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.
During the 1930s and ’40s, Rolex also became quite masterful at courting tremendous publicity and excitement through literally being ‘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.
Description
A beautiful, completely original, unrestored and untouched gentleman’s rare Rolex watch from 1938 in 9ct pink gold. The case is in superb condition and measures 31mm, excluding the correct unsigned crown. The example here is notable for its outstanding round dial within a square case and wonderful swept-back lugs which give the watch ‘presence’ upon the wrist. All of this in 9ct pink gold, making this watch a very rare piece.
Note – At 31mm this watch would originally have been marketed as a gentlemans watch, as during the 1930s, gentlemans watches tended to be much smaller. Today however, the fashion is for gents to wear much larger watches and for ladies to wear this kind of watch. Therefore this could be considered suitable for both today.
The Dial
Classic Rolex simplicity and typical of the 1930s. Beautifully balanced and symmetrical and complemented with a subsidiary seconds dial at ‘6’. The original unrestored blued steel ‘leaf’ hands are in remarkable condition and are paired with standard Arabic numerals from 1 – 12 over an original, unrestored and untouched dial. Just perfection.
This dial has aged beautifully, this being seen in the wonderful even patina with just some signs of spotting and pitting. Due to the wonderful condition of the watch and to keep the originality of this dial, we have elected to leave this watch alone rather than restore it.
The dial is simply signed ‘Rolex’ at the top, just below 12 with ‘Swiss Made’ t the very bottom.
As mentioned above, this dial is original and unrestored. Usually, we restore the dials of the watches we sell, however we decided in this case to leave it alone, due to its unusually good condition and to retain its originality and charm for those who prefer this. 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 untouched 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, 15 Jewel, hand-wound movement is in incredibly clean and sparkling condition and has been thoroughly overhauled and serviced by our watchmaker. This means fully dismantling the watch and movement, ultrasonic cleaning of all parts, close inspection of the critical surfaces under high magnification and replacement as required only with genuine original parts, then careful reassembly and oiling, using only the correct lubricants to manufacturer’s specification, before final testing and careful calibration. This watch is therefore now running perfectly having been calibrated, tested and timed at -8 seconds per day!
The movement is signed ‘Rolex 15 Rubies’ (Jewels), ‘Swiss Made’, ’Fab Suisse’ and ‘Patented Superbalance’. This particular movement is in beautiful condition and with regular servicing, say every 3 to 4 years, we would fully expect this watch to continue to run very happily for another 50+ years! We are therefore totally confident 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 Case
The rare 9ct pink gold case is in excellent condition, having been very well cared for, and shows only the faintest signs of wear visible to the naked eye. The full-thickness press-fit case-back clicks securely into place just as it should and the case-back is of full thickness and has never been inscribed. It is completely blemish-free with no scratches dings or other marks visible to the naked eye and the watch case is crisp with clearly defined lugs.
As mentioned above, the wonderful dial on this watch is round, however, the lugs are straight and go straight down to the strap, giving this watch a square look.
The case measures 31mm in diameter, excluding the correct Rolex unsigned crown. This would have been a good-sized gents watch in the 1930’s, however, as mentioned above, this could equally be considered suitable for a lady today.
Inside the case is signed ‘RWC Ltd’, ‘Geneve Suisse‘ and ‘31 Records Universels’, along with UK 9ct hallmarks.
The exterior of the case-back carries an original inscription which we feel adds a personal note and some character to the watch. The case-back also carries the serial no. 46998 and the model reference 2467.
Please note – as ever, our standard advice applies: vintage watches should be kept clean and dry at all times.
The Strap & Buckle
A new very high quality brown alligator strap is fitted along with a Rolex gold-plated buckle. 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. We can also obtain most types and colours from our partners at ‘Watch Obsession’ within 48hrs. Please take a look at their huge range of straps 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 1938.
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 also be provided, 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 Rolex 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.
In Conclusion
Here we have a truly desirable vintage gold dress watch from horology’s most revered name which is truly a thing of beauty – to wear, use, treasure and enjoy. It will also make an excellent investment and family heirloom piece. Even though Rolex prices continue to rise, we still feel outstanding examples such as this remain undervalued, particularly compared to the price of a new Rolex.
A word on our prices – We always try our hardest to acquire the very highest quality watches we can find, before restoring them 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 means we will never be the cheapest, but nor will we be the most expensive. Indeed there are some well-known stores in West London which are highly 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.
Please note, we also welcome part exchanges. If you have a watch or a small collection for sale, please contact us as we will be happy to discuss this.
We will also be happy to Service your watch, Repair your watch or Restore your watch, all at ‘sensible’ prices. Please see here.
If you have any questions please call us on 020 7727 7095 or if calling from overseas on +44 207 727 7095.
Please take a look at our other fine vintage gold watches.
Thank you.
Andrew M via feefo 
3rd December 2024 
JLC1891 
