Rolex makes the Oyster Perpetual watch. Originally, the Oyster was released in 1926, and the luxury watch has built its reputation ever since. The Oyster was the first waterproof wristwatch with excellent chronometric precision, a waterproof Oyster case, and self-winding. The self winding movement is the result of a perpetual rotor.
In 1927, the Rolex Oyster Perpetual Watches gained notoriety when the waterproof watch proved it was waterproof when the watch was worn by a young English swimmer named Mercedes Gleitze, who crossed the English Channel. The swim lasted over 10 hours. At the send of the long strenuous swim, the watch remained in perfect working order at the end of it.
The success of the swim and the Rolex Oyster Perpetual watch made news when Rolex published a full-page ad on the front page of the Daily Mail announcing the success of the waterproof watch and all it had to offer.
Newer Oyster Perpetual models have an anti-reflective coating applied to the back of the sapphire crystal, making the dial’s viability better.
In 1931, Rolex invented and patented the world’s first self-winding mechanism. This was accomplished with a perpetual rotor, which is used in modern automatic watches today.
The Rolex History
In 1905, twenty four year old Hans Wilsdorf founded a company in London and began dreaming of a watch that could be worn on the wrist. During this time in history, wristwatches were not accurate, but Wilsdorf was a visionary and knew that a wristwatch could not only be worn on the wrist while being elegant and reliable.
A Short, Easy to Say and Remembered – The Name ‘Rolex’
Wilsdorf wanted a name that was short, easy to say, and remembered in any language. Wilsdorf tried combining different letters in the alphabet to develop a name, and nothing worked. One morning he was riding on the upper deck of a horse-drawn omnibus along Cheapside in the City of London; he said, “a genie whispered ‘Rolex’ in my ear.”
In 1910, a Rolex watch was the first watch to receive the Swiss Certificate of Chronomantic Precision presented by the Official Watch Rating Centre in Bienne. Just four years later, Rolex was awarded a class “A” precision certificate by Kew Observatory in Great Britain!
Rolex watches have an array of gemstones and precious metals, and all these add to each Rolex watches’ value.
Rolex watches are the only watches made out of 904L type steel. Typically most watches are made from 316L steel, stainless steel, and other metals or alloys.
Rolex makes different collections of watches. There is the Rolex Daytona with 44 jewels. It is a chronograph Rolex. The IWCII IWC Il Destriero Scafusia has 76 jewels. Rolex uses synthetic sapphire crystals created to be extremely hard and durable. These sapphires are resistant to scratching, while acrylic will scratch. Now all Rolex watches feature the sapphire crystal. These crystals help make preowned Rolex watches look new with fewer flaws.
Rolex watches use 18ct gold, a princely alloy composed of 750‰ (thousandths) pure gold. Additionally, they have Everose, which is Rolex’s exclusive pink gold alloy.
Rolex watches are the choice of watch for many iconic and legendary people, like Warren Buffett, J.F Kennedy, and Winston Churchill. They wore Rolex watches, to name a few. Warren Buffett wears a Rolex Day Date, and Winston Churchill wore an Oyster Perpetual Datjust in 18k gold with a fluted bezel. It was a beautiful watch and had a white dial and jubilee bracelet.
You can only imagine the effortless style, precision, and craftsmanship of Rolex were the selling point for these iconic people.
Automatic Movement
Did you know that the people who wear Rolex watches are keen on details? They are typically bold and brilliant, and are unique in many ways. When Rolex released automatic movements, it marked an important breakthrough in the evolution of waterproof watches. The automatic movement meant wearers didn’t have to unscrew the crown to manually wind the watch manually daily. This feature helped reduce the wear and tear on the gaskets, which helps keep water out of the simple in-house movement.
Perpetual movement watches are the watches that can run on energy provided by the movement or motion of the wearers wrist. They don’t require manual winding.
The Winding Crown
The Rolex Oyster Perpetual watches has an impressive winding crown made of about ten parts and is screwed hermetically onto the watch case. All Rolex watches are fitted with a winding crown.
The Rolex Oyster Perpetual Explorer
The Rolex Oyster Perpetual is its own model and is categorized as such. Some other collections, like the Rolex Oyster Perpetual Explorer, released in the 1950s, have a distinctive black dial with characteristic 3, 6, and 9 numerals. It has a Chromalight display and highly legible hour markers. Made from extremely resistant Oystersteel and waterproofness have made it a tool for exploration. Other tool watches include the Oyster Perpetual Submariner for divers, the Oyster Perpetual GMT Master for pilots, and the Oyster Perpetual Milgauss for scientists.
There are other models, like the Oyster Perpetual Datejust and Oyster Perpetual Submariner that feature an Oyster case and a perpetual movement, alongside the other functionality elements that align with the collection it is included in.
Finding an Rolex Oyster Perpetual Used
There are online shops, watch pre owned dealers, and pawn shops that carry pre owned Rolex watches. Finding a gently used watch is a great way to buy your first Rolex watch without having to pay the price of a new watch.
Lincoln Pawn Shop
Lincoln Pawn Shop located in Aneheim, CA is a perfect place to shop for pre owned Rolex watches. They specialize in services that include pawning, selling, or buying your Rolex watch among their collection of prestigious high precision timepieces, ranging from classic elegance to studied performance.
The shop has a passion for watches, and it shows. They buy and sell some of the best watch brands in the industry. We loan and buy Rolex watches, and the process is quick and confidential.
As a CAPA trusted lender, they have years of experience working with their customers to find the best luxury watches, including Rolex Oyster Perpetual watches and other luxury models.
