This Watch

It's very hard to not get excited by this beautiful Rolex Oyster Royal, model 6044 from 1949.  The previously restored, off-white dial has been done well and around 10-15 years ago.  It has a minimal patina, raised, gold, Arabic numerals sit inside a outer minute track with the Rolex logo and 'Rolex, Oyster Royal' at 12 o'clock, and  'Shock Resisting, Swiss Made' at 6 o'clock.  Lumed, gilt, tapered hour, minute and central seconds hands create a lovely contrast to the dial for an easy read.

The 32mm, polished, stainless steel, Oyster, screw-back case is in great condition.  Complete with a Rolex-signed, screw-down, Super Oyster crown.  Inside is the Rolex caliber 710, aka, 10.5H, fully serviced by us and running strongly.  We've paired the watch with an as new, genuine, more recent, Rolex Jubilee bracelet, which we thinks makes the watch more functional and gives it the wow factor it deserves!

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Hans Wilsdorf founded Rolex in 1905 at the age of 24, along with Alfred Davis in London.  In 1919 they moved their operation to Geneva, Switzerland.  This move was brought about by high wartime taxes on Gold and Silver in the UK after the Great war 1914-1918.  They were now closer to their suppliers in Bienne.

The Rolex Oyster case was released in 1926.  Marketed as the world's first “waterproof” watch.  The notches on the bezel and case back meant they could be screwed down to the middle case with a special tool invented and manufactured by Rolex to hermetically seal the case.  In 1927 a young swimmer Miss Mercedes Gleitz swam the English channel wearing the “Oyster”.  Later in 1933 the team of the first expedition to fly over Everest wore them.  It was also famously worn by Sir Malcolm Campbell, “King Of Speed”, on the 4th September 1935.  An advert of the time made a big splash with him saying “The Rolex watch is still keeping perfect time- I was wearing it yesterday when Bluebird exceeded 300 mph.”  He broke the world land speed record 9 times between 1924 and 1936.  1931 saw the debut of the Rolex Oyster Perpetual, their first self-winding watch that was also water-resistant and dustproof. 

This watch comes fully serviced by our on-site workshop and with our 12 months, non-waterproof service cover.

What we think

An absolute classic design and a timeless beauty - we're huge fans of the 1940s Rolex Oyster Royals here at AWC, and this is such a stunning example!

Sometimes, for whatever reason, dials will need restoration.  This does not mean we disregard them or hide them away.  We love this watch and are proud to have revived such a stunning piece of design, making it available for the next generation.  We like to be as transparent as possible with what our watches have gone through, and we are happy to present quality craftsmanship that means these timepieces get many more years of use!

Spec Stuff