I recently serviced this Rolex 1601 Datejust Calibre 1560 from 1963 for a ClockSavant customer. The calibre 1560 was the predecessor to the more commonly found 1570. The movement had been doused in oil and was very dirty. It’s not uncommon to see loss of plating on a movement due to past use of cheap and incorrect (harsh) cleaning chemicals. I often see folks on collector forums one-upping each other on how inexpensive their watchmaker is and how the other guy must be a rip off, nobody comparing what servicing actually means. Here we see servicing meant dousing the watch in kerosene followed by a dunking in a rinse laced with oil, then more oil dropped here-and-there for good measure. What you will see though is that Rolex movements like this are brutes— they push through and keep time regardless, maybe as this one did stopping sometimes but, for the most part, they are a showcase for Rolex quality. After servicing this watch runs beautifully, is again water resistant, and ready for another generation.
