RAREST FIND - AUTEHNTIC VINTAGE ROLEX OYSTER CHRONOMETER RED CARLIFORNIA MILITARY DIAL GENTS WRISTWATCH (SOLD)

SOMEONE QUESTIONED ABOUT THE AUTHENTICITY OF MY WATCH. FOR YOUR INFORMATION THE EXACT OYSTER 4377 MODEL WITH BLUE DIAL WAS AUCTIONED BY CHRISTIE. PLEASE SURF CHRISTIE SITE TO VIEW IT. THE ONLY THING THAT I'M NOT SURE OF IS THE DATE OF MANUFACTURE EITHER 1950's OR 1920"s. THANK YOU

BRAND/JENAMA: AUTHENTIC VINTAGE ROLEX OYSTER RED CARLIFORNIA MILITARY DIAL GENTS WRISTWATCH

MADE IN/BUATAN: SWISS

CIRCA/TAHUN: 1928 (SERIAL NO. 322188 - ONE OF THE EALIERST OYSTER, THE FIRST OYTER WAS INRODUCED IN 1926)

MODEL: OYSTER CHRONOMETER MODEL 4377

CRYSTAL/CERMIN: ACRYLIC

MOVEMENT/ENJIN: ROLEX SA 17 JEWELS MANUAL WINDING MOVEMENT

DIAL COLOR: MILITARY RED CARLIFORNIA DIAL

FUNCTION/FUNGSI: MILITARY

HANDS/JARUM: VERY BRIGHT LUMINOUS SILVER TONE MERCEDES HANDS

MARKERS/TANDA WAKTU: VERY BRIGHT LUMINOUS ARABIC MILITARY MARKERS

CASING : SOLID STAINLESS STEEL/ KELULI SEPENUHNYA

LUGS: 18mm

MEASUREMENT/UKURAN: 38mm DIAMETER INCLUDING CROWN and 41mm LUG TO LUG

BEZEL: 14K SOLID WHITE GOLD BEZEL

DITANDA/ENGARVED BACK CASING: S/N 322188

~THE REVERSE SIDE OF THE SCREW CASE STATES BREVETTES ROLEX SA GENEVE SUISSE~31 VICTORIES~HAUTE PRECISION~4377

CROWN: ORIGINAL ROLEX 1 STEPS SS CROWN

STRAP/TALI: REPLACED AFTER MARKET ROLEX PRESIDENT SS DOUBLE CLAPS BRACELET WITH ROLEX EMBLEM

SIZE STRAP/SAIZ TALI: 8.5" FULL LENGHT

DISCONTINUED ROLEX TUDOR MODEL... RAREST!

EXCELLENT CONDITION, KEEPING GOODTIME AND RECENTLY SERVICED

PRICE: RM4,500 (SOLD TO MR AL RAMSAY, COLUMBUS USA)

A History of Rolex Watches

Hans Wilsdorf founded the company we now know as Rolex in 1905. Born in Kulmbach, Germany in 1881, the company, Wilsdorf & Davies, was based in London. By 1908 it had become one of the leading watch companies in the UK. It was in this year that he coined the name Rolex.

Official Chronometer Certification was awarded to Rolex in 1910 from the "Bureau Officiel" in Switzerland, the first time this had ever been given to a wristwatch. This was to be the first of many accolades awarded to the watch, including the Class A Precision from the Kew Observatory in 1914.

In 1926 the Rolex Oyster was released. It was the first wristwatch to be considered waterproof, proven a year later when the watch was worn by the swimmer Mercedes Gleitze in his successful bid to cross the English Channel. This was beneficial to Wilsdorf whom had sponsored the event and gained considerable exposure for his new Oyster Watch. Wilsdorf recognized the importance of advertising and marketing his creation in order to gain publicity and prestige. 1931 saw the creation of the Perpetual Rotor, a mechanism now seen as the basis for self-winding movements. In the following years Rolex released the first Oyster Perpetual Lady-date (1954) the GMT Master with dual time zone function (1955) and the first Day-Date (1956).

Andre Heiniger took over the company following the death of Hans Wildorf on 06 July 1960. Rolex continued to invent and innovate in terms of technical skill and style throughout the 2nd half of the century. The Sea-dweller (1967) was certified as reaching depths of up to 1,220 meters making it the choice for Professional Divers - a point that was quickly adopted in advertising the model. The Explorer II (1978) and Cosmograph Daytona (1988) were also released to international waiting lists securing Rolex as one of the worlds most prestigious watch brands.

Rolex Dateline

• 1905 - Hans Wildorf establishes a London firm specialising in the distribution of watches.
• 1908 - Wildorf coins a brand name in which to sign his creations: Rolex.
• 1910 - In Switzerland, Rolex obtains the first official chronometer certification ever awarded to a wristwatch.
• 1914 - The Kew Observatory in Great Britain awards the Rolex wristwatch a CLASS A precision certificate.
• 1926 - Rolex develops and patents the first airtight, dustproof and waterproof watch - named the Oyster.
• 1927 - The Rolex Oyster crosses the English Channel unscathed.
• 1931 - Birth of the Perpetual Rotor, a self winding mechanism later found in every modern automatic watch.
• 1945 - The Oyster Datejust is invented. The first watch to display the date automatically.
• 1953 - Rolex has created the diving watch of reference - the Submariner.
• 1954 - The Oyster Perpetual Ladydate is introduced.
• 1955 - The Oyster GMT Master is designed making it possible to read the time in any two time zones.
• 1956 - The Oyster Day-Date is created.
• 1960 - The so called Bathyscaphe is created and plunges 35,787 feet into the Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean.
• 1967 - The Oyster Sea-Dweller is invented - waterproof to a depth of 610 m / 2001 ft.
• 1971 - The Oyster Explorer II is designed.
• 1978 - The Oyster Perpetual Date Sea-Dweller is tested waterproof to a depth of 1220 m / 4003 ft.
• 1988 - The first Cosmograph Daytona is fitted with a perpetual rotor.
• 1992 - A new model is added to the Professioanl range - the Yacht-Master.
• 2004 - Submariner celebrates its 50th Anniversary. Rolex celebrates with a special commemorative model with a green bezel and unique black dial.