Rolex Oyster Perpetual Ref. 1002 1968 Steel & Yellow Gold With Box & Papers

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 beautiful, fully original, unrestored and untouched Rolex Oyster Perpetual in stainless steel and yellow gold, carrying a completely original ‘sunburst’ dial and wonderful gilt furnishings. The 34mm stainless steel case has a yellow gold fluted bezel, thick straight lugs and a screw-down case-back, overall giving this stylish watch a confident, yet not overstated wrist presence.

The Dial

This remarkable 1960s Oyster Perpetual dial is beautifully simple and elegant. The gilt ‘baton’ hour indices are matched by the original ‘stick’ hands. The design is beautifully balanced and perfectly symmetrical and in terms of purity and elegance, the absence of a date function is often referred to retain a dials perfect balance.

The dial carries the applied Rolex Coronet and is signed ‘Rolex Oyster Perpetual’ with ‘Superlative Officially Certified Chronometer’ below and ‘T Swiss T’ at the very bottom.

This dial is original and unrestored and 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 watch carries its original, very high grade Calibre 1520, 26 jewel automatic movement which is in sparkling clean condition. The movement has been completely overhauled and serviced by our Rolex vintage specialist watchmaker. This involves fully dismantling, ultrasonic cleaning, inspection under high magnification and replacement of parts, only with new original Rolex parts where required, then careful reassembly and oiling ready for testing and calibration. The watch is now running perfectly, having been calibrated and timed within +9 seconds per day. This is truly outstanding for any watch of this age and has been confirmed by our electronic timegrapher. It is now ready for many more years of faithful service. This very high grade movement also has a 48 hour power reserve.

The movement is correctly signed ‘Rolex Geneva Swiss’ and ‘26 Jewels’ and with the Calibre number 1520. These movements are 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 happily for many years 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 Watch Case

The mixed stainless steel and yellow gold watch case measures 34mm, excluding the correct Rolex signed winding crown, making this a good-sized watch for the 1960s. The Rolex Oyster case with its highly sought after yellow gold fluted bezel has quite a bold character and carries strong straight lugs. It is in excellent condition, having received a very gentle and sympathetic clean and polish, although the watch has obviously been very well cared for, as there are no dings, scratches or marks visible to the naked eye. The case-back is of full thickness and has never been engraved.

Inside the screw-down case-back is clearly signed with ‘Montres Rolex S.A. Geneva Switzerland’ and ‘Stainless Steel’ with the model reference 1002. This model reference can also be found on the exterior of the case between the lugs at 12. The serial number 1837958 can be found between the lugs at 6 and dates the watch correctly to 1968.

Please note – as ever, our standard advice applies: Vintage watches should be kept clean and dry at all times.

The Strap & Buckle

This watch is fitted with a high quality blue leather strap and a steel 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. 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 if you wish here.

Box and Papers

This watch comes complete with the original Rolex Guarantee booklet which dates the watch correctly to 1968.

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 Rolex Oyster 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 as these are different for each country and are 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 steel 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 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.