Rolex
Founded in 1905 in England by Hans Wilsdorf and Alfred Davis as Wilsdorf & Davis, the company became known as the Rolex Watch Company in 1915, moving to its new Geneva headquarters in 1919. The evolution and early success of the wristwatch can be largely attributed to a number of Rolex’ 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
The Rolex Precision was first released in the late 1940s as a gentleman’s hand-wound dress watch and remained in production as such, until the 1970s. It was succeeded by the Rolex Cellini which remains in production to this day.
Here we have a quite special, Rolex Precision Cal.1000 in a beautiful Shackman 9ct gold case. The Calibre 1000, 18 Jewel movement is the thinnest movement ever made by Rolex and further emphasizes Rolex’ deserved position among the stars of classic timepiece production. This highly advanced and refined movement is often found in Rolex Chronometer Precision watches of the same period.
This watch has just completed a full restoration including the movement, watch case and watch dial. This involves three different skill-sets and so a watchmaker has restored and serviced the watch movement, our watch case-maker has sympathetically restored the case and our dial restorer has restored the dial.
The Dial
Rolex Precision dials with a subsidiary seconds dial at 6 o’clock are always quite special and here the symmetrical dial and straight lugs case with a stepped bezel, closely reflects the classic Patek Philippe ‘Calatrava’ look.
The applied gilt batons and original ‘Dauphine’ hands over a silver-white dial and the sub-seconds dial each elevate this watch to something quite special. Once again, pure simple style and classic timeless elegance is a perfect example of how vintage beats modern, hands down, every time!
The Rolex Coronet crowns the dial at 12 and the dial is signed ‘Rolex’ and ‘Precision’ with ‘Swiss’ at the very bottom.
This is the original dial which has been sympathetically and beautifully restored to the highest standards by our dial restorers who are regarded as the best in the UK.
The Movement
As can be seen, the high grade Cal.1000 18 Jewel hand-wound ‘Verislim’ movement is in incredibly clean and sparkling condition. It has just completed an overhaul and service by our vintage Rolex specialist watchmaker and winds, sets and runs perfectly. These Rolex Cal.1000 movements were also used as Chronometer movements in earlier Rolex Chronometer watches. They are highly regarded for their accuracy and reliability, making this watch perfectly suitable for everyday use.
The Cal.1000 movement was also used in the Rolex Verislim Precision and Rolex Veriflat Oyster Perpetual watches which are each highly sought after by collectors.
Following its service, the movement was calibrated and final tested and was found to be running arrow straight at +5 seconds per day! This is truly excellent and has been checked on our electronic watch Timegrapher. This movement also has a superb 58 hour power reserve when fully wound.
The movement is signed ‘Rolex SA’, ‘Geneva Swiss’ and ‘Eighteen Jewels’ and is marked with the Calibre number 1000, along with the reference number N651683. This particular movement is in superb condition and with regular servicing, say every 3 or 4 years, we would fully expect this watch to run quite happily and provide very faithful service for many more decades to come! We have no hesitation 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 watch case measures 33mm in diameter, excluding the correct Rolex crown, making this a typically sized watch for the period. It is of particularly high quality, having been made for Rolex by Shackman & Sons of London. Shackman & Sons were one of three English case-makers used by Rolex at this time. The others being Dennison & Sons of Birmingham and Britton & Sons, also of Birmingham. As Shackman is considered to be the best of the three, the case is of a very high-quality two-piece construction, with a press-fit case-back which fits and clicks back with a reassuring click.
The case, case-back and bezel are all in superb condition with no marks or scratches visible to the naked eye. The watch has been beautifully well cared for and so after a close inspection, has simply required a careful clean and a very gentle and sympathetic hand-polish to bring it back to its current, almost as new condition.
The case-back is of full-thickness and importantly, has never been engraved. Inside the case-back, the markings are all correct for a Rolex watch case made by Shackman & Sons and signed DS&S with the reference number 18905. The case-back also carries London UK 9ct hallmarks which date this watch to 1962.
As ever, our standard advice applies: Vintage watches should be kept clean and dry at all times.
The Strap & Buckle
A new high-quality chestnut coloured Crocodile watch strap has been fitted, along with a gold plated Rolex buckle. We feel the strap matches the watch nicely, 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, however, 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 18mm straps if you wish, here.
The Box and Papers
Although there are no original papers with this watch, all the numbers and markings on the watch are correct, dating the watch to 1962.
Our detailed ‘Particulars’ document will be included in the sale, with our detailed receipt and 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 watch comes complete with a Rolex presentation box, as shown.
In Conclusion
This is a rare and first-class example of a highly collectable, practical and stylish vintage watch from horology’s most famous name, which will provide an excellent financial investment as well as be something to use, wear, treasure and enjoy! It will make an excellent evening wear dress watch as well as a practical highly accurate and reliable timepiece to use on an everyday basis.
Vintage gold Rolex Precision watches are highly collectable and the rarity of this watch means its value will always remain strong. This watch will make an excellent investment and family heirloom piece and even though vintage Rolex prices have risen markedly recently, we feel fine examples such as this still remain undervalued. As each year goes by and the world market for vintage watches expands, availability will become more limited so prices are surely destined to climb ever higher!
A word about our prices – We always try our hardest to acquire the very highest quality watches we can find, before restoring these 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 inevitably means we will never be the cheapest, but nor will we be the most expensive. Indeed there are a number of well-known stores in West London which are very 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 wish to pay by bank transfer, we will be pleased to pass on a 3% transaction saving to you. Similarly, if you wish to pay by International SWIFT or International Bank Wire Transfer, we will provide you with our BIC / Swift number and our IBAN number.
Please note, we welcome part exchanges and if you have a watch or small collection for sale, please contact us as we will be happy to discuss this.
We will also be happy to Service, Repair or Restore your watch, all at ‘sensible’ prices. Please see here.
If you have any questions, please call our landline on 020 7727 7095 or if calling from overseas on +44 207 727 7095.
We await your call! We will be happy to answer any questions and offer advice about this or any of our watches listed for sale. If you would like some general advice regarding any aspect of vintage watches, including buying, selling, or collecting, we will also be very happy to hear from you.
Finally, please enjoy some time spent viewing our other fine Vintage Gold Watches!
Thank you.
Andrew M via feefo 
3rd December 2024 
JLC1891 
