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, fully original, unrestored and untouched gentleman’s Rolex ‘Cushion’ watch from 1937 in 9ct yellow gold. The case is in superb condition and measures 29mm x 29mm, or 36mm corner to corner, excluding the lugs. These watches were very popular during the 1930s and were a forerunner to the Rolex Precision. They are however becoming harder to find these days, particularly in such wonderful condition as this.
The Dial
The fully original, unrestored and untouched art deco off-white dial is in wonderful condition as are the beautiful blue ‘leaf’ hands which make this dial very easy to read. These are original and are an outstanding feature of this watch. The dial also carries attractive black Breguet 1 – 12 Standard Arabic numerals and a subsidiary seconds dial at 6, all framed perfectly by an outer minutes track.
The dial is simply signed ‘Rolex’ at the very top of the dial below 12 along with ‘Swiss Made’ at the very bottom of the dial 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 original movement here is referred to as a Rolex Rebberg movement and it was this movement which helped to establish Rolex and make the company famous. It was made by the Swiss Aegler company, with whom Rolex formed a partnership. Rebberg is a Swiss district where the factory that produced these movements was located. The movement is a 15 Jewel, 11 Ligne, meaning this is the smaller-sized Rolex Rebburg movement. As can be seen, the movement is in incredibly clean and unmolested condition indicating it has been very well looked after.
As part of the servicing of this watch, the movement has been overhauled and serviced by our vintage specialist watchmaker. This involves dismantling the watch to all its component parts, careful inspection under high magnification, replacement where necessary with only original parts before careful reassembly and adjustment.
Please note – Rolex watches of this period are reliable and accurate by the standards of their day. However, they do need to be treated with some care so while perfectly suited for occasional use, we would not recommend this watch for everyday wear.
The movement is fully signed, with ‘Patented Superbalance’, ‘Swiss Made’ and ‘15 Rubies (Jewels)’ as seen in the images. The Rebberg was available in two grades, the best of these, as found here, has 15 Jewels as opposed to the standard 7.
*Please note our 12 months warranty is only applicable if the full list price is paid.
The Case
The beautiful 9ct solid yellow gold case is in superb condition with no scratches or dings or marks visible to the naked eye. It is of a large size, compared with typical case sizes of the day, and measures 29mm in width excluding the crown, 29mm in height excluding the lugs, 36mm diagonal across the case and 39mm diagonal including the lugs. It is completely blemish-free with no scratches dings or other marks visible to the naked eye.
The inside of the case back is correctly signed with ‘R.W.C Ltd’ along with the correct 9ct hallmarks. On exterior of the case back is correctly signed with the case serial numbers 570834 and 2009.
As ever, our standard advice applies: vintage watches should be kept clean and dry at all times.
The Strap & Buckle
A high quality black leather 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 1937.
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 the original 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
This beautiful vintage 9ct yellow gold Rolex Cushion is in superb completely original condition and also from horology’s most famous name. It will provide an excellent financial investment as well as be something to wear, treasure and enjoy and make the perfect evening wear dress watch as well as a practical, highly accurate and reliable timepiece to use on an everyday basis. Although this is one of our more expensive watches, its quality will be remembered for long after its purchase price will be forgotten.
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 
