The Centregraph occupies a very peculiar and important spot in the vintage Rolex production. An extremely rare model - with an estimated output of less than 100 pieces - it was produced in conjunction with the Zerograph, from which it differs for the bezel - the Zerograph sports revolving bezel - and the dial design. Both of them, however, share the movement which is the first in-house Rolex calibre to feature some sort of chronographic capabilities: the pusher at two activates the zero-reset of the center seconds, allowing for the tracking of the time of a specific event.

All Rolex chronograph movements before this one are instead based on Valjoux ébauches. The historical importance of the piece is further boosted by the fact that this is the first Rolex chronograph to be housed in a waterproof case. This is nothing short of remarkable, both as a milestone for Rolex, and for the entire watchmaking industry as well: it has to be kept in mind that the production of the model began in the late 1930s, a time when even simple time-only waterproof pieces were an oddity.

The dial of this timepiece is as enthralling as its historical and technical features: it can be considered a hybrid of many styles, borrowing elements from art deco dials (the dot minute divisions on metallic pink track), 1940s dials (the railway fifth of a second combined with Arabic five minutes divisions), and professional timepieces (the additional red 12 - 24 hour ring in the center). Such an unusual design can be deemed a first effort toward the development of a “professional” dial layout, a field into which Rolex is destined to excel in a couple of decades.