Rolex Pocket Watch 9ct Yellow Gold 1949

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.

Description

Here we have a beautiful unrestored 9ct vintage Rolex pocket watch in immaculate condition from 1949. The white dial with incredible black 1 – 12 Standard Arabic numerals are swept by original ‘cathedral’ hands, all of this added to the beautiful case make this pocket watch simply wonderful.

The Dial

The completely original, unrestored and untouched white dial is completed with black 1 – 12 Standard Arabic numerals which are swept by original Cathedral hands, all completed with a outer minute railtrack. This pocket watch also has a subsidiary seconds dial at 6, which matches this dial perfectly due to having the outer minute Railtrack also. This dial is so clean and simply, but beautiful non the less.

As this dial is in original, unrestored condition, 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, 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, 17 Jewel, hand-wound movement is in incredibly clean and sparkling condition and has just been fully overhauled and serviced by our expert vintage Rolex specialist watchmaker. The example here is running perfectly, having been calibrated to run consistently within plus or minus 9 seconds per day! This is truly outstanding for any mechanical watch and it is no exaggeration.

The movement is signed Rolex Lever, ‘Swiss Made’ and ’17 Rubies’ (Jewels). 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 9ct yellow gold case measures 50mm in diameter, excluding the correct Rolex crown. The case is of a very solid three-piece design, the press fit case-back clicks into place with a firm and satisfying ‘pop’, indicating it is a nice tight fit. As you can see from the photograph the case back is inscribed with ‘C I’, we have left this completely alone to retain the originality and charm.

This pocket watch has been exceptionally well cared for and so the case has simply required a clean, a thorough inspection, and then a gentle hand-polish to bring it back to its current ‘like new’ condition with no scratches, dings or dimples, or other forms of damage visible to the naked eye.

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

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 1949.

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”.

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

A truly wonderful Rolex pocket watch in immaculate condition. This pocket watch from horology’s most famous name, which will provide an excellent financial investment as well as be something to treasure and enjoy! It will make the perfect gift as well as a practical, accurate and reliable timepiece to use for evening wear, on a regular basis, as you so wish.

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.