Rolex Precision Model Ref.5576 9ct 1967

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 quite special, fully restored Rolex Precision with a beautiful honey, vertical grain dial and factory original 9ct yellow gold fancy bezel. The watch is a good size at 34mm in diameter, excluding the unsigned crown, and carries a wonderfully clean, elegant and perfectly balanced honey dial. It is quite rare to find a Rolex Precision with such an ornate bezel. We have seen them before, but very rarely.

The Dial

The beautiful vertical grained honey dial makes this watch something very special. We have seen some outstanding watches recently, but this is definitely one of our favourites. This is a classic 1960s dial with applied ‘baton’ hour indices, swept by black ‘stick’ hands and carrying the Rolex Coronet at 12 o’clock. This is all complemented wonderfully by the wonderful 9ct yellow gold case and factory original rare fancy bezel.

The dial is very clear and easy to read, even in low light and is signed ‘Rolex’ with ‘Precision’ below and ‘Swiss’ at the bottom. This is a beautifully elegant dial and looks wonderful upon the wrist.

This is the original Rolex dial which has been restored to the very highest standards by the best dial restorers in the UK. Please take a close look at the beauty of the dial and the quality of the restoration as it is in truly, immaculate condition.

The Movement

The watch carries its original high grade Rolex Calibre 1225 Precision hand-wound movement which as can be seen, is in sparkling clean condition. The movement has been completely disassembled, cleaned, inspected and rebuilt using original Rolex parts, only where required, by our vintage Rolex specialist watchmaker. His work is superb and when finally tested and calibrated, the watch was running consistently at -8 seconds per day which is truly exceptional for any vintage watch of this age. When fully wound, this movement has a 58-hour power reserve.

The movement is all correctly signed ‘MONTRES ROLEX SA GENEVA SWISS’ and ‘SEVENTEEN 17 JEWELS’, with the Calibre number 1225.

These movements are strong, accurate and very reliable, making the watch perfectly suited for regular everyday use. This particular movement is in A1 condition and with regular servicing every 2-3 years, we would fully expect this watch to run happily for many more decades to come! We are pleased to offer a 12-month warranty on this watch movement*.

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

The Case

The beautiful 9ct yellow gold case measures 34mm, excluding the original crown which is a standard size for the 1960s. This case carries beautifully long, thin tapered lugs which give the watch more ‘presence’ and make it appear larger on the wrist and the case carries the most incredible factory original fancy bezel.

The case was made for Rolex by David Shackman & Sons in the UK who made watch cases for many of the top Swiss watch manufacturers at this time. Dennison and Sons in Birmingham and Shackman and Sons in London, both produced top quality cases for almost all of the watch brands you see on this website.

The watch has been beautifully well cared for and so after a close inspection has simply required a careful clean and a gentle polish to bring it back to its current, almost as new condition. As can be seen, the case, case-back, and bezel are all in superb condition with very few marks or scratches visible to the naked eye. Even under high magnification, it is very hard to find any signs of wear, indicating this watch has seen very little use and has had a charmed life.

Importantly, the case is of full-thickness and has never been inscribed. Inside the case-back, all the markings are correct for a Rolex case of this period with the serial no. 34632 and signed ‘D.S & S’  (David Shackman & Sons), along with London UK 9ct hallmarks.

As ever, our standard advice applies: Vintage watches should be kept clean and dry at all times.

The Strap and Buckle

A new, high quality black leather strap has been fitted, along with a gold-plated 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 straps 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 our full range of straps if you wish 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 1967.

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 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 100% genuine, authentic and original, a full refund will be given at any time”.

This watch comes complete with a 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

Here we have a truly desirable vintage gold dress watch from horology’s most revered name which is truly a thing of beauty – to wear, use, treasure and enjoy. It will also make an excellent investment and family heirloom piece. Even though Rolex prices continue to rise, we still feel outstanding examples such as this remain undervalued, particularly compared to the price when new.

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.