Rolex Precision Cal.1210 9ct 1962

Rolex

Founded in 1905 in England by Hans Wilsdorf and Alfred Davis as Wilsdorf & Davis, the partnership became known as the Rolex Watch Company in 1915, moving to its new Geneva headquarters in 1919. The success of the wristwatch can be largely attributed to many of Rolex’s innovations which made the company one of the most respected and well-known of all luxury brands. These have included its famous “Oyster” case — the world’s first water-resistant and dustproof watch case, invented in 1926 — and its “Perpetual” — the world’s first reliable, self-winding movement for the wristwatch, launched in 1933. These would form the foundation for Rolex’s Datejust and Day-Date, respectively introduced in 1945 and 1956. Also and equally importantly, Rolex is known for its sports watches, such as the Explorer, Submariner and GMT-Master launched in the mid-1950s.

Description

Here we have a beautiful, fully original, unrestored and untouched, good sized 9ct yellow gold vintage Rolex Precision gentleman’s dress watch in wonderful condition from 1962. The silver-white dial with incredible ‘arrowhead’ hour indices and gilt ‘leaf’ hands, make this a highly sought after watch, particularly when found in such excellent condition.

Although this style and size of the watch, at 33mm diameter was a considered typical sized gentleman’s watch in the 1960s, this is perhaps more suited as a ladies watch today.

The Dial

The beautiful, completely original, unrestored and untouched silver-white dial is completed with gilt ‘arrowhead’ hour indices all of which are swept by original gilt ‘leaf’ hands. This watch has a very simple yet delicate and elegant feel, but is outstanding nonetheless.

The dial is signed with the Rolex Coronet and ‘Rolex’ just below 12 with ‘Precision’ just above 6 and ‘Swiss’ at the very bottom below 6.

As the dial is original and unrestored, this has been left untouched by our restoration team due to its superb condition. Usually, we restore the dials of the watches we sell, however we decided in this case to leave it alone. It also helps to contrast with almost all of the other watch dials you see on our website, which have been restored. The hands, likewise, have also been left in their original condition.

Please note, studio lights, professional-grade digital cameras, and macro lenses can be very unkind to an unrestored vintage watch dial. Also the dial here measures less than 1.25 inches across, so the image you’re seeing may be between 5 – 25 times larger than the watch itself. Therefore please keep in mind you are seeing many tiny flaws which cannot be seen, or will be very hard to see with the naked eye, even under close examination. Suffice to say, on the wrist, in natural light, this dial looks much better and carries a great deal more charm than the photographs portray.

The Movement

The high grade Cal.1210 manual wind movement is incredibly clean and also in incredibly good condition. It has just been overhauled and serviced by our expert watchmaker and is running perfectly. These movements are very highly regarded for their accuracy and reliability and this movement has been calibrated to run arrow straight within +9 seconds per day! This is no exaggeration – we have checked the test results on our electronic watch timer. This movement also has a really excellent 58-hour power reserve when fully wound.

The movement is signed ‘Montres Rolex S.A’, ‘17 Jewels’ and ‘Swiss’ with the calibre number 1210 along with the movement serial number 24635.

This particular movement is in superb condition and with regular servicing, we would fully expect this watch to run quite happily for many more decades to come. We are therefore very confident in offering this watch with a 12-month written warranty*.

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

The Watch Case

The 9ct yellow gold case is in tip-top condition and measures a good size 33mm, excluding the original, correct Rolex unsigned crown. The case also features wonderful straight lugs.

The case has been professionally cleaned and carefully inspected, requiring only a very light hand-polishing to remove any tarnishing and bring it back to the current condition. There are no scratches, dings or other damage visible to the naked eye.

The inside of the case-back shows the signature ‘Dennison Made in England for Rolex’ and the Dennison manufacturers stamp ‘A.L.D’. Also found are the correct London 9ct gold hallmarks, the case reference number 12376 and the case serial number 202505.

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

The Strap and Buckle

The strap fitted is a high quality black leather strap, with a Rolex gold-plated buckle which we feel complements the watch very well. 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 straps if you wish, here.

Box and Papers

Although there are no original papers with this watch, the reference numbers, markings, signatures and hallmarks are all correct, dating this watch to 1962.

Detailed particulars will be included with our purchase receipt for your interest and security. A separate insurance valuation for the replacement value of this watch will 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 100% genuine, authentic and original, a full refund will be given at any time”.

This watch comes complete with a high quality hardwood presentation box as shown in the photographs.

Payment and Delivery

If you would like to pay by bank transfer, we will be pleased to assist you with this. Similarly, if you wish to pay by International SWIFT or Bank Wire Transfer we will provide you with our BIC / Swift number and our IBAN number.

Please check the import duties and any taxes your government may apply, these are different for each country and, unfortunately, out of our control.

We understand there may be some ‘loopholes’ that may help you avoid these charges; however, attempting to use these could impact our ongoing ability to serve our growing international customer base.

For those who happen to visit London on occasion, we are, of course, more than happy to store your watch until we can meet you in our offices in Kensington, London, and hand your watch directly to you there.

As with all our watches, this watch will be sold under our 14 days no-quibble sale or return policy.