1945 Rolex Oyster Royal Ref. 4444 Manually Wound
Ref: 4444

Points of Mention

This watch is sold as "Watch Only" and therefore comes with no Rolex box or paperwork. The watch comes paired on a well-suited leather strap. The watch is from Circa. 1945 and is sold in worn, vintage, condition but overall very fair for its age. The watch comes with our 12-Months NON-Waterproof Warranty.

The Watch

The "Oyster" watch was introduced in 1926 as the very first waterproof and dustproof watch. 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 nine times between 1924 and 1936. Sir John Hunt’s expedition in 1953 saw Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay reach the summit of Mount Everest, equipped with Oyster Perpetuals.

This classic 1945 Rolex Oyster Royal Ref. 4444 has a 32mm stainless steel Oyster case. The flowing lines lead your eyes towards the tapered lugs. A lug to lug length of 38.5mm and a thickness of 11mm ensures a comfortable fit on your wrist. On the right side is a signed screw-down crown. The fine bezel holds a domed crystal above a white dial. An outer 60-minutes scale is precisely printed. Large Arabic numeral indices are coated in Radium. Thermally blued sword hands are complemented by a tapered sweeping second hand. On the reverse, a coin-edged screw-down case back. Inside a Manually Wound Rolex Cal. 10.5H, 18,000 beats per hour. The watch comes fitted on a 17mm suede strap.

Personal Note