1920s rare 9ct gold octagonal vintage Rolex Oyster watch
Date: 1929
Case: 9ct gold, 32 x 34mm
Movement: Rolex Prima
Dial: White enamel, black Arabic numerals
Lugs: 16mm
An extremely rare, early 9ct gold Rolex Oyster watch from 1929, with white enamel dial and centre sweep seconds!
A 1929, rare, early 9ct gold octagonal vintage Rolex Oyster watch. The case measures 32 x 34mm, 16mm lug size and an Oyster Patent winding crown. The case is signed Rolex, 20 World’s Records, Great Britain Patents and hallmarked Glasgow 1929. The manual wind, Prima movement is signed Rolex, Timed to 6 positions, For All Climates with 15 jewels. The white enamel dial, with sunken centre, has black Arabic numerals with centre sweep seconds, red Arabic outer seconds track and fine blued steel ‘Fuscia Pleines’ hands. The dial is signed Rolex Oyster above the centre.
The Rolex Oyster watch
Following the end of World War I, global trading resumed and Rolex watches were being sent abroad, particularly to the the hot and humid tropical countries of the British Empire. Many of the watches were found to have rusted on arrival following a long damp voyage!
Hans Wilsdorf (co-founder of Rolex) was determined to produce a ‘water-proof’ watch and commented;
“We must succeed in making a watch case so tight that our movements will be permanently guaranteed against damage caused by dust, perspiration, heat and cold. Only then will the perfect accuracy of the Rolex watch be secured.”
The Rolex Oyster watch was produced a few years later in 1926 with a ‘three-piece’ case, (the front and back screwing into the body). An iconic design that has become probably the best selling waterproof wristwatch.
