Rolex Oyster Perpetual Date Ref.1500 1972

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 completely original, unrestored and untouched Rolex Oyster Perpetual Date stainless steel wristwatch, with an original, highly sought after black dial with wonderful steel furnishings. The 35mm stainless steel case has thick straight lugs and a screw-down case-back, overall, giving this stylish watch a confident, yet not overstated wrist presence.

The Dial

This classic early 1970s Rolex Oyster Perpetual dial is beautifully simple and elegant. The steel ‘baton’ hour indices are matched by the steel ‘stick’ hands. The design is beautifully balanced and perfectly symmetrical. This dial also has the addition of a date window at 3, we feel this adds perfectly to the watch.

The dial carries the applied Rolex Coronet and is signed ‘Rolex Oyster Perpetual Date’,  ‘Superlative Chronometer Officially Certified ’ with ‘T Swiss T’ at the very bottom.

Usually, we restore the dials of the watches we sell, however we decided in this case to leave it alone, due to its unusually good 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 Movement

The watch carries its original, very high grade ‘Superlative Chronometer’ Calibre 1570, 26 jewel automatic movement which is in sparkling clean condition. The movement has been completely overhauled and serviced which involves fully dismantling, ultrasonic cleaning, inspection under high magnification and replacement of parts, only with new original Rolex parts where required, then careful reassembly and oiling ready for testing and calibration. The watch is now running perfectly, having been calibrated and timed within +11 seconds per day. This is truly outstanding for any watch of this age and has been confirmed by our electronic timegrapher. It is now ready for many more years of faithful service.

These movements are strong, very accurate and very reliable making this watch particularly suited to everyday use should you so wish. This particular movement is in superb A1 condition and with regular servicing, say every 4 years, we would fully expect this watch to run happily for many years to come. We are therefore pleased to offer 12 months warranty on this watch movement*.

The movement is all correctly signed ‘MONTRES ROLEX SA GENEVA SWISS’ and ‘TWENTY SIX JEWELS’ with the Calibre number 1570 along with 26 Jewels and the movement serial number D227697.

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

The Case

The steel watch case measures 35mm, excluding the correct Rolex signed winding crown, this makes this a good size watch for the 1970s. The heavy Rolex Oyster Perpetual case with a wide plain bezel has quite a bold character, with strong straight 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 inside of the case back is all signed correctly with ‘Montres Rolex S.A’, ‘Geneve’, ‘Switzerland’, ‘Patented’ and with the model reference number 1500. On the exterior of the case between the lugs at 6 the case serial number is clearly signed 3160153 dating this watch correctly to 1972.

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

The Bracelet

The outstanding Rolex rivet stainless steel bracelet is very close to perfect condition. The bracelet has simply been cleaned and lightly polished to bring it back to the condition you see here.

Setting the catch to the shortest adjustment the bracelet will fit a 16.5cm wrist, then when setting the catch to the longest adjustment the bracelet will fit a 19.7cm wrist. This bracelet has 13 links, 3 of which can be removed to make the bracelet smaller.

Box and Papers

Although there are no original papers with this watch, the reference numbers, markings, signatures and hallmarks are all correct and indicate the date of manufacture as 1972.

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 green suede Rolex pouch.

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 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.