned tudor is a sister brand so they deal with tudor too). 

A very good picture of the dial is essential, so it would be best to take the movement out of the case and take a pic then.

BUT: The dial is marked "SWISS", much lume fell of the hands and the lume on the dial is black dirty. This shouts: Be careful, could be radium! So I personally would not open the watch. Maybe you can polish the plexiglass a bit to get a got pic of the dial?

Anyway good luck with that piece. Nowadays about 98% of the rolex/tudor-talk is about money, I hate that. But I love such stories of watches with a personal history.

 

 

 

 

 

[clockboy]

Personally I think because the watch is in very poor condition it would only be sold as spares. The biggest issue will be the refurbish of the dial.  I had a Longines dial refurbished, cost £150. The bezel is in good order and the missing Pearl button can be purchased, although it will be an aftermarket one.  The hands need a relume and as the movement is running it just needs a service. IMO it would take a while to refurbish but it can be brought back to a very nice watch.

[wls1971]

Leave the dial well alone refurbishment will drastically decrease the value of the watch no matter how bad the dial, a new plexi would make a world of difference, service the movement and leave the case unpolished, doing the bare minimum to get the watch running would be the best thing to preserve the watches value. But at the end of the day the watch belongs to your friend so the choice is his but I would strongly discourage him from total refurb.

[Luke777]

Some really valid and pertinent advice and opinions thank you everyone. Yes this is a difficult one. I felt right from the moment I saw the watch that it was potentially a "mistake" to do a lot to this one as it is almost certainly all original and has papers and boxes. ...  It's a difficult one for the owner because I can understand the wish to be able to make it look "sexy" or "new" again and relive it's glory days and those of his Dad who bought it new.

I will have an honest and now somewhat more informed discussion with him and see what he says.

Delgetti  I had not thought of the potential for Radium either which is important so thank you for tweaking my mind to this potential risk. I will investigate that possibility more and see if I can get any answers regarding this model of Tudor and the use of Radium. 

 

Thank you again to you all so far abd feel free to keep the opinions and insights coming. 

 

Luke

[Klassiker]

Polishing the crystal is one thing you can do which doesn't harm the value and improves the looks more than a little. A thorough clean and oiling of the movement is essential if it is to be used again. This watch has an interesting history, and I would not want to erase that completely.

[RyMoeller]

These Tudor Submariners have really shot up in price the past few years.  I've had my eye on the 7928 model, as I thought it was the way to get an affordable vintage Submariner (and I liked the rose on the dial), but they're out of my range now.  This one has some issues but having the box and papers and whatnot might make up for the oxidized hands and what appears to be a "re-lumed" (luminous paint reapplied) dial. That being said, since it's a heirloom, what potential buyers think may be irrelevant.

Here's my observations, and a truckload of opinions:

The hands look oxidized- they can probably be cleaned up but if they are replaced I would have the owner hold onto the originals just in case the intent to sell is there.  The dial appears fine but the luminous paint looks unusual- it should be brownish red or possibly even black (if moisture got into the case).  I think the luminous paint was reapplied at sometime. If that's true I would have the luminous paint redone; it will make a huge difference in the cosmetic appearance.  If the paint's original and the plan is to sell the watch then probably better not to touch it.  The rest of the dial looks fine.

The case and bezel just need a good cleaning (no polishing) and the crystal, well if it's an original Rolex "Tropic" crystal (honestly I don't know how you would tell) it should probably be held onto.  If the owner will be wearing the watch then I would definitely replace the crystal a new one but again have him hold onto the original just in case.

For the movement, parts availability could be an issue but they usually come up on eBay if parts are not readily available at Cousins, etc.  I would expect the cost to be somewhat less than servicing a Rolex Sub from the same era since you won't need Rolex parts. 

That's a really great watch- thanks for posting on it.  I love seeing the stuff from the 40's, 50's and 60's come up as that's the era that really tickles my fancy. 

[clockboy]

The difference between a genuine Rolex crystal and a aftermarket crystal is on many Rolex calibers there is a hologram of the Rolex crown at 6 O,Clock that can be seen using a LED light. The latest calibers now have laser etched crown at the 6 O,clock position. 

[jdm]

 

On 4/1/2021 at 2:36 AM, Luke777 said:

Delgetti  I had not thought of the potential for Radium either which is important so thank you for tweaking my mind to this potential risk. I will investigate that possibility more and see if I can get any answers regarding this model of Tudor and the use of Radium. 

Before getting even minimally anxious, not even knowing what you have on hand, have a read of our pinned topic. There is a tendency to vastly exaggerate on the subject.

 

[Luke777]

Excellent. Thank you very much.