Rolex - The Geneva Watch Auction: X Geneva Saturday, November 9, 2019 | Phillips

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  • Manufacturer: Rolex
    Year: Circa 1973
    Reference No: 6263 inside caseback with repeated serial number 3'956'048
    Case No: 3'956'048
    Model Name: Cosmograph "FAP"
    Material: Stainless steel
    Calibre: Manual, cal. 727, 17 jewels
    Bracelet/Strap: Stainless steel Rolex Oyster bracelet stamped ""571" and "78350 19", max length 210mm
    Clasp/Buckle: Stainless steel Rolex Oyster deployant clasp stamped "H" and "78350"
    Dimensions: 37.5mm Diameter
    Signed: Case, dial, movement and clasp signed
    Accessories: Accompanied by Rolex green document holder, box and outer packaging

  • Catalogue Essay

    One of the highest echelons of Rolex collecting is represented by military timepieces. That is: watches made for the armed forces of a country. The company is known to have at some point in time worked with numerous armed forces or military organizations, including the English Navy, Italian Police, and of course the Peruvian Air Force - as in the case of the present timepiece. Watches made for the Fuerza Aerea Del Perú - or FAP - are today extremely elusive pieces not only in virtue of their intrinsic rarity, but also because of the heavy usage they underwent which implies many pieces were simply lost, and many others were heavily refurbished.

    While the most obvious characteristic of FAP timepieces is the engraving to the caseback, there are other two traits that define these watches. One is that the serial number - all or part of it - has to be present to the inside of the caseback, thus linking together case body and caseback. The other is a much more subtle detail, and often lost due to the reasons mentioned above: on the opposite side of the back from where the FAP engraving is, these watches present an extremely lightly engraved military issue number. So light is this engraving that even a few polishings would irremediably erase it. Only a meager percentage of FAP watches still retain this number today, and this piece is indeed one of them, the number 611 is present and crisp to the outside of the back.

  • Artist Biography

    Rolex

    Swiss • 1905

    Founded 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.

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137

Ref. 6263 inside caseback with repeated serial number 3'956'048
A fine, extremely rare and exceptionally well preserved stainless steel chronograph wristwatch with bracelet and box, made for the Peruvian Air Force

Circa 1973
37.5mm Diameter
Case, dial, movement and clasp signed

Estimate
CHF80,000 - 160,000 
€75,100-150,000
$83,200-166,000

Sold for CHF150,000

Contact Specialist
Alexandre Ghotbi
Head of Watches, Continental Europe and the Middle East
+ 41 79 637 1724
aghotbi@phillips.com

The Geneva Watch Auction: X

Geneva Auction 9-10 November 2019