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Vintage Rolex Oyster Raleigh WW2 Military Watch - Image 1
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Vintage Rolex Oyster Raleigh WW2 Military Watch

DIRECT PRICE SAVE 10%
EBAY PRICE$1150.00
DIRECT -10%$1035.00

DESCRIPTION

Up for sale is a remarkable piece of horological history: a genuine Vintage Oyster Watch Company Oyster Raleigh from the World War II era. The Oyster Watch Company was owned and operated by Rolex, and during WWII, Rolex used the Oyster Watch Co. name to navigate tariffs and import restrictions in certain markets, particularly in the UK and Canada. Because of these regulations, watches were branded Oyster Watch Company instead of Rolex, even though they were manufactured using the same components, built to the same standards, and fitted with Rolex’s patented waterproof Oyster case. While the dial does not display the Rolex name, this is still a Rolex-built watch, making it a highly desirable and historically important collector’s piece. This example features the Oyster Raleigh configuration and is powered by its original high-end 17 jewel Caliber 59 movement, which is more premium and less commonly encountered than the standard 15 jewel versions found in many wartime examples. The watch is currently running smoothly and keeping accurate time. The watch has aged gracefully and shows signs of use and age consistent with a genuine WWII-era timepiece. The dial, hands, case, and movement are original, preserving its vintage authenticity and strong collector appeal. The original dial features blued steel hands and Arabic numerals, delivering the classic vintage military aesthetic. The watch is fitted with an extremely rare NOS era-correct Bonklip bracelet, which complements the period look perfectly. Key Details: • Brand: Oyster Watch Company (Rolex-owned wartime brand) • Model: Oyster Raleigh • Movement: Original Caliber 59 • Case Size: Approximately 29mm • Era: World War II (1940s) • Condition: Running and keeping accurate time; shows signs of use and age • Dial: Original dial with blued steel hands and Arabic numerals • Bracelet: Extremely rare NOS era-correct Bonklip bracelet Whether you are a vintage Rolex collector or a fan of historically significant military timepieces, this Oyster Watch Company Oyster Raleigh represents an outstanding opportunity to own a true Rolex-built watch from one of the most fascinating chapters in Swiss watchmaking history. Ships carefully. Feel free to message me with any questions.
BRAND:
Rolex
UNIT CONDITION:
Pre-owned - Good
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► ARCHIVE FILE: ROLEX — BRAND HISTORY

Rolex began in London in 1905, when Hans Wilsdorf and his brother-in-law Alfred Davis founded Wilsdorf & Davis to case Swiss movements for the British market. Wilsdorf registered the Rolex name in 1908, choosing it because it was short, easy to pronounce in any language, and fit neatly on a dial. He then set about proving that wristwatches, still dismissed as jewelry, could be precision instruments: a Rolex earned the first chronometer certificate granted to a wristwatch in 1910, a Kew Class A certificate followed in 1914, and the firm moved to Geneva in 1919.

Two inventions made the modern sports watch possible. The Oyster case of 1926 sealed the movement behind a screw-down bezel, case back, and crown; Wilsdorf proved it in 1927 by having swimmer Mercedes Gleitze wear one for more than ten hours in the English Channel, then announced the result in a front-page newspaper advertisement. In 1931 came the Perpetual rotor, a self-winding weight swinging through a full 360 degrees that kept the watch wound and the crown safely screwed down. Those two ideas remain the backbone of the catalog a century later.

The postwar decades produced the references that define the tool watch: the Datejust in 1945, the Explorer and the Submariner in 1953, the GMT-Master in 1955 for Pan Am crews, the Day-Date in 1956, and the Cosmograph Daytona in 1963. None of these were luxury objects at launch; they were equipment for divers, pilots, and engineers, which is precisely why the early examples matter. Rolex changed details constantly, so dial printing, bezel inserts, and crown guards let specialists date a watch almost to the year.

Vintage Rolex is the most scrutinized corner of the watch market, and originality is everything: an untouched dial outweighs a polished case, and correct period parts outweigh cosmetic perfection. Gilt-dial sports models and early GMTs sit at the top, but honest Oyster Perpetuals, Air-Kings, and Datejusts from the 1950s through the 1970s remain attainable ways into the brand. Serial numbers date production, service history adds real value, and the deep base of parts and knowledge around these watches means a good example can be maintained indefinitely.

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