Rolex Oyster Perpetual Model Ref.1500 1960

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 fully restored Rolex Oyster Perpetual stainless steel wristwatch, with a restored silver-white dial with wonderful gold furnishings. The 36mm 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 1960s Rolex Oyster Perpetual dial is beautifully simple and elegant. The steel gilt ‘diamond’ hour indices are matched by the steel gilt ‘dauphine’ 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’,  ‘Superlative Chronometer Officially Certified ’ with ‘T Swiss T’ at the very bottom.

The original dial has been restored to the very highest standards and now looks almost new. The hands are also in wonderful condition considering these remain original, unrestored and untouched.

The Movement

The watch carries its original very high grade ‘Superlative Chronometer’ Calibre 1560, 25 Jewel automatic movement which is in sparklingly clean condition. The movement has been fully overhauled and serviced by our watchmaker. This means it has been fully dismantled to all its component parts, before ultrasonic cleaning, microscope inspection and replacement of parts with new originals where required. Then careful reassembly and oiling ready for final testing and calibration. The watch is now running perfectly having been calibrated and timed at +11 seconds per day, which is truly outstanding for any watch of this age. It is therefore ready for many more years of reliable service. This movement has a 44 hour power reserve when fully wound.

The movement is all correctly signed ‘Montres Rolex SA Geneva Swiss’, ‘Timed 5 Positions’ and ‘Twenty Five 5 Jewels’ with the Calibre number 1560 and the correct movement serial number D23991.

These Chronometer grade movements are very strong, accurate and reliable making this watch perfectly suitable for evening wear and everyday use. This particular movement is in superb A1 condition and with regular servicing, every 3 – 4 years, we would fully expect this watch to run happily for many more years to come! We are pleased to offer a 12 month warranty on this watch movement*.

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

The Case

The steel watch case measures an oversized 36mm, excluding the correct Rolex signed winding crown, this makes this a good size watch for the 1960s. 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 interior of this case back is correctly signed ‘Montres Rolex S.A’, ‘Geneve’, ‘Switzerland Patented’, ‘Stainless Steel’ and the model reference number 1500, this case also carries the correct serial number 603054.

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 black lizard 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 1960.

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 Rolex Oyster presentation box as shown in the photographs.

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.

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.