1940s steel vintage Rolex Oyster watch

1945 steel vintage Rolex Oyster watch

1940s rare early steel vintage Rolex Oyster watch. The case measures 32 x 34 mm, and has an Oyster patent winding crown. The case is signed Rolex Patented, Geneva Swiss, and numbered 4499. The case is numbered 353474 between the lugs, dating the year of manufacture 1945. The fine quality Rolex movement is signed Rolex Swiss Made, with 15 Rubis. The dial has alternate black Arabic numerals with arrowhead hour indicators; an outside minute track with centre sweep seconds and blued steel luminous hands. The dial is signed Rolex Oyster above the centre.

The Rolex Oyster

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.