1971 Rolex Oyster Precision 34mm 6426 NAFFI Box & Papers

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 it. 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. The 1931 debut of the Rolex Oyster Perpetual marked the introduction of their first self-winding watch, which was also water-resistant and dustproof. The Oyster Precision 6426 was first introduced in the early 1950s and remained in production until the late 1980s. Here we have a 1971 Rolex Oyster Precision 6426, complete with its box and papers. The 34mm stainless steel Oyster case features a subtle curve towards the satin-finished, drilled lugs, with a lug-to-lug length of 41mm and a thickness of 9.5mm, ensuring a comfortable fit on your wrist. On the right side is a signed screw-down crown. The polished, chamfered, and smooth bezel holds a domed acrylic crystal above a lovely, subtle patina dial. An outer minute track with Tritium lume pips and applied bevel-edged baton indexes mark the hours. Slender sword hands filled with Tritium are complemented by a tapered centre second hand, the text is precisely printed with “Rolex Oyster ” 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. 1225, 17 jewels, 21,600 beats per hour. It comes paired with its Rolex 19mm 78350 screw-link stainless steel bracelet, secured by a signed folding clasp, and will fit up to a 7.5-inch wrist. This watch is sold with its original Rolex box, swing tag, and paperwork, purchased in 1971 on the HMS Argonaut F56 Royal Navy ship, as per the papers.

This watch is sold with its original Rolex box, swing tag, and paperwork, purchased in 1971 on the HMS Argonaut F56 Royal Navy ship, as per the papers. It comes paired with its Rolex 19mm 78350 screw-link stainless steel bracelet, secured by a signed folding clasp, and will fit up to a 7.5-inch wrist. The watch is from September 1971 and is sold in vintage, worn condition. The dial has a lovely, subtle patina, as you can see in the photos. The watch comes with our 12-Months NON-Waterproof Warranty.

Not only is this a lovely Rolex Oyster Precision, reference 6246, it's also one with its box & paperwork, purchased in 1971 on the HMS Argonaut F56 Royal Navy ship and stamped NAFFI. I do love it when a watch comes to me like this, as we will likely and unfortunately never know who the person was that purchased this watch originally or what their story was, but it's exciting to get a glimpse. The 34mm Oyster cases on these references are fantastic on the wrist, incredibly comfortable and surprisingly versatile with the Rolex Oyster bracelet or a nice leather strap. I would not hesitate to add this watch to your collection today!

Reference : 6426
Movement : Manually Wound Rolex Cal. 1225
Age : September 1971
Year : 1971
Case Size : 34mm
Case Thickness : 9.5mm
Lug to Lug : 41mm
Lugs : 19mm
Condition : Pre-Owned
Box and Papers : Box & Papers
Case Material : Stainless Steel
Warranty : 12 Months NON-Waterproof Warranty
The wrist model's wrist size is 7inch

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.