# Can Anyone Help Me With This Vintage Rolco Please?



## Murra55

I am totally new to all this, but would like some opinion on the vintage gold Rolco (art deco, I think) that belonged to my grandfather. It's in great working order and is 9ct gold, including wristband, which is a solid bracelet. It has several identifying numbers and other markings on it, none of which mean anything to me. The movement is marked RWC. This watch has been lying about in a bureau for years and even emigrated to Australia with me from England. No idea where/when purchased by my grandfather. Have searched high and low on the internet for anything remotely similar to this watch, but have had no luck. Any ideas?














































http://s1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd481/Murramint/


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## bjohnson

It's a nice Swiss watch from the early 1950s (approximately .. definitely not the 1930s)

There has been some ebay sellers linking Rolco to Rolex. It was a second-tier brand name (like Unicorn, Genex, Rolwatch, etc.) used by Rolex to market lower priced mid-range watches in about the 1920s & 1930s.

I think there was no Rolex connection by the 1950s but I'm not certain.

In any event, it won't have a Rolex movement or a Rolex case .. so what would make it a Rolex?

A photo of the movement with it's dimension might allow identification of the movement maker and calibre


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## Murra55

bjohnson said:


> It's a nice Swiss watch from the early 1950s (approximately .. definitely not the 1930s)
> 
> There has been some ebay sellers linking Rolco to Rolex. It was a second-tier brand name (like Unicorn, Genex, Rolwatch, etc.) used by Rolex to market lower priced mid-range watches in about the 1920s & 1930s.
> 
> I think there was no Rolex connection by the 1950s but I'm not certain.
> 
> In any event, it won't have a Rolex movement or a Rolex case .. so what would make it a Rolex?
> 
> A photo of the movement with it's dimension might allow identification of the movement maker and calibre


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## Murra55

Murra55 said:


> bjohnson said:
> 
> 
> 
> It's a nice Swiss watch from the early 1950s (approximately .. definitely not the 1930s)
> 
> There has been some ebay sellers linking Rolco to Rolex. It was a second-tier brand name (like Unicorn, Genex, Rolwatch, etc.) used by Rolex to market lower priced mid-range watches in about the 1920s & 1930s.
> 
> I think there was no Rolex connection by the 1950s but I'm not certain.
> 
> In any event, it won't have a Rolex movement or a Rolex case .. so what would make it a Rolex?
> 
> A photo of the movement with it's dimension might allow identification of the movement maker and calibre
Click to expand...

Interesting that you say it's from the 50's because my grandfather died in 1946, so not sure how this could be? The RWC marking on the movement (I'll post a photo of the movement when I'm allowed to post more - tomorrow will be OK I think!). It was definitely his watch so this would date it slightly earlier than the 50's for sure. I was under the impression that Rolco was also an earlier version of the Rolex company or a subsidiary of theirs along with a few others. However, it's still a puzzle as I've no idea what all the markings mean. There are some underneath the dial - the dial actually lifts off to reveal the workings and there are several numbers and something handwritten on the base of the casing. I will post photos tomorrow to see if that helps. Thanks for your response - I was hoping this forum might give me some clues, and this is a good start!


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## Murra55

A Post Script to the above - having checked out my facts, my grandfather died in 1942, not 46, so this was earlier than stated. See pics of casing (inner) and movement. Still in great workign order too!


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## bjohnson

We should be able to date the case to the year it was made by the gold hallmarks

Unfortunately I'm not very good at interpreting them. For instance, I can't find the double "F" symbol in my reference info


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## harryblakes7

Hi, nice watch, definatly 1920's, the "Unicorn, Marcoin, Rolco" watches were advertised by Rolex as "An Accurate Timekeeper at a moderate price"

RWC = Rolex Watch Company, Hallmarks look like Swiss ones..........

Lovely watch :good:


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## bjohnson

Well, you may be in luck (if getting a gold watch from your grandfather wasn't lucky enough already). It looks like I may have been off in my date estimation in my first post.

According to this:

http://www.newturfers.com/bin/mwf/topic_show.pl?tid=49554

The double F is an import mark from the Glasgow assay office. We'll have to see if we can find a hallmark list for that office to get the year by the "l" hallmark. The linked thread lists a "p" as 1938 and I found another reference to a "b" being 1930. Assuming an alphabetical sequence, you get 1935 for your case from both.

Your movement is different than the one in that thread so we'll have to work on identifying that


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## Murra55

Thanks for all the help so far - it's certainly been good to get on here with people that have given so much information this far! Any further opinions/info gratefully received


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## Murra55

Thanks for all the info on this - I am trying to find out an approximate value on this watch as I am looking to sell this and some other watches that I have unearthed in a bureau drawer belonging to my family. Would appreciate any ideas on value for this and any of the other watches I have found (photos on request) Thanks Deby


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## pg tips

The watch forum is not able to give valuations. The members of this forum are, in the main, keen amateurs. No member of this forum is a professional appraiser or valuation expert, however some members may decide to give you a "rough" idea of value based on their own individual experience. All we can say is that any watch is worth simply what someone will pay for it.

Additionally, a professional appraiser would insist on seeing or handling the watch before giving an opinion as to value, (for which they may charge a fee). Condition is paramount, a watch in it's original box, in immaculate "as new" condition, together with all the original paperwork etc., will always be worth more than a similar watch in poor condition.

You may be able to get an estimate of value by searching e-bay or similar sites (including completed listings) for the same or a similar model.


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## pg tips

Prior to WW2, Rolex marketed 2nd quality brands such as Genex, Marconi, Unicorn and Rolco, mostly in full Rolex stamped cases (RWCLTD). These generally used watch movements bought in from other wrist watch movement makers and normally are of poorer quality than Rolex in house movements, however, saying that, the Rolco brand can sometimes give the odd surprise, if you take the dial off it may be stamped Rolex. Accurate identification of the movement will help the valuation, this is not possible from the pictures supplied.


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## pg tips

A, possibly not complete, list of names used by Rolex

Archeo, Aqua, Brandcard, Brex, Cestello, Cellissima, Chronautic, Cybernaut, Danaos, Elvira, Egyptian, Genex, Imperial, Lilliputian, LON, Lonex, Marconi, Milgauss, Metropolitan, Moneda, Ondeo, Omigra, Oyster, Oysterdate, Pearlmaster, Plage, Prima, Prince Dauphin, Prince, Rolco, Rolexis, Roliseum, Rollesor, Rolwatco, Royal, Solar, Sousmarin, Space Dweller Stratosphere, Tru-beat, Tudor, Unicorn Lever, Unicorn, Viceroy, Waferthin, Wicket, W/D, X/L, Zerographe


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## Murra55

Thanks for your replies. I realise it's not a forum for valuations of that kind, it's just that I have searched so many avenues - including Ebay and a watch expert over here in Australia, who said he'd never heard of Rolco!. It's very frustrating trying to find someone, somewhere, who knows about British watches when one doesn't live there! Apologies for giving the wrong impression - I wasn't after a valuation in itself, just trying to get an idea if it was worth pursuing the quest! Thanks


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