Rolex Oyster Perpetual Model Ref.5010 1934 Bubbleback

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 bubbleback stainless steel wristwatch, with a wonderful off-white dial with wonderful gilt 1 – 12 Roman numerals. The 32mm stainless steel case has thick straight lugs and a beautiful gold bezel, overall, giving this stylish watch a confident, yet not overstated wrist presence.

The Dial

This classic early 1930s Rolex Oyster Perpetual dial is simply beautiful. The gilt 1 – 12 Roman numerals are matched by the gilt ‘leaf’ hands. The design is beautifully balanced and perfectly symmetrical. This dial also has the addition of a blued steel seconds hand, we feel this adds perfectly to the watch.

The dial is signed with the early ‘Rolex Oyster Perpetual’ signature just below 12 and ‘Officially Certified Chronometer’ just above 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

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’.

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 Case

The steel watch case measures an good sized 32mm, excluding the correct Rolex signed winding crown, it also carries the beautiful gold smooth bezel and has a wonderful bubbleback case, which we believe all fits this watch perfectly. The Bubbleback is so called due to the bulbous round back needed to accommodate the early automatic movement and rotor which was a little too large for the later standard flat back case when it was first introduced.

The outstanding Rolex Oyster Perpetual case also has strong straight lugs that give this watch a beautiful presence on the wrist. 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 ‘Geneve Swiss Patented’ and the model reference number 5010, this case also carries the correct serial number 62562.

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 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 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.