Rolex Precision Metropolitan 18ct 1953 35.5mm Oversize

Rolex

Founded in 1905 in England by Hans Wilsdorf and Alfred Davis as Wilsdorf & Davis, the company became known as the Rolex Watch Company in 1915, moving to its new Geneva headquarters in 1919. The evolution and early success of the wristwatch can be largely attributed to a number of Rolex’ innovations which made the company one of the most respected and well-known of all luxury brands.

During the 1930s and ’40s, Rolex also became quite masterful in courting tremendous publicity and excitement by being literally ‘on hand’ during numerous record-breaking events. These were, for example, swimming the English Channel (1927), breaking the world automobile speed record (300mph, 1935), breaking the sound barrier (1947) and climbing Everest for the first time in 1953. No matter how well orchestrated these events came to be, we have to admire Rolex for becoming masters of self-promotion and capitalising on every opportunity with simultaneous worldwide marketing campaigns. Now, of course, Rolex is the most successful of all watch company in the world, and one of the most widely recognised brands.

Description

The Rolex Precision was first released in the late 1940s as a gentleman’s hand-wound dress watch and remained in production as such, until the early 1970s. It was succeeded by the Rolex Cellini which remains in production to this day.

Here we have one of the most beautiful Rolex Precisions in the form of the ‘Metropolitan’ 18ct Oversize with the milled bezel. This is also often known as a ‘Thunderbird’ bezel.

This watch has just completed a full restoration by our team, including the movement, watch case and watch dial. This involves three different sets of skills. Our watchmaker has restored and serviced the watch movement, our watch case-maker has sympathetically restored the case and our dial restorer has restored the dial.

The Dial

We feel the larger Metropolitan cased Rolex Precisions with elegant straight lugs, borrow something from the Patek Phillipe Calatrava look.

Here, ‘Pencil’ and ‘Stud’ hour indices are complemented by the original ‘Dauphine’ hands over a slightly off-white dial, each elevating the dial to something quite special. Once again, pure simple style and classic timeless elegance and a perfect example of how vintage beats modern, hands down, every time!

The Rolex Coronet crowns the dial which is signed ‘Rolex’ and ‘Precision’ with ‘Swiss’ at the very bottom.

This is the original dial which has been sympathetically and beautifully restored to the highest standards by our dial restorers, who are regarded the best in the UK.

The Watch Case

The 18ct solid yellow gold case measures 35.5mm in diameter, excluding the Rolex nipple crown, making this one of the rare oversized Rolex dress watches. At 9mm deep, including the lens, this is also quite a slim cased watch.

This is a Rolex Precision Metropolitan and model reference 4448 is quite a rare reference. The milled bezel carries very fine radial grooves along with larger marks at each hour, which accentuate the hours around the dial.

Bezels are always prone to damage and particularly those with any kind of decoration. However, the bezel here really is in excellent condition and not overly polished which is unusual, to say the least! This, along with the clean and nicely polished case-back, indicates the watch has been well cared for and seen very little use.

The straight lugs are also notable as they are beautifully elegant in design. They are very nicely swept-back, raising the watch a little, making it sit higher on the wrist. Lastly, the beautiful case-back is also in amazing condition and just like the rest of the case, carries no scratches, dings or any other damage visible to the naked eye.

Inside the case-back is the early Rolex scroll signature. The case also carries the number 925 along with the Rolex model reference number 4448 and Swiss Geneva 18ct hallmarks. The inside of the case- back also includes Glasgow UK 18ct hallmarks which date this watch to 1953.

The watch case is very clean and all its lines are very distinct, indicating only very light hand-polishing. The watch shows only the very slightest signs of wear with no scratches, dings or other marks visible to the naked eye. The case has only required some very gentle hand polishing to bring it back to the condition you see here.

As ever, our standard advice applies: Vintage watches should be kept clean and dry at all times.

The Movement

As can be seen, the high-grade Cal.710 Superbalance, 17 Jewel hand-wound movement is in incredibly clean and sparkling condition. It has just completed an overhaul and service by our vintage Rolex specialist watchmaker and winds, sets and runs perfectly.

Following its service, the movement was calibrated and final tested and was found to be running arrow straight at +4 seconds per day! This is truly excellent and has been checked on our electronic watch timegrapher. This movement also has a superb 58 hour power reserve when fully wound.

The movement is signed ‘Rolex Precision’, ‘Swiss Made’ and ‘17 Rubis’ and is marked with the Calibre number 710. This particular movement is in superb condition and with regular servicing, say every 3 or 4 years, we would fully expect this watch to run quite happily and provide very faithful service for another 60+ years or so to come! We have no hesitation in offering this watch with our 12 months’ written warranty*.

*Please note – our 12 months’ warranty is only applicable if the list price is paid.

The Strap and Buckle

The strap fitted is a new, high-quality black Crocodile strap with a Rolex gold-plated buckle which we feel contrasts nicely with the watch. However, if a different colour or style of strap is preferred, please let us know and we will do our best to oblige free of charge. We carry tan, conker, dark brown and black in stock, in plain padded leather, crocodile skin or lizard skin, but can also obtain most types and colours of strap from our partners at ‘Watch Obsession’ within 48hrs. Please take a look at their huge range of 18mm straps if you wish, here.

The Box and Papers

Although there are no original papers with this watch, all the numbers and markings on the watch are correct, dating the watch to 1953.

Our detailed ‘Particulars’ document will be included in the sale, with our detailed receipt and our 12 months warranty*. A separate insurance valuation for the replacement value of this watch will also be provided at the time of sale along with our unique ‘Lifetime Authenticity Guarantee’ which states: “If this watch proves to be anything less than totally authentic, or not as described, Vintage Gold Watches of London will offer you a full refund at any time”.

The watch comes complete with a Rolex presentation box, as shown.

In Conclusion

This is a rare and first-class example of a highly collectable and highly practical vintage watch from horology’s most famous name, which will provide an excellent financial investment as well as something to use, wear, treasure and enjoy! It will make an excellent evening wear dress watch as well as a practical highly accurate and reliable timepiece to use on an everyday basis.

Vintage gold Rolex Precision watches are highly collectable and the rarity of this watch means the value will always remain strong. This watch will make an excellent investment and family heirloom piece and even though vintage Rolex prices have risen markedly recently, we feel fine examples such as this still remain undervalued. As each year goes by and the world market for vintage watches expands, availability will become more limited so prices are surely destined to climb ever higher!

A word about our prices – We always try our hardest to acquire the very highest quality watches we can find, before restoring these to the highest possible standards. We then offer these at the fairest prices we can, taking into account our pre and post-sales care and service. This approach inevitably means we will never be the cheapest, but nor will we be the most expensive. Indeed there are a number of well-known stores in West London which are very successful, charging between two to three times the price you see here. We therefore consider our prices to be fair, given the quality of watches we have to offer.

We are happy to accept PayPal as this is the quickest method of payment. However, if you wish to pay by bank transfer, we will be pleased to pass on a 3% transaction saving to you. Similarly, if you wish to pay by International SWIFT or International Bank Wire Transfer, we will provide you with our BIC / Swift number and our IBAN number.

Please note, we welcome part exchanges and if you have a watch or small collection for sale, please contact us as we will be happy to discuss this.

We will also be happy to Service, Repair or Restore your watch, all at ‘sensible’ prices. Please see here.

If you have any questions, please call our landline on 020 7727 7095 or if calling from overseas on +44 207 727 7095.

We await your call! We will be happy to answer any questions and offer advice about this or any of our watches listed for sale. If you would like some general advice regarding any aspect of vintage watches, including buying, selling, or collecting, we will also be very happy to hear from you.

Finally, please enjoy some further time spent viewing our other fine vintage gold watches.

Thank you.