Odd... I just dropped off my ladys 1966 for service and it got sent to rolex. Told me it would be 2 months cause they have to chase up a few parts from other service centers.

Could it be different on a GMT Master vs the Sub?? My Rolex is not a fake. Maybe it is broken???

Early Submariner bezels did move in both directions. My '74 did.
Supposedly this was changed so that if accidently moved, a diver wouldn't mistakenly believe he had more air time.

There are too many unknowns.. (AKA Red flags)

Save your hard earned money for another specimen or even a different brand less copied..

Set up an escrow if you really want it. Authenticity to be determined by YOUR Rolex service guy, if real, then release the funds. Might cost you an extra $100.

Yes, the uni-directional bezel showed up with the 16800 model I believe. So, all 16610 models should have it.

The bezel on the Sub is different from the one on the GMT. The Sub (16800 model onwards) should be uni-directional (CCW only), and the GMT should be bi-directional. ;)

Ah...yes, was thinking Sub. Sorry.

Must have been a typo. There was never a factory blue bezel (or dial) on a 16610.
That bezel insert came off of an early 16808 (all gold Submariner Date) as mentioned previously. You can tell from the "flat four" and the fact that it's blue with silver font. The later two-tone & all-gold blue bezels had gold font.
That blue dial came from a 16808 as well. In the first pic the hour markers and bezel pearl look to have the same level of patina, so I'd say they came off of the same watch.

Case looks good though. If you can get it for $1000, I'd grab it.

I also have an early sub. Bezel moves in both directions. Rolex later changed this as mentioned above to avoid divers overestimating how much time they had left to surface.

They usually don't correlate. If you have an R-series sub, it shouldn't have an R-series clasp code. If it does, the bracelet was replaced at some point (another nod to it being a Franken-watch). An R-series clasp code indicates a bracelet that was made in 1992/1993. See if you can get a pic of the outside of the clasp/flip-lock.

The bezel spring is an easy fix though. That vintage blue dial & bezel should fetch a bit more than a standard replacement 16610 dial/bezel too. So, if you swap them out and bring it back to "stock" that would increase your margin a bit as well (assuming you are going to flip it). It would probably sell much faster, and for more $$ with the factory-correct parts anyway.

Oh, and BTW, I have a couple genuine, period-correct, black "flat-four" 16610 bezels laying around if you do go that route.

SmileWavy

Thanks for all of the input. I've pretty much decided to pass on it. Just so many unknowns. I'd really like a sub for myself, but don't want one that's cobbled together.