ROLEX
For Sale
NEW benefits with each order
| [CLICK on PIC for Larger Image] |
|
|
5539 Early sterling silver Enamel Dial “Full Hunter” Rolex
What makes this watch most unusual is that the case is a full hunter that is the dial is completely covered by the spring loaded lid, which is raised by a button at the 6 position. Most of the covered dial Rolex watches from this period are half hunters, that is they have a small aperture in the case cover so that the dial may be read. One of the nicest things about this watch is that it has not been engraved on the cover, unlike the majority of full hunters. The original
white enamel (porcelain) dial has is sunk for the small seconds and has
large Arabic skeleton numerals, blued steel skeleton style hands and a
large original pink gilt winding crown. The movement is the rhodium finished, 15-jewel Rolex rebberg calibre. These watches were some of the very first men's Rolex watches ever made and were almost all bought by officers in the allied armies during the First World War. The covered dial was a protection against damage which might occur in the trenches. The watch has
been recently serviced, runs & keeps good time (bearing in mind it is
almost 90 years old, so do not expect quartz accuracy).
£1,250.00 (approx. $2,300.00 US) |
|
|
6004
Gold Filled & Steel Rolex Oyster "Pall Mall"
This is the actual watch shown on page 68 of our book.
|
|
|
Rolex Oyster Perpetual with unusual provenance Reference
6332 and numbered 981134, this watch dates to the third quarter of 1954. One
of the stranger models of the 1950s from Rolex, the 6332 had a very
unusual case & dial. The history of this particular watch is also most
unusual & can be verified. The
case sides of this model are flat, unlike all other contemporary Rolex
oysters (see the pics); only the Submariner & GMT models had flat case
sides. The
dial is a cream or ivory colour with applied steel diamond cut steel
“arrowhead” markers. The centre of the dial is sunken and the seconds
track is inside the inner sunken section. Because the seconds track is
inside the hour markers, the seconds hand is very short, just reaching the
seconds register. All of the indices have luminous dots at their extreme
periphery, however due to age, none of the luminous still functions. The
hands are steel “leaf” shaped ones with a luminous insert. The
movement is a 9.75’” calibre A260, the very last of the true
bubblebacks, it is numbered 08141, interestingly usually only chronometers
have numbered movements but the dial of this watch bears neither
“Precision” nor “Chronometer” markings, so it is difficult to tell
if the watch was sold as either. What
is really interesting is the case back engraving, which reads “The
Property of A. C. Nielsen Company Limited Oxford”; A. C. Nielsen are the
company who monitor television viewing habits both in the US and in the
UK. According to a 1956 Rolex advertisement (click on the link on the left
to view) all of Nielsen’s field operatives were issued with a Rolex
watch, this is obviously one of them. The
dial is 90%, whilst the case & movement are both 95%.
|
|
5681 R are White Gold Rolex 'Chameleon' with 6 straps.First introduced in the mid 1950s as “The watch with its own wardrobe”, the Chameleon was produced for over 25 years, such was its popularity. This popularity was due to the fact that it was sold with a selection of different coloured bands enabling it to be worn with many outfits. The construction of the case is unique in that the case back has a channel through which the different straps can be slid. They are held in place by friction & as the strap is a fraction of a millimetre bigger than the channel, the watch does not move unless you choose to move it. These watches were made in 9k, 14k and 18k in yellow, red & white gold. The wide flat bezel encloses an unusual crystal which has facets around the perimeter on the inside, giving the top of the watch the appearance of a flower, which is why it is also called an Orchid. This watch, case number 16020 is made from 14k white gold & is one of the rare US made cases, although it is fully signed ‘Rolex’. It comes on its original White Gold filled woven band and five additional new old stock original Rolex leather bands, they are in Red, Green, Yellow & Black, all (except the yellow one) have their original Rolex gilt buckles and one slightly used black strap, also with original Rolex gilt buckle. The dial is a cream colour with an applied white gold triangles at 12 and 6, large diamond cut white gold batons for the other quarter hours and shorter diamond cut white gold batons for the other hour markers. The hands are white gold batons, there is no seconds hand & as a dress watch there is obviously no luminous on the hands or dial. The movement is the cal 1400, which at 13.75mm is the smallest movement Rolex ever made. It has 17 jewels and incabloc shock protection (one of the few Rolex movements to use this system). The dial & movement are both 95+%, whist the case is 95%. The watch measures 15.5mm diameter (and has no lugs), is 9mm high and comes on its original white gold filled woven Rolex band & the five additional straps mentioned above with gilt Rolex buckles. SOLD |
|
5680 U nusual Rolex Perpetual with US made GF case.Made in the 1970s, this unusual Rolex Perpetual was never available for retail sale; they were made for sale only to companies as presentation or award watches for employees reaching performance targets or commemorating exceptional length of service; and only in the US. The dial is strange for a Rolex of this period as it has no text other than the word ‘Rolex’; no SCOC text, nor its usual replacement ‘precision’ and neither ‘Oyster’ not ‘Perpetual’; just a discreet ‘T Swiss T’ almost hidden at the very bottom of the dial. The silvered dial has applied gilt baton indices with a small luminous dot at their outer extremities and the gilt baton hands have slim tritium inserts, obviously after all these years, none of the luminous still works. What is strange about the absence of the expected ‘Oyster perpetual’ on the dial is that only one of these features is actually missing from the watch; because although it is NOT an Oyster, it is most certainly a Perpetual, being fitted with a 26 jewel cal 1570, and as the movement is numbered 960522, it is quite possibly a chronometer. This watch has a US made gold filled case made so as to avoid high US import duties in the 1950s/1960s; although Rolex USA were still offering these watches as late as the early 1980s. The movements, dials & hands all arrived separately in the US, and by assembling the watch in the US (at their 5th Avenue HQ) in a US made case Rolex were able to claim that more than 51% of the value of the watch was US production and so evade the high import duties of the time. Despite being made down to a price, they are actually a very well made watch, using my favourite Rolex movement (the 15XX series) in a nice solid case which is classically styled with a wide bezel, faceted lugs and a recessed winding crown. It makes a very nice dress watch and looks very un-Rolex like. The case is 90% (there are signs of a presentation engraving having been removed), whilst the dial & movement are both 95%. The watch measures 34.5mm Diam, 40mm lug to lug, it is 11mm high and takes a 19mm strap and a black leather one is fitted. £1,250.00 (approx $2,450.00 US) |
|
5678
Rolex Golden Egg ref 6634 from 1959 This is one of the of the more obscure models made by Rolex in the 1950s when they were trying to cover all marketing bases, essentially it is a steel watch with a sheet of 240 micron thick 14k gold pressed onto the top surface of the watch. This gave the appearance of a gold watch without the cost but also without the chance of it wearing through to the base metal, which could happen with gold plated or gold filled watches. Evidence that these watches did not suffer wear is evidenced by this one which looks as good as it did the day it left Geneva, the case is the unusual straight sided one, usually used in Canadian market watches, the case design has one other unusual feature; because of the way the case was made, it was not possible to machine the usual chamfered edges on the shoulders of the lugs and these two features make the case look quite unusual for a Rolex of this period. As can be seen from the pricelist linked on the left, the watch was considerably more expensive than the current model Explorer; and, as can be seen from the 1958 Canadian market catalogue (the only one I have been able to find which actually lists the watch), it does NOT have the name ‘Golden egg’ on the dial. The original black dial is gorgeous with a high gloss finish, raised ‘ROLEX’ and applied diamond cut multi-faceted ‘arrowhead’ hour indices, outer track in gilt with seconds and half seconds marks, gilt leaf shaped hands with slim luminous inserts and needle pointed sweep seconds hand with circular counterweight. The movement is a 25 jewel chronometer rated 1030 calibre with 25 jewels, Parachoc shock protection, adjusted to 5 positions & temperature; like all Rolex chronometer movements it is numbered and in this case it is 634113. The movement is
95+% and the case and dial are both 95%. SOLD |
|
5664 Rolex ‘Railway’ Prince Elegant
The watch is model number 3565, case number 047458 and most likely dates from the late 1930s; this is the actual watch shown on page 174 of our book. Known in contemporary catalogues as the “Prince Elegant” or “Prince Dauphin”, it is more commonly known by the name of “railway” after the similarly cased Rolex Prince model 1768. However it is closer in style to an identically styled Patek Philippe model 655, which dates from around the same period. My assumption is that both cases were made by the same case company (most likely Francis Baumgartner). The case is very ‘Art Deco’ styled in stainless steel with cascading angled stepped sides and angled flat bezels above and below the dial; in true Art Deco style, there are no curves anywhere on the case surface, only flat angles. The snap back is slightly curved to fit the wrist and bears the model number & full Rolex signatures inside and the serial number on the outside of the case back. The dial is gloss black and refinished. The movement is a 17 jewel HW calibre which is signed “Rolex Precision”. The movement has no shock protection but the escape jewels are fitted in screwed gold chatons; the oversized uncut balance wheel has a Breguet hairspring & adjustable timing screws, The movement is 90+%, whilst the case & dial are both 95%. Length 31mm, Width 23mm; Lug-to-Lug 40.5mm; Height 9mm. It takes a 16mm strap and a new old stock 1930s pigskin one is fitted. £2,500.00 (approx. $4,900.00 US) |
|
Rolex 9k Gold Oyster Cushion This is a classic example of one of the last and rarest versions of the original "Oyster cushion" in 9k yellow gold. The watch is model number 2941, case number 39559 and bears a Glasgow import mark for 1937. It has a perfect original white enamel dial with full luminous Arabic numerals, sunken subsidiary seconds dial at 6 and the hands are blued steel luminous “pencil” style. Due to the age of the watch, none of the luminous still functions. As a later version of the Oyster it has the flat polished bezel and solid lugs, rather than the milled bezel and wire lugs of the earlier versions. The rear of the case has an owners engraving that says Sub Lieut. C. C. Butt RN and the date 19th Feb 1940, RN means Royal Navy and it is obvious that this was a watch worn on duty by an officer in the Royal Navy during WWII. The movement is a 15 jewel 10 hunter calibre which is signed Superbalanceand Swiss Made. The movement is 95%, whilst the case & dial are both 95+%. :P> Width 31mm; Lug-to-Lug 36mm; Height 10mm. It takes a 16mm strap and a brown lizard one is fitted.
£2,500.00 (approx. $4,000.00 US) |
|
Sterling Silver Cushion
Oyster This is a bizarre watch, the first Oyster Unicorn I
have ever seen in a precious metal. The case is silver, it was obviously never sold in the
UK as the case has a Swiss hallmark for 0.935 silver, rather than the
0.925 usually seen on watches destined for the UK. It has a gorgeous original silvered dial with sunken
subsidiary dial & full luminous arabic numerals. The watch also has
the original luminous skeleton hands which have very unusual diamond
shaped tips. The dial is also signed “Unicorn” above the subsidiary
seconds dial. This is one of the first attempts by Rolex to brand
watches with the name “Oyster” as a separate and less expensive brand than
the flagship Rolex. The dial is signed “Oyster”; the “Unicorn” name on the
dial was one of the names Rolex had used in the 1920s and was retained for
continuity purposes. As an early silver version of the Oyster it has the
milled bezel & wire lugs that are rarely seen on the less expensive
versions of the Oyster. The movement is a classic 15 jewel
10½ FHF calibre 59 which is signed “15 Rubies Non Magnetic Swiss Made”.
This was the standard movement for the lower priced Rolex watches of the
period and was used until the early 1950s, when it was eventually replaced
by various ETA calibres. The case is signed both “RWC and “Rolex Watch Company”;
which again is very unusual for one of the less expensive versions of the
Oyster. The movement is 95%, whilst the case & dial are
both 90+%. Length 32mm; Lug to Lug 38mm; Height 9mm. It takes a
18mm strap and a new black leather one is fitted. |
View movement View watch & book |
6011 Steel “Army” Imperial Oyster from 1941
Model 3139 Stainless steel Rolex Oyster "Imperial" case number
106047 dating the watch to 1941. The original dial is silvered with the words "Rolex Oyster" curved and ‘Imperial’ and ‘Chronometer’ below them. There is an outer minute track & the numerals are full luminous arabics. The original hands are the classic blued steel "pencil" style with luminous infill and the subsidiary seconds hand is also blued steel obviously the luminous material no longer works after over half a century. This is the actual watch shown on page 64 of our book.
The case is in 95% condition and the movement & dial are 90+%. £2,000.00 (approx. $3,750.00 US) |
