Rolex

We don’t see too many of these from Rolex esp with all original dial

I also had an old box which is perfect for this model

Tiger stripe 971A


I have been collecting these for over 30 years Generally I don’t sell but I have only sold 2, one a tiger stripe and one a silver brancard
The collection grows

I really love the Tiger Stripe Princes. Thanks for posting this.

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Here is the watch I told you about that just I just came in from London.

Strap looks a little tight
These watches wear really well and actually keep excellent time
I just would not wear it outside if it is raining!
Julian

I used to wear a Rolex Prince nearly every day 25 years ago. After a few years I got going on Patek Philippe. My favorite Patek Philippe is the 3940. Now I am back to a Rolex Prince ( at least for a while…) . 

Love vintage tanks, and this special bi-metal case looks retro cool!

...but you almost never see stripes...very nice : )

Wow, unbelievable

The “Tiger Stripe” Rolex Prince being very popular back in the 1980’s and into the 1990’s. I wore one for years. They were around and many people wanted one. Eventually word got out that much of what was out there on the market was fake. The demand for the 971 tiger stripe (some people say “Zebra Stripe”) became great enough that some VERY good looking counterfeit 971’s started flooding the market. Sadly some “reputable” watch dealers and auction houses in the U.K. and the U.S. and in Italy got on board and started selling these things with no scruples at all. Of course I only learned all this AFTER I had paid too much money for one and had worn the watch for years. To this day, I don’t know if the Rolex Prince Tiger Stripe I wore was real or not. After owning it for years and trying to sell it on to buy my first Patek Philippe I learned a hard lesson. Many watch dealers would not touch a “Striped Prince”. One dealer told me that a lot of the metal work on the cases ( the stripe inlay) was so good that he could not tell the real thing from a counterfeit, so he would not touch them. Wouldn’t deal in the Striped Prince at all!

A lot of the cases and dials were refreshed ( to be diplomatic )
I have passed on many due to my concerns
I have also sold one as I was not convinced it was all original But over the years I continue to buy as long as I am convinced the case has not been worked or the dial refreshed

Interestingly the same concerns happened with the Paul Newman dial - but for some reason it did not affect the value which is now many times higher than any striped prince When they had their heyday the prices of princes were much higher than any daytona Go figure

I agree one needs to be very careful when buying one of these

Julian

Thanks for all the compliments

You don’t see this kind of Rolexes very often.

Thank you for showing us this gem.

All the best
Thomas