Rolex Oyster Perpetual Bubbleback Bombe 1954

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 beautiful previously restored Rolex Oyster Perpetual model reference 5018 stainless steel wristwatch, with an incredible silver dial with wonderful steel furnishings. The 33mm stainless steel case has beautiful bombe lugs, a wonderful plain bezel and a screw-down case-back, overall, giving this stylish watch a confident, yet not overstated wrist presence.

The Dial

This beautiful early 1950s Rolex Oyster Perpetual dial is simply stunning. The steel ‘dauphine’ hands match the steel ‘baton’ hour indices perfectly. The design is beautifully balanced and perfectly symmetrical. In terms of purity and elegance, the absence of a date function is often referred to as retaining a dial’s perfect balance. As can be seen in the images, this dial shows very slight signs of aging with next to no pitting and spotting.

Regarding originality we feel it is safer to assume this dial has been restored at some stage, although there is a possibility this could be an original, unrestored dial. The lume plots also look original and so this also indicates this could be an original, unrestored dial.

The dial carries the applied Rolex Coronet and is signed ‘Rolex Oyster Perpetual’,  ‘Chronometer Officially Certified’ with ‘Swiss’ at the bottom above 6 along with ‘T Swiss T’ at the very bottom of the dial below 6.

This dial has been previously restored to a very high standard yet remains in outstanding condition.

The Movement

This watch has its original high grade “Officially Certified Chronometer” 17 Jewels, Calibre.645, Super Balance, automatic movement which is well regarded for being particularly accurate, reliable and strong. The movement has a 41-hour power reserve and following its overhaul, service and calibration, is performing strongly and extremely accurately at +9 seconds per day. This movement also remains in sparkling condition, which is truly outstanding for a watch movement of this age!

The movement is simply signed ‘Rolex Perpetual Chronometer’ and ‘Swiss Made Patented’ along with the movement serial numbers N92714 and 37771.

This watch movement is now ready for many more years of faithful service and is perfectly suited for daily use.  We are therefore very confident in offering this watch with a 12-month written warranty*.

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

The Watch Case

The steel watch case measures 33mm, excluding the correct Rolex signed winding crown, this makes this a good sized watch for the 1950s. The heavy Rolex Oyster Precision case with a wide plain bezel has quite a bold character, with extremely beautiful bombe lugs. It is in excellent condition, having received a very gentle and sympathetic clean and polish, although the watch has obviously been very well cared for, as there are no dings, scratches or marks visible to the naked eye. The case-back is of full thickness and has never been engraved.

The interior of the case back carries the correct signatures, ‘Rolex’, ‘Geneve Swiss Patented’ with the model reference number 5018.

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

The Strap & Buckle

This watch has a high-quality brown Alligator embossed strap fitted, and this watch has also been fitted with a matching steel 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 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 their huge 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 1954.

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 comes 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 truly first class example of a vintage Rolex Oyster Perpetual which is ready to wear and completely practical for everyday use. If treated with care, it will make an excellent investment or heirloom piece. Even though vintage steel Rolex prices have risen markedly recently, we still feel good examples such as this are still undervalued and as each year goes by and the world market for vintage Rolex watches continues to expand, prices will continue to climb ever higher.

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.