About this watch

A crisp, clean, steamlined sports model vintage Rolex in stainless steel that is entirely original, right down to the presentation box.

All-original features include: white stamped dial with Rolex crown at 12 o’clock, Arabic numerals at 3, 6 and 9 o’clock and raised diamond-shaped batons elsewhere; 34 mm case, reference 1003; signed screw-down crown; acrylic crystal; automatic caliber 1560 movement, which has been fully serviced and regulated; sporty 7” Rolex Oyster bracelet – the distinctive flat three-piece profile with large centre links.

A little history: Rolex conceived the Oyster case in 1926, creating the first hermetically sealed, fully waterproof (to at least 100 metres), dustproof, pressure-proof and shockproof wristwatch. Then, in 1931, Rolex patented the fiendishly clever Perpetual rotor: the world’s first self-winding watch mechanism. The two were combined in the Oyster Perpetual marque, an inspired pairing that would shape the brand’s reputation for time-keeping excellence. The Oyster bracelet, introduced in the late 1930s, has to be one of the most popular Rolex bracelets due to its superior durability. Unsurprisingly, Ian Fleming had Bond wear ‘a heavy Rolex Oyster Perpetual’ in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service published in 1963.