Rolex Cellini Cal.1602 18ct 2000

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.

Of course, Rolex is now so ubiquitous it is almost its own kind of its currency. A Rolex is the watch you want on your wrist when you’re in a Third World country when revolution breaks out and there’s only one seat on the plane, – and there’s a guy standing there with a machine gun! You give him a Rolex and he’ll give you the seat!

Description

A simply wonderful Rolex Cellini gentleman’s dress watch from 2000. A stunning watch in every regard with a beautiful, intricate Rolex Jubilee dial, a superb Calibre 1602 18 Jewel movement and a wonderful Rolex Swiss made 18ct gold watch case.

Although this watch was originally sold as a gentlemans watch, at 32mm, excluding the original Rolex signed crown, this makes this a fashionable watch, for both men and women in the present day.

The Dial

A highly impressive-looking Rolex Jubilee dial. Here, Rolex has elected to use gilt roman numerals, with the Rolex coronet at 12. The original gilt ‘Dauphine’ hands and gilt roman numerals are rich and proud, on the ivory cream textured dial.

The dial is also signed and branded with the early Rolex Coronet, along with ‘Rolex’, ‘Geneve’ and ‘Cellini’. This is the original and unrestored dial and is in perfect condition.

The Movement

The watch carries its original high-grade Rolex Calibre 1602 movement, which, following a service, is running perfectly. The movement required no work other than a routine service by our Rolex specialist watchmaker. His work is superb and following careful calibration and testing, this watch is now running within +9 seconds per day which is is exceptional for a watch of this age. These movements are strong, accurate and very reliable making this watch perfectly suited for both evening wear and regular everyday use. This particular movement is in A1 condition and with regular servicing, say every 3 – 4 years, we would fully expect this watch to run happily for many more decades to come! We are therefore pleased to offer a 12-month warranty on this watch movement*.

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

The Case

The 18ct gold Rolex case measures 32mm, excluding the original Rolex signed crown which makes this a fashionable watch, wearable for both men and women in the present day.

The watch is in superb condition with no marks or scratches visible to the naked eye. It has been beautifully well cared for and after a close inspection has simply required a careful clean and a gentle polish to bring it back to its current, almost as new condition. The bezel is very thin and hardly visible face to face. This, along with the white dial make the watch appear larger than it measures.

The case is of full-thickness and has never been inscribed. All the markings are correct for a Rolex Swiss made case of this period. The case-back exterior carries the Rolex reference K676167 with the Rolex model reference number 5116.

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

The Strap and Buckle

A new Black Alligator strap has been fitted, along with a matching gold plated Rolex 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, but can also obtain most types and colours from our partners at ‘Watch Obsession’ within 48hrs. Please take a look at their huge range of 18mm 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 indicating the year of manufacture as 2000.

A detailed Particulars document will be included with the receipt, along with 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 Rolex presentation box shown in the photographs is included in the sale of this watch..

In Conclusion 

A highly collectable vintage watch from horology’s most famous name, which is ready to wear, use, treasure and enjoy. This watch will also provide excellent reliability and a sound financial investment – as long-lasting in fact, as the watch itself!

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.

We are happy to accept PayPal as this is the quickest method of payment. However, if you would like to pay by UK cheque or by UK bank transfer we will be pleased to assist you with this and pass on a 3% saving to you. 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.

If you have any questions please call 0207 727 7095. If calling from overseas please call +44 207 727 7095.

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

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

Please take a look at our other fine vintage gold watches.

Thank you.