11
Rolex
Ref. 1510
Oyster Perpetual Date, Zephyr
An extremely uncommon and impressive yellow gold automatic wristwatch with center seconds, date, frosted bezel and frosted bracelet, retailed by Ricciardi
Full-Cataloguing
- Automatic, center seconds, date
- Rare "Zephyr" model in "frosted" gold case and bracelet
- Retailed by Joyeria Ricciardi, Buenos Aires
- Full set with COSC certificate, warranty booklet and document holder
Defined by its crosshair dial, the Zephyr occupied a singular place in Rolex's offering: neither pure tool watch nor pure dress piece, it was conceived as the brand's "go-everywhere" watch, marrying the robustness of the Oyster case with the clean legibility and refinement more commonly associated with Rolex's dressier non-Oyster lines of the era. It represented, in essence, the meeting point between two very different sides of Rolex's mid-century identity. Curiously, Rolex never registered as trademark in CH, but used it in USA advertising material.
The present example, reference 1510, is a superb representative of this rare lineage, distinguished by its "frosted" gold case and matching bracelet - a textured finish that lends the watch a tactile, almost sculptural quality rarely seen even among vintage Rolex references. Adding a compelling layer of history, the case bears the stock number 135'020 of the storied Buenos Aires retailer Joyeria Ricciardi under the bottom right lug.
This provenance is further corroborated by the accompanying set of documents: a Rolex warranty booklet stamped by Ricciardi and dated September 8, 1969, alongside a COSC chronometer certificate dated November 3, 1968, both preserved together with their original green document holder.
Rarely seen and now largely forgotten outside a small circle of specialists, the Zephyr today offers the collector something increasingly precious: an authentically uncommon slice of Rolex's mid-century catalogue, paired here with a South American retail history that only deepens its appeal.
Rolex
Swiss | 1905Founded in 1905 England by Hans Wilsdorf and Alfred Davis as Wilsdorf & Davis, it soon became known as the Rolex Watch Company in 1915, moving its headquarters to Geneva in 1919. Like no other company, the success of the wristwatch can be attributed to many of Rolex's innovations that made them one of the most respected and well-known of all luxury brands. These innovations include their famous "Oyster" case — the world's first water resistant and dustproof watch case, invented in 1926 — and their "Perpetual" — the first reliable self-winding movement for wristwatches launched in 1933. They would form the foundation for Rolex's Datejust and Day-Date, respectively introduced in 1945 and 1956, but also importantly for their sports watches, such as the Explorer, Submariner and GMT-Master launched in the mid-1950s.
One of its most famous models is the Cosmograph Daytona. Launched in 1963, these chronographs are without any doubt amongst the most iconic and coveted of all collectible wristwatches. Other key collectible models include their most complicated vintage watches, including references 8171 and 6062 with triple calendar and moon phase, "Jean Claude Killy" triple date chronograph models and the Submariner, including early "big-crown" models and military-issued variants.