Real or fake?

[sweeney90]

Hello I was wondering if anyone could share any thoughts on this movement. 

[oldhippy]

Well it looks to be genuine, but some of those screw heads look to be poorly finished and not what I would expect. Mind you it looks as if someone has been inside playing with the screws as some have burr on the heads, due to a bad size screwdriver blade or the wrong width used. Are there any numbers on the side of the case? Can we see the face and the hands? The colour of the auto wheels are the correct colour.

[jdm]

26 minutes ago, sweeney90 said:

Hello I was wondering if anyone could share any thoughts on this movement. 

Fake of the cheap variety, it's not just the paint peeling off screws, also stamped lettering is off by good deal.
You did not mentioned about the watch and how much you paid it?

 

 

[sweeney90]

I’m confused now as 1 person has said it’s real and 1 person has said it’s fake…..I have not purchased it but have been offered it by somebody at my place of work and he wants £1800 for it 

[oldhippy]

28 minutes ago, jdm said:

Fake of the cheap variety, it's not just the paint peeling off screws, also stamped lettering is off by good deal.
You did not mentioned about the watch and how much you paid it?

 

 

What do you mean about the stamped lettering? can you give an example jdm? 

[sweeney90]

5 minutes ago, oldhippy said:

What do you mean about the stamped lettering? can you give an example jdm? 

My thoughts were that in the 60s most of the work was done by had so there would be room for human error?? 

[jdm]

1 hour ago, oldhippy said:

What do you mean about the stamped lettering? can you give an example jdm? 

Genuine 1520:

"Rolex" is aligned at the bottom of the rivet at its left, and much closer to it. "26" is centered below it, not to it's right. All stamped lettering has a bronze background. Just open the very many 1520 pictures available online, I'm sure you will fine many other details, probably 

 

 

1 hour ago, sweeney90 said:

My thoughts were that in the 60s most of the work was done by had so there would be room for human error?? 

Not at Rolex (or other top majers) in the 60's, or even in the 30's. That is what set them apart from the competition.
 

Quote

I have not purchased it but have been offered it by somebody at my place of work and he wants £1800 for it 

More pictures? Papers and box? S/N inquiry to Rolex, and certified authentication by an Authorized Dealer? Buying in presence you have the opportunity to obtain all these discriminants which are often unavailable to online buyers. For the peace of mind and workplace, I would not buy without.

Anyway, there are popular luxury watches forums (WUS and others) where authenticity questions are asked all the time. Experts have no problem in answering, sometime bluntly. Post the link here if you do that.

[oldhippy]

I think it's to do with the photos. I still say it's a genuine Rolex. 

[jdm]

7 minutes ago, oldhippy said:

I think it's to do with the photos. I still say it's a genuine Rolex. 

To each own his opinion, maybe the OP will ask elsewhere and share.
In the meantime, the casual reader can look and judge himself. Detail of bridge, genuine:

 

it has blued dark screws all of the same color, not some painted and some not. The outer lower said rim is accurately refinished in rounds, the OP's is just milled around with remarkable marks left:

 

[sweeney90]

2 hours ago, jdm said:

To each own his opinion, maybe the OP will ask elsewhere and share.
In the meantime, the casual reader can look and judge himself. Detail of bridge, genuine:

 

it has blued dark screws all of the same color, not some painted and some not. The outer lower said rim is accurately refinished in rounds, the OP's is just milled around with remarkable marks left:

 

I never noticed this so thank you, I am in the process of getting some other opinions so will post an update once I receive some 

[Plato]

There's some good pictures of a genuine 1520 here:

https://watchguy.co.uk/service-repair-rolex-air-king-5500-calibre-1520/

The R and the 2 don't line up on this one. Different shock protection system/spring though.

[LittleWatchShop]

I hate it when a thread dies prematurely

[oldhippy]

1 hour ago, LittleWatchShop said:

I hate it when a thread dies prematurely

Orignal poster has said he will post an update as soon as he receives one. 

[watchfellow]

Yes, someone clumsy has handled this movement previously, but my humble opinion is also that it's real. I have never seen a fake 1520 or 1530 before, let alone a cloned vintage movement with that degree of finish. 

[Nucejoe]

Isn't  1520 an overcoil?    Is this?      Those with better eyes than I  can tell.

[Klassiker]

Another piece of service is to "buy the seller". Who is this person at your place of work, and can you trust them? What is the history of their relationship to the watch?

[jdm]

12 hours ago, watchfellow said:

 I have never seen a fake 1520 or 1530 before, let alone a cloned vintage movement with that degree of finish. 

That is a good point. Back then  the "highways gas station special" had generic, rudimentary mov.t. I'm not sure when it was that they began faking Rolex mov.s that from far away can fool anyone.

[Marc]

5 hours ago, Nucejoe said:

Isn't  1520 an overcoil?

No, it has a flat coil h/s like this one.

[HSL]

I have seen something like this before but didn’t reflect that much of it back then.
If one can assume the bridge is engraved 1520, I would guess the watch should be a Rolex Air-King 5700 not a 5500. It then should have a flat hairspring too, pumping at 19800. The funny thing here is that Rolex would have called the movement 1525 since it has been modified with a date function, but the bridge would still say 1520.
Another thing this specimen appears to have is a main plate from a 1530.
It is always easier to speculate about a watch or a movement if one can see what model of watch this is supposed to be. Would bee scary if this is a fake since some of the parts is quite well done.

Edited October 10, 2021 by HSL
swinglish

[anilv]

My vote is that is real.. The shock protection on the balance cock is typical Rolex. Also how the movement screws work... ie the unscrew and brace against the case ring, that's pretty much how Rolex does it. The plain (non free-sprung) balance is consistent with this movement. As to the engraving, my bet is that it looks better with the naked eye.

Good luck

Anilv

[Paul80]

Bering about as far as you get from knowing a genuine Rolex from a fake I suspect what we are seeing here is just down to the poor quality of the original poster picture compared to the others posted, they are soft and with very little contrast which is making all the fine detail appear to be missing.

Still don't know if it's a fake or not but better quality images taken under better lighting would be a big help here.

Paul

[sweeney90]

Update: So I explained to the seller that I didn’t feel comfortable purchasing the watch without a qualified person looking at the movement and authenticating it. Luckily he understood my apprehensions,  so the watch was taken to a very respectful watchmaker in the East Anglian region who confirmed that it was indeed genuine!! Thanks to everyone who shared their opinion and knowledge