- 16/5/19
- 100
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I've owned this watch for over a year now, but I never wore it until this weekend and now I'm smitten. For starters, it's a 30mm 1942 Rolex Oyster 3980. I bought it on the 'bay while I was drunk at a Cubs game. Should I have been bidding on another project watch then? No. Absolutely not. Winning it was a total "well, holy shit, I just did that" moment. Still, I'm glad I did.
It runs, but it's a definite project. It needs a service, and it has a junky aftermarket crown that's too big and just slides over what's left of the tube, which has stripped threads and is ground down to basically nothing. Right now, it ain't much of an "Oyster" as old Hans intended. So after I bought it, I stuck it in the safe thinking I'd get around to it eventually.
But I now have a lot of time on my hands. My 6263 rep is on its way to yodog for its second act, my 5513 rep is on the workbench waiting for a Ruby dial and Swiss 2842 to show up in the mail, and my '59 Tudor Prince Oysterdate is locked down at the watchmaker's (it was getting serviced before society collapsed). I figured I'd see if the 3980 could take a little light wrist time. Plus, I remembered I had a nice NOS '40s canvas strap that fits it.
In short, this thing is gorgeous. The domed plexi, the blued syringe hands, the railroad-style chapter ring dial, the old-style printed Coronet – I'm kicking myself for not taking this out earlier. Plus, it's a quirky little watch; the left-side lugs are drilled through, but the right ones aren't. It is small, but my wrists are slim enough where I can pull off a 30mm watch from time to time.
In the future, I'm going to have it cleaned and serviced, and have a new crown and tube installed – Clark's sells a period Brevet "Super Oyster" crown that would look great on it. Anyway, I hadn't posted in a while and just wanted to share. Stay well out there, everybody.
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