Wrong dial can have a negative impact on a watch financial value

Dear Friends,

I would like to share a double experience with Rolex and how you really have to care about what you do when dealing with vintage watches.

A collector sent me a photo with a beautiful Rolex Submariner 5513 from 1966.
After looking at it, I was able to say that the dial was wrong. The dial for the model 5513 was made from 1966 until the late 1980’s. In 1966, the dial came with the meters first 200m-660ft and you can see that on the photo the dial come in feet first 660ft-200m. Having said so, the watch or dial is probably around 1968 or 1969. As everything is in the dial, the value of the watch probably went from $15K to $8K at the most.

Recently another person approached me with a photo of a Rolex GMT 1675 watch. The asking price was $9K. After asking additional information, the person provided the serial number 1327716 and said the model was Pepsi. After doing research and looking at the watch, the 1.32 number meant that it was the year 1966. After looking at the dial and being from 1966, the watch should have had a Gilt Dial. Once again it was not the original dial. With the proper dial this watch would be around $15K, in this condition, the watch is probably worth $5K.

Please share your experiences.