There is a certain charm that comes with a simple time-only Rolex Oyster. Oozing with character and confidence, the present ref. 6282 is a well-preserved example with a from circa 1953. Rocking a rare, silvered dial with “Shock Resisting” text at 6 o’clock, the face is topped with gold-tone hour markers and a Rolex coronet below 12 o’clock. The dial is further outlined by a black minute track and a sunken boarder which brings depth and dimension to the initially flat surface. Fitted in an elegant 34mm case, the ref. 6282 at hand has aged gracefully and is a fantastic specimen with a 970 thousand serial.
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.