Rolex Oyster Perpetual Datejust Ref.6605 1954

Rolex

Founded in 1905 in England by Hans Wilsdorf and Alfred Davis as Wilsdorf & Davis, the company became known as the Rolex Watch Company in 1915, moving 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

Launched in 1945, the Rolex Datejust broke new ground by being the world’s first automatic wristwatch with a date function. The fact that this watch was also waterproof and accurate and reliable enough to be Chronometer rated, was nothing short of sensational in 1945!

The Datejust was also one of the first popular watches to possess a central seconds hand, moving away from the more usual subsidiary seconds (small seconds dial) of the time. It was launched in the very large size for the time, of 36mm in diameter, excluding the Rolex screw-down crown. This classic design soon became an icon of style and quality, remaining in continuous production and continuous development, but changing little in design in over 70 years!

The Rolex Day-Date joined the Datejust in 1956 and both have remained Rolex’s range-topping gentlemen’s dress watches ever since. However, early Rolex Datejusts are rarer and more sought after and therefore command higher prices than the Day-Date. Incidentally, the ‘just’ in Datejust, stands for “just in time”, referring to the way the movement advances the date, exactly at midnight without any delay.

A highly attractive, early example of the Rolex Oyster Perpetual Datejust in stainless steel from 1954. This Rolex model reference 6605 has the most beautiful, fully original, unrestored and untouched 1950s silver dial with the original ‘lance’ hands, which pair perfectly with the ‘arrowhead’ hour indices. The Rolex Calibre 1066, 25 Jewel Chronometer grade movement is superbly accurate and reliable, even by current day standards. The movement has been overhauled and serviced and it is in sparkling condition. At 36mm diameter, not including the crown, this is a large-sized watch by 1950s standards. The watch case also carries a fluted bezel that remains in incredible condition.

The Dial

A wonderful, original, unrestored and untouched 1950s Rolex Datejust silver dial. This dial is completed with ‘arrowhead’ hour indices matched by the original unrestored ‘lance’ hands. This dial has a date window at 3 with a cyclops window. All of these wonderful aspects match perfectly with the stainless steel case.

The dial is signed ‘Rolex Oyster Perpetual’ and ‘Datejust’ just below the 12, ‘Superlative Chronometer Officially Certified’ just above 6 and with ‘Swiss’ at the very bottom of the dial below the ‘6’.

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 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 original, high grade “Officially Certified Superlative Chronometer”, 25 Jewel, Calibre 1066 ‘butterfly’ movement is highly regarded for being very accurate, reliable and strong. As can be seen in the photographs, it is in wonderful condition and it is working perfectly following a thorough overhaul and service by our vintage Rolex specialist watchmaker. This means the movement has been completely disassembled to each of its component parts, cleaned and inspected under high magnification and then rebuilt using only original Rolex parts where required, before testing and careful calibration. The watch has just been re-tested (as it will be prior to delivery) and is running to within +12 seconds per day, which is outstanding for a vintage watch of this age! The movement also has a 48 hour power reserve when fully wound.

These movements are strong, accurate and very reliable making the watch appropriate for regular everyday use. This particular movement is in top condition and with regular servicing every 2 to 3 years we would fully expect this watch to run very happily for many more decades to come! We are therefore pleased to offer a 12-month warranty on this watch movement* and servicing in the future.

The movement is correctly signed ‘Montres Rolex SA Geneva Swiss’ and ‘Twenty Five Jewels’, the movement carries the movement reference number Dn911021 and the calibre number 1066.

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

The Case

The stainless steel watch case measures an oversized 36mm, excluding the correct Rolex signed winding crown, this makes this a good size watch for the 1950s. The heavy Rolex Oyster Perpetual case has a highly sought after, white gold fluted bezel, 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 interior of this case back is correctly signed ‘Montres Rolex S.A’, ‘Geneve’, ‘Switzerland Patented’, ‘Stainless Steel’ and the model reference number 6605, this case also carries the correct serial number 45753 between the lugs at 6.

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

The Bracelet

The  original Rolex jubilee 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 17.1cm wrist, then when setting the catch to the longest adjustment the bracelet will fit a 19.7cm wrist.

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 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 the original Rolex 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.