Rolex Model Ref.2318 1932

Rolex

Founded in 1905 in England by Hans Wilsdorf and Alfred Davis as Wilsdorf & Davis, the partnership became known as the Rolex Watch Company in 1915 and moved to its new Geneva headquarters in 1919. The success of the wristwatch can be largely attributed to many of Rolex’s innovations which made the company one of the most respected and well-known of all luxury brands. These have included its famous “Oyster” case — the world’s first water-resistant and dustproof watch case, invented in 1926 — and its “Perpetual” — the world’s first reliable, self-winding movement for the wristwatch, launched in 1933. These would form the foundation for Rolex’s Datejust and Day-Date, respectively introduced in 1945 and 1956. Also and equally importantly, Rolex is known for its sports watches, such as the Explorer, Submariner and GMT-Master launched in the mid-1950s.

Description

A wonderful previously restored stainless steel Rolex wristwatch, with a wonderful white dial with black 1 – 12 . The outstanding stainless steel case measures 30mm, excluding the correct crown, making this a smaller watch today.

Note –  At 30mm this watch would originally have been marketed as a gentlemans watch, as during the 1930s, gentlemans watches tended to be much smaller. Today however, the fashion is for gents to wear much larger watches and for ladies to wear this kind of watch. Therefore this could be considered suitable for both.

The Dial

The beautiful previously restored white dial is in wonderful condition as are the beautiful blued steel ‘leaf’ hands, making the dial very easy to read. These are also original and are an outstanding feature of this watch. The dial also carries attractive bold black 1 – 12 standard Arabic numerals, all perfectly proportioned with a subsidiary seconds dial at 6 and framed in a minute railtrack.

The dial is simply signed ‘Rolex’ at the very top of the dial just below 12 with ‘Swiss’ at the very bottom of the dial below 6.

This dial has been previously restored to a very high standard and remains in outstanding condition.

The Movement

The high-grade, 15 Jewel, hand-wound movement is in incredibly clean and sparkling condition and has just been fully overhauled and serviced by our expert vintage Rolex specialist watchmaker.

The example here is running perfectly, having been calibrated to run consistently within plus or minus 11 seconds per day! This is truly outstanding for any mechanical watch and it is no exaggeration – we have checked the test results on our electronic watch timegrapher.

The movement is simply signed ‘Rolex’, ‘15 Rubies’, ‘Swiss Made’ and ‘Fab Suisse’. This particular movement is in beautiful condition and with regular servicing, say every 3 to 4 years, we would fully expect this watch to continue to run very happily for another 50+ years! We are therefore totally confident in offering this watch with our 12 months written warranty*.

*Please note – our 12 months’ warranty is only applicable if the list price is paid.

The Case

The three-piece stainless steel case measures 30mm in diameter, excluding the unsigned Rolex winding crown.

The case, as we would expect from Rolex, is very solid and well made and the press-fit case-back closes with a very solid and satisfying ‘pop’, indicating the case has been impeccably built and maintained. It is of full-thickness and has never been engraved.

Inside the case-back all is correct and as expected. It is signed with the ‘Rolex’ branding, ‘27 Records Universels’ and ‘Geneve Suisse’, on the exterior of the case back the case serial number is clearly signed 033064 and the model reference number 2318.

Having been cleaned, carefully examined and lightly hand-polished by our case-maker, the case is totally immaculate, being very crisp with no scratches, dings or other blemishes visible to the naked eye. This, along with the superb general condition of the rest of the watch, indicates this watch has received an excellent level of care and only light use.

As ever, our standard advice applies: Vintage watches should be kept clean and dry at all times.

The Strap & Buckle

A high quality black Alligator embossed strap and matching stainless steel buckle has been fitted, which we feel matches the watch perfectly. However, if a different colour or style of strap is preferred, please let us know and we will do our best to oblige, free of charge. We carry tan, conker, dark brown and black in stock in plain padded leather, crocodile skin or lizard skin, but we can also obtain most types and colours of strap from our partners at ‘Watch Obsession’ within 48hrs. Please take a look at their huge range of straps if you wish here.

Box and Papers

Although there are no original papers with this watch, the reference numbers, markings, signatures and hallmarks are all correct, dating this watch to 1932.

Detailed particulars will be included with our purchase receipt for your interest and security. A separate insurance valuation for the replacement value of this watch will be provided at the time of sale along with our unique ‘Lifetime Authenticity Guarantee’ which states: “If this watch proves to be anything less than 100% genuine, authentic and original, a full refund will be given at any time”.

A high quality hardwood presentation box is included in the sale of this watch.

Payment and Delivery

If you would like to pay by bank transfer, we will be pleased to assist you with this and pass on a 3% saving to you. Paying by bank transfer for a 3% saving will not affect your 12 months warranty. Similarly, if you wish to pay by International SWIFT or Bank Wire Transfer we will provide you with our BIC / Swift number and our IBAN number.

Please check the import duties and any taxes your government may apply, these are different for each country and, unfortunately, out of our control.

We understand there may be some ‘loopholes’ that may help you avoid these charges; however, attempting to use these could impact our ongoing ability to serve our growing international customer base.

For those who happen to visit London on occasion, we are, of course, more than happy to store your watch until we can meet you in our offices in Kensington, London, and hand your watch directly to you there.

As with all our watches, this watch will be sold under our 14 days no-quibble sale or return policy.

In Conclusion

This is a really beautiful 1930s vintage steel watch from Rolex, one of the most highly honored and awarded Swiss watch manufacturers. It is to the credit of the company that this watch is still perfectly useable and reliable, just as it was when it left the factory 90 years ago!

A word on our prices – We always try our hardest to acquire the very highest quality watches we can find, before restoring them to the highest possible standards. We then offer these at the fairest prices we can, taking into account our pre and post-sales care and service. This approach means we will never be the cheapest, but nor will we be the most expensive. Indeed there are some well-known stores in West London which are highly successful charging between two to three times the price you see here. We, therefore, consider our prices to be fair, given the quality of watches we have to offer.

Please note, we also welcome part exchanges. If you have a watch or a small collection for sale, please contact us as we will be happy to discuss this.

We will also be happy to Service your watch, Repair your watch or Restore your watch, all at ‘sensible’ prices. Please see here.

If you have any questions please call us on 020 7727 7095 or if calling from overseas on +44 207 727 7095.

Please take a look at our other fine vintage steel watches.

Thank you.