Rolex Oyster Ref.4499 1946

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 and moved 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

A wonderful completely original stainless steel Rolex Oyster wristwatch, with a wonderful off-white dial with painted 1 – 12 Standard Arabic numerals which are swept by the original index hands that are coloured to match. The outstanding stainless steel case measures 34mm, excluding the correct signed crown, making this a good sized watch.

The Dial

The beautiful, completely original, unrestored and untouched off-white dial is in wonderful condition as are the original blue outlined, gilt painted ‘index’ hands, making the dial very easy to read. These are also original and are an outstanding feature of this watch. The dial also carries original, outlined gilt painted, 1 – 12 standard Arabic numerals, which match the hands perfectly. This dial carries beautiful signs of ageing with the gentle spotting across the dial, which is one of the reasons we have decided to leave this dial completely original and unrestored.

The dial is simply signed ‘Rolex’ at the very top of the dial just below 12.

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 unique 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 Watch Movement

The movement fitted to the watch is the original 15 Jewel hand wound movement, reserved for Rolex’s highest quality watches of this period.

The movement is in very clean condition having just completed a full overhaul and service by our vintage Rolex specialist watchmaker. This means it has been completely dismantled to each of its component parts before cleaning and inspection under high magnification, replacement where necessary with only genuine Rolex parts, then careful reassembly, adjustment and oiling to Rolex specification, before final calibration and testing. The movement is now running accurately within +9 seconds per day. We are therefore confident in offering this watch with a 12-month written warranty*.

The movement is correctly signed with ‘Rolex 15 Rubies’ and ‘Swiss Made’.

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

The Case

The three-piece stainless steel case measures 34mm in diameter, excluding the correct signed Rolex winding crown.

The case, as we would expect from Rolex, is very solid and well made and the screw-down case-back is in wonderful condition and has never been inscribed.

Having been cleaned, carefully examined and lightly hand-polished by our case-maker, the case is completely wonderful, being very crisp with no scratches, dings or other blemishes visible to the naked eye. This, along with the superb general condition of the rest of the watch, indicates this watch has received an excellent level of care and only light use.

The inside of the case back is correctly signed with ‘R.W.C. Ltd’ along with the model reference number 4499.

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

Strap and Buckle

A high quality brown leather strap is fitted with a steel Rolex buckle. However, if a different colour or style of strap is preferred, we will do our best to provide this at no extra charge. We carry tan, conker, dark brown burgundy and black straps in stock, in plain padded leather, alligator, or lizard skin.

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 1946.

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”.

This watch is complete with a high quality hardwood presentation box.

Payment and Delivery

If you would like to pay by bank transfer, we will be pleased to assist you with this and pass on a 3% saving to you. Paying by bank transfer for a 3% saving will not affect your 12 months warranty. 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

This is a really beautiful 1950s vintage steel watch from Rolex, one of the most highly honored and awarded Swiss watch manufacturers. It is to the credit of the company that this watch is still perfectly useable and reliable, just as it was when it left the factory over 60 years ago!

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 steel watches.

Thank you.