1981 Rolex Oyster Perpetual Date 15000 Box & Papers Silver Dial
Ref: 15000

Points of Mention

This watch is sold with its original Rolex box and Rolex paperwork. The watch comes paired on its original Rolex bracelet with a signed Rolex clasp, all links included. The watch is from Circa. 1981 and is sold in worn, but mint condition, as you can see from the photos. The watch comes with our 12-Months Warranty.

The Watch

In 1905, German-born Hans Wilsdorf and his brother-in-law Alfred Davis set up a company in London that imported Swiss movements which are 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. The Datejust 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.

Here we have a 1981 Rolex Oyster Perpetual Date 15000 with a 34mm stainless steel Oyster case. The case flows over your wrist with a lug to lug length of 42mm and a case thickness of 12.5mm ensuring a comfortable fit on your wrist. On the right side is a signed crown. The smooth polished bezel holds a raised plexiglass above a sunburst silver dial. An outer minute track is precisely printed with lume pips at the hours. Applied steel baton indexes mark the hours. At 3 o’clock a date window with cyclops magnification on the crystal. Steel baton hands have Tritium luminance infill complemented by a sweeping tapered second hand. At 12 o’clock we have an applied Rolex crown with text printed underneath and at 6 o’clock. On the reverse, a screw-down coin-edged case back. Inside an Automatic Rolex Cal. 3035, which is fitted with a free-sprung Breguet overcoil hairspring and a bi-directional rotor. This movement was manufactured from 1977 until 1988. The watch comes fitted with its Rolex Oyster bracelet with a signed folding clasp. The watch also comes with its Rolex presentation box papers and swing tags.

Personal Note

Rolex has been producing watches that have stood the test of time both in production but also in design, for me the OP Date is one of those models. At 34mm it wears beautifully on the wrist and actually appears more like a 36mm in my opinion, the simplicity and fantastic execution make this a watch you could easily wear in all situations, it could truly be someones one watch collection, if that even exists!