1971 Rolex Oysterdate Precision 6694 Tritium Sharp Case
Ref: 6694
Specification
Lugs : 19mm
Condition : Pre-Owned
Box & Papers : None
Case Material : Stainless Steel
Warranty : 12-Months NON-Waterproof Warranty
Points of Mention
This watch is sold “Watch Only” therefore without its original Rolex box, and paperwork. The watch comes paired with a 19mm leather strap. The watch is from Circa. 1971 and is sold in vintage worn condition, the case is in excellent condition and hasn't been overpolished over its life, and still stands with its edges as you can see from the photos. The watch comes with our 12-month NON-Waterproof Warranty.
The Watch
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 the, 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. Here we have a 1971 Rolex Oysterdate Precision 6694 Tritium with a 35mm stainless steel Oyster case, the slender case has a subtle curve towards the satin-finished drilled lugs with a lug-to-lug length of 41.5mm and a thickness of 10mm 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 chamfered smooth bezel holds a domed acrylic crystal above a sunburst silver dial, an outer minute track with Tritium lume pips and applied bevel-edged baton 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, text is precisely printed with “Rolex OysterDate” underneath the applied Rolex crown, 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. The watch comes fitted on a 19mm leather strap.
Personal Note
The Rolex 6694 is, in my opinion, the most underrated Rolex reference! It is overlooked for being manually wound rather than automatic, 35mm rather than a large case size and whatever other reasons people throw at it. But if you have had the privilege of trying one on, you'll know this is one of the most comfortable and arguably most Rolex watches you can own, it speaks to the core of what Rolex was all about, form and function with no fuss! I back this up by owning one personally, so don't just take my word for it, book an appointment and see it for yourself.
The Brand
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.