Rolex Oyster Perpetual ref. 6551, 'Midsize'

Dealer description — Oliver & Clarke

If you boil Rolex down to its purest form, what do you get? The Rolex Oyster Perpetual. This is truly the genesis for the entire Rolex brand. The very first Rolex models were called ‘Oysters’ which was owed to their innovative three part case that all screwed into each-other. That is where the fluted bezel actually derives from, being screwed down into the top of the case to secure the crystal with a gasket - as well as the grooves on the oyster case back. All makes sense now - right? The piece that we have here is a descendant of those early watches, though probably not what you first think of when you hear Oyster Perpetual... This is a 'midsize' Oyster Perpetual Ref. 6551 dating to circa 1969. It comes in at 31mm in diameter and is constructed out of 18k yellow gold and it remains in fantastic overall condition. The case is unpolished and shows normal signs of wear throughout with a few small impressions on the case profiles. The finely 'fluted' yellow gold bezel is in matching condition and retains crisp factory finishing. Inside, it has a sunburst silver dial with applied indices and Tritium plots on the outside, which remain fully-intact and exhibit an attractive, even patina throughout. On close inspection, there is some edge wear present at the 12 o'clock position and between 6-7 o'clock, and a few of the indices show some surface oxidation. The Tritium within the handset matches perfectly. The highlight of the piece, however, is the rare 'woven' bracelet that this piece comes fitted with. Like the case, it is constructed out of solid yellow gold and also remains in fantastic condition. Many other watches with stylistic woven bracelets like this have been previously shortened to suit one specific wrist with no way of resizing that doesn't require work by an artisan. By some miracle, this piece has seemingly been spared being cut-to-size and remains long enough for virtually any wrist size, and unlike most pieces with an artistic bracelet like this, this one has a traditional Rolex 'blade'-style clasp with micro-adjustment holes for sizing. And don't let the 31mm case size fool you, this piece can suit a larger wrist size than you may think thanks to the visual impact of that stunning bracelet. This then, is a brilliant example of Rolex displaying a more artistic side, all while still very much being a Rolex with that water-resistant Oyster case and a robust automatic-winding movement inside. Hard to beat.