In my experience, if you drop it off at a Patek salon or one of the big dealers who often ship to Patek, you can get it back in less than a month. Thats my experience anyway. It does however depend very much on how long the dealer procrastinates...
Is fundamentally bad. I have seen some pretty bad jobs especially from H Stern in the US. However in the last 4-5 years most of the polished bracelets and cases I have seen were actually pretty well done. I recently had a 5980 with a bracelet polish...
Thanks guys. It's an interesting piece. I agree on the pre-1951 date. I guess 49-50-51 is realistic considering the design and the use of VEB. Came with original box and papers. Sincerely,Morgan