1966 Rolex Oysterdate Precision 6694 on Rivet Bracelet
Ref: 6694
Specification
Lugs :Â 19mm
Condition :Â Pre-Owned
Box & Papers :Â None
Case Material :Â Stainless Steel
Warranty : 12-Months Non-Waterproof Warranty
Points of Mention
This watch is sold as "Watch Only" and therefore comes with no original Rolex box and paperwork. The watch comes paired with its 19mm Rolex Rivet stainless steel bracelet with a signed folding clasp, which will fit up to a 7.15-inch wrist. The watch is from Circa. 1966 and is sold in vintage worn condition as you can see, signs of age and wear can be seen. The watch comes with our 12-Months NON-Waterproof Warranty.
For more photos see here -Â https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1rChF1NWagcbB_lC9fOw3Te9Q2RAtvmAi?usp=drive_link
4K YouTube video, skip to 4:44Â -Â https://youtu.be/rDjaU3Q5dmk
The Watch
Here we have a 1966 Rolex Oysterdate Precision 6694 on Rivet Bracelet with a 34mm stainless steel Oyster case, the slender case has a subtle curve towards the drilled lugs with a lug-to-lug length of 41.5mm and a thickness of 11.5mm ensuring a comfortable fit on your wrist, the case profile has polished and brushed surfaces that transition with strong crisp edges. On the right side, is a signed screw-down crown. The polished smooth bezel holds a domed acrylic crystal above a sunburst silver dial, an outer minute track with Tritium lume pips and applied dagger indexes mark the hours. At 3 o’clock a date window with cyclops magnification on the acrylic crystal. Slender sword hands infilled with Tritium are complemented by a tapered centre second hand, the text is precisely printed with “Rolex Oysterdate” underneath the applied Rolex crown, and at 6 o’clock you find printed “Precision”. On the reverse, a coin-edged screw-down case back, inside a manually wound Rolex Cal. 1215, 17 jewels, beating at a leisurely 18,000 beats per hour. The watch comes paired with its 19mm Rolex Oyster Rivet stainless steel bracelet with a signed folding clasp, which will fit up to a 7.15-inch wrist.Â
Personal Note
As the proud owner of a very similar 1969 Rolex 6694, I'm asked regularly about it when customers visit, though once they hear it's a personal watch and not for sale the disappointment is apparent. Luckily for those of you who wanted mine, I have sourced this incredible 1966 6694 which also features its original Rivet bracelet, a beautiful silver dial which has developed a subtle patina leaning towards a faint champagne, plus its original tritium markers and hands, all amazing and making for a great watch to pick up!
The Brand
The Rolex Oyster case was released in 1926 and 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 of 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, the OysterDate Precision 6694 was first introduced in the early 1960s and remained in production until the late 1980s. In 1905, German-born Hans Wilsdorf and his brother-in-law Alfred Davis set up a company in London that imported Swiss movements which were installed in British cases and sold to jewellers who put their names on the dials. Recognising the potential for their brand, Wilsdorf created the brand name Rolex in 1908. In 1910, a Rolex became the first wristwatch to carry the Swiss Certificate of Chronometric Precision, awarded by the Official Watch Rating Centre in Bienne, Switzerland. Demand for Rolex watches rose swiftly, and British taxes on the Swiss movements Rolex used prompted Wilsdorf to move the business to Geneva, Switzerland, in 1919. With production costs lowered, Wilsdorf quickly set out to solve the age-old problem of moisture and dust entering a watch case and damaging the movement. The Rolex watchmakers came up with a fully sealed watch case, which Wilsdorf named the Oyster, and released to an appreciative audience in 1926. In 1931, Rolex introduced the first automatic winding wristwatch, giving it the legendary name Oyster Perpetual. In 1945, they released the Datejust which was the first watch to have the date jump instantaneously at midnight. The 1950s saw a whole lot of releases such as the Air-King (1958), the Explorer (1953), the Submariner (1953), the GMT Master (1955), the Day-Date (1956), the electromagnetic field resistant Milgauss (1956), the Lady-Datejust (1957) and the first Deep Sea model (1960). Wilsdorf’s death in 1960, saw ownership of Rolex S.A. (a collection of sub-companies) passed to the Hans Wilsdorf Foundation which was founded by Wilsdorf in 1945, the mission of which is simply to sustain Rolex S.A. indefinitely.