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Vintage Rolex Oyster Neptune WW2 Military Watch - Image 1
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Vintage Rolex Oyster Neptune WW2 Military Watch

DIRECT PRICE SAVE 10%
EBAY PRICE$1450.00
DIRECT -10%$1305.00

DESCRIPTION

For sale is a remarkable piece of horological history: a genuine Vintage Rolex Oyster Neptune military watch from the World War II era. This highly collectible timepiece features Rolex’s legendary early waterproof Oyster case design and houses its original Caliber 59 manual wind movement, making it an exceptional addition for serious collectors and vintage military watch enthusiasts. During World War II, Rolex also produced watches under the Oyster Watch Company name as a way to navigate tariffs and import restrictions in certain markets, particularly in the UK and Canada. These Oyster Watch Company–branded watches were manufactured using the same components, built to the same standards, and utilized Rolex’s patented Oyster case. While this example is signed Rolex, it comes from the same wartime production era and shares its construction, design language, and mechanical lineage with those Oyster Watch Company pieces—placing it squarely within this important chapter of Rolex history. This example is powered by its original Rolex Caliber 59 manual wind movement with 17 jewels and is currently running and holding accurate time. The watch has aged gracefully and retains its authentic vintage character. The case, dial, and hands show honest signs of age consistent with a WWII-era timepiece, while preserving excellent originality. The warm patina dial features bold Arabic numerals and a classic military layout, complemented by original period-correct hands. The case back features a personalized engraved inscription. The watch is fitted with a brand new high-end black leather strap. Key Details: • Brand: Rolex • Model: Oyster Neptune • Era: World War II (1940s) • Movement: Original Rolex Caliber 59 manual wind, 17 jewels • Case Size: Approximately 29mm • Condition: Running and holding accurate time; shows signs of use and age • Dial: Original warm patina dial with bold Arabic numerals • Hands: Original, period-correct • Strap: Brand new high-end black leather strap • Case Back: Personalized engraved inscription Whether you are a vintage Rolex collector, a military watch enthusiast, or a student of horological history, this Rolex Oyster Neptune represents a rare opportunity to own an early Rolex military-era watch with its original Caliber 59 movement intact. Ships carefully. Feel free to message me with any questions.
BRAND:
Rolex
UNIT CONDITION:
Pre-owned - Good
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► ARCHIVE FILE: ROLEX — BRAND HISTORY

Rolex began in London in 1905, when Hans Wilsdorf and his brother-in-law Alfred Davis founded Wilsdorf & Davis to case Swiss movements for the British market. Wilsdorf registered the Rolex name in 1908, choosing it because it was short, easy to pronounce in any language, and fit neatly on a dial. He then set about proving that wristwatches, still dismissed as jewelry, could be precision instruments: a Rolex earned the first chronometer certificate granted to a wristwatch in 1910, a Kew Class A certificate followed in 1914, and the firm moved to Geneva in 1919.

Two inventions made the modern sports watch possible. The Oyster case of 1926 sealed the movement behind a screw-down bezel, case back, and crown; Wilsdorf proved it in 1927 by having swimmer Mercedes Gleitze wear one for more than ten hours in the English Channel, then announced the result in a front-page newspaper advertisement. In 1931 came the Perpetual rotor, a self-winding weight swinging through a full 360 degrees that kept the watch wound and the crown safely screwed down. Those two ideas remain the backbone of the catalog a century later.

The postwar decades produced the references that define the tool watch: the Datejust in 1945, the Explorer and the Submariner in 1953, the GMT-Master in 1955 for Pan Am crews, the Day-Date in 1956, and the Cosmograph Daytona in 1963. None of these were luxury objects at launch; they were equipment for divers, pilots, and engineers, which is precisely why the early examples matter. Rolex changed details constantly, so dial printing, bezel inserts, and crown guards let specialists date a watch almost to the year.

Vintage Rolex is the most scrutinized corner of the watch market, and originality is everything: an untouched dial outweighs a polished case, and correct period parts outweigh cosmetic perfection. Gilt-dial sports models and early GMTs sit at the top, but honest Oyster Perpetuals, Air-Kings, and Datejusts from the 1950s through the 1970s remain attainable ways into the brand. Serial numbers date production, service history adds real value, and the deep base of parts and knowledge around these watches means a good example can be maintained indefinitely.

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