ETA 963.125, Fake Rolex - Replacement or repair

[Ullas]

Hi all, this is my first post here. I repair watches as a hobby, and usually work on my own watches. This particular watch, along with two others, were give to a friend of mine, by his father, about three days before he passed away recently. The three watches, hence have an emotional value to my friend, and so, I wanted to get them going again. I fixed the QMax (Replaced battery), Titan (PCB and Coil, new battery, glass), and am working on this Rolex now. Almost all Indicators of a genuine Rolex that I have read of online, are absent, hence making me believe its most definitely a fake. i.e. No serial number or any stamping anywhere on case, no Logo on crown, Dial looks as if its been lacquered, bad finish, bracelet, and most importantly, no markings on the movement, and the movement was not used on any Rolex to my knowledge. Please enlighten me on this, if I am wrong.

The issue I have now, is that, on the movement, there were no markings whatsoever, of the make or model. There were only serial numbers that read as "34B - 963125". After searching a lot, I realized, its an ETA 963.125, and photos on the internet matched with the movement I have. No marking of ETA on the movement (a fake again?). Its in a pretty rough shape, with the quartz oscillator (forgive my lack of knowledge of its correct name, as mechanics call it a "condenser" here), fallen apart. I did a preliminary  search with the mechanics and spares shop here, and they all said its very old and parts are not available. Only one said, he will get me a scrap movement, but I am a bit doubtful. I was able to get a service manual for ETA 963.124 online. My question now is, is it possible to get these spares, or the whole movement anywhere in Bangalore, India? (my place), or is it possible to replace the whole movement with a different one, with the day and date windows matching with the dial? Or is it possible to reuse the same day and date rings on a different movement? Can anyone advice me on this? TIA. Pictures attached, forgive the lower quality, problem with my mobile cam.

  

[clockboy]

There will be an equivalent movement for sure you might have to take measurements or a internet search. Whether it is worth doing is up to you, personally I would not bother as it is not even a good copy of the genuine.

[rodabod]

Can try an ISA 1198. Or alternatively could fit an ETA automatic, but check overall thickness and most importantly “stem height”. 

[jdm]

7 minutes ago, rodabod said:

Can try an ISA 1198. Or alternatively could fit an ETA automatic, but check overall thickness and most importantly “stem height”. 

No attachment. ETA automatic seems very out of place on a fake.

[rodabod]

The forum automatically tries to embed PDF files to view, but seems to have failed. 

It’s a fake watch, so no movement is technically correct. However, for early ETA quartz, sometimes the closest available equivalent is a mechanical. For example, ETA 536: ETA 2836. 

[rodabod]

[clockboy]

What worries me with copies/fakes is if after a repair it is then sold on as genuine. Am I then party to the fraud even if I only repaired it. A grey area in law that I would not like to challenge.

[rodabod]

I suppose a quartz movement is at least more likely to keep it looking fake. 

[jdm]

39 minutes ago, clockboy said:

What worries me with copies/fakes is if after a repair it is then sold on as genuine. Am I then party to the fraud even if I only repaired it. A grey area in law that I would not like to challenge.

A remote concern in some (if any) 1st world countries. Not elsewhere where problems at hand are more substantial. 

[rogart63]

watcheseek closed this question . I think we would do the same here? Would have been better if you just asked about the movement? Not saying it's a fake Rolex. 

[Ullas]

4 hours ago, clockboy said:

There will be an equivalent movement for sure you might have to take measurements or a internet search. Whether it is worth doing is up to you, personally I would not bother as it is not even a good copy of the genuine.

Thank you. As i did mention, its not the monetary issue here, but its more of a memory to my friend of his father. 

4 hours ago, rodabod said:

Can try an ISA 1198. Or alternatively could fit an ETA automatic, but check overall thickness and most importantly “stem height”. 

Thank you sir. I guess I'll keep it quartz as much as possible.

4 hours ago, clockboy said:

What worries me with copies/fakes is if after a repair it is then sold on as genuine. Am I then party to the fraud even if I only repaired it. A grey area in law that I would not like to challenge.

Didn't quite understand in what way this was meant sir, but if it was regarding me selling this watch, you can see its in a very rough shape for anyone to buy it. And I definitely don't want to add to the menace of fake Rolex watches that exist here already.

17 minutes ago, rogart63 said:

watcheseek closed this question . I think we would do the same here? Would have been better if you just asked about the movement? Not saying it's a fake Rolex. 

Ill take that into account next time sir. I was just being honest. Yes, the question was closed within few hours of me posting it there. More important for me than the "Fake Rolex", even though I initially mentioned it, is to get this watch running for my friend. Its a kind of a gift he recieved from his father just about four days before his sudden demise, so it holds a special place to him. Doing repairs as a hobby, I have decided not to take money for this work from him.

 

Thank you all for your response. The exchange chart mentioned only an ETA 963.124 and not a 125. I was bit doubtful, so asked here. 

[jdm]

26 minutes ago, rogart63 said:

watcheseek closed this question . I think we would do the same here? Would have been better if you just asked about the movement? Not saying it's a fake Rolex. 

Good point, topic closed.
One last note from me, I often hear of "sentimental value" as a compelling reason to spend money and effort on what not repairable or unreasonable to repair. Instead I think that a good way to respect the memory of who is no more, is not throwing good money after bad, just like as the person wold probably have done.