Rolex Oyster Perpetual Model.1002 9ct 1966

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, and moved 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

A highly attractive 9ct gold Rolex Oyster Perpetual Chronometer in beautiful condition from 1966. This incredible example has been completely left alone, rather than fully restored as the watch, dial and case are all in completely good, honest and original condition. This Rolex model reference 1002 has the most wonderful silver-white dial and original ‘stick’ hands which pair beautifully with the mixed ‘arrowhead’ and standard Arabic ‘3 – 6 – 9 – 12’ hour indices. As mentioned above, the dial is original, unrestored and untouched and has been left this way, due to its extraordinary good condition and because some collectors prefer the originality of an unrestored dial.

The original Rolex Calibre 1570, 26 Jewel Chronometer grade automatic movement is superbly accurate and reliable even by current day standards. The watch has just been fully inspected and overhauled by our team and as can be seen, the movement is sparkling clean, following its service by our vintage Rolex specialist watchmaker.

The Dial

The incredible 1950s original, unrestored and untouched silver-white Rolex Oyster Perpetual dial is totally captivating and looks outstanding.  This is an early forerunner to the classic Rolex design which carries through to this day. The dial looks wonderful against the gold case and original unrestored Rolex 1950s ‘stick’ hands and is complete with a mix of arrowhead and standard arabic numerals at ‘3 – 6 – 9 – 12’. The  dial carries the Rolex Coronet at the very top of the dial and  is correctly signed ‘Rolex Oyster Perpetual’ and ‘Superlative Chronometer Officially Certified’ with ‘Swiss’ at the very bottom. This dial is very reminiscent of the Rolex Explorer 3 – 6 – 9 dial design.

This dial is original, unrestored and untouched. It is also in really excellent condition considering the age of the watch, with almost no fading, spotting or crazing and with an even overall patina. Due to its relatively good condition and for reasons of retaining the character and the originality of the watch, we have left it completely alone.

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 watch carries its original, very high grade ‘Superlative Chronometer’ Calibre 1570, 26 jewel automatic movement which is in sparkling clean condition. The movement has been completely overhauled and serviced which involves full dismantling, ultrasonic cleaning, inspection under high magnification and replacement new original Rolex parts where required. Then careful reassembly and oiling ready for testing and calibration. The watch is therefore now running perfectly, having been calibrated and timed within -14 seconds per day. This is truly outstanding for any watch of this age and has been confirmed by our electronic timegrapher, making it now ready for many more years of faithful service.

The movement is all correctly signed ‘Montres Rolex SA Geneva Swiss’, and ‘Twenty Six Jewels’ with the Calibre number 1570 and the reference number 37809. These movements are very strong, very accurate and very reliable making this watch particularly suited to everyday use should you so wish. This particular movement is in superb A1 condition and with regular servicing, say every 4 years, we would fully expect this watch to run very happily for many more decades to come. We are therefore pleased to offer 12 months warranty on this watch movement*.

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

The Case

The 9ct yellow gold case measures 34mm in diameter, excluding the original Rolex Oyster screw-down crown. The case carries the plain bezel, which along with the rest of the case and case-back, is in immaculate condition, with no marks or scratches visible to the naked eye. The watch has only seen light use and has been very well cared for, therefore following close inspection, it has simply required some gentle hand-polishing to bring the watch to almost new condition once again. The case-back has never been engraved and importantly, it is of its original thickness.

Inside the case-back, the markings are all correct for a Rolex Swiss-made case and it is signed ‘Montres Rolex SA Geneva Switzerland’ with the correct Swiss hallmarks for 9ct gold and the model number 1002. This model number can also be clearly found on the outside of the case between the lugs at 6 o’clock and the case serial number 1339295 is found on the outside of the case between the lugs at 12 o’clock. This dates the watch to 1966.

The case has the screw-down Rolex Oyster crown and screw-down case-back, each complete with new rubber seals, however, although the watch was specified as waterproof when new, this has not been tested and it is not guaranteed. Our standard advice applies: Vintage watches should be kept clean and dry at all times.

The Bracelet

The rare original, Rolex stretch link rivet 9ct yellow gold bracelet is in very close to perfect condition. The bracelet has simply been cleaned and lightly polished to bring it back to the condition you see here.

Setting the catch to the shortest adjustment the bracelet will fit an 18.5cm wrist, then when setting the catch to the longest adjustment the bracelet will fit a 20.5cm wrist. As this is a stretch link bracelet this provides additional flexibility for both the fit and when placing the watch on the wrist.

This rare bracelet is also available to purchase separately for £5000. If you are interested in purchasing this bracelet separately, please feel free to contact us.

Box and Papers

Although there are no original papers with this watch, the reference numbers, markings, signatures and hallmarks are all correct and indicate the date of manufacture as 1966.

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 Rolex inner and outer presentation boxes, 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.

This is a truly first class example of a vintage Rolex Oyster Perpetual which is ready to wear and completely practical for everyday use. If treated with care, it will make an excellent investment or heirloom piece. Even though vintage gold Rolex prices have risen markedly recently, we still feel good examples such as this are still undervalued and as each year goes by and the world market for vintage gold Rolex watches continues to expand, prices will continue to climb ever higher.

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.