Euro Antique Watches

Description

18 Kt Gold Rolex W&D London Import 1920
History from Levi Collison

An 18 Kt gold and enamel Rolex open face pocket watch, made in Switzerland with London Import hallmark for 1920. Please see service report by my watchmaker attached!

Dial: The silver-coloured dial has black Roman numerals with outer minute divisions. The dial has white enamel on the front and the back border. The middle of the dial is engine turned. The dial has blued hands and a subsidiary second’s dial at the six. The dial is signed: "Rolex".

Movement: The anchor lever movement has 17 Jewels and a swan lever adjustment. The movement is in great working condition as it has just been serviced by my watchmaker however, we cannot guarantee accuracy for an antique watch.

Case: The watch comes in an 18kt yellow case with a smooth finish and engraved on the back: “Presented to L. Collison Esq Jr, Chairman and Managing Director Collisons Ltd, By His Co-Directors as a token of esteem and to commemorate 25 years of happy association 1909-1934”. The inner side of the case has the casemakers initials W&D (See history about Wilsdorf & Davis), is stamped for 18 Kt gold and has the London Import hallmark for 1920. The inner side of the case is signed: Made in Geneva and is numbered: 2401.

Signed: Rolex - Swiss Made - 1920
Diameter: 46 mm – Weight: 61.6 gr

Rolex History: Mention Rolex and the majority of people will instantly recognize them as being a manufacturer of prestige, luxury wristwatches. They are by far the largest luxury watch brand in the world with revenues of around $3bn every single year and sales in every country of the world. This reputation has also seen Rolex watches become some of the single most expensive items of jewellery with used Rolex watches with good heritage and in good condition fetching large sums of money.

Wilsdorf & Davis
Hans Wilsdorf and his brother-in-law Alfred Davis established Wilsdorf & Davis, which would later become Rolex, in 1905. Initially, the company did not make their own watches as such, but instead imported Herman Aegler’s Swiss movements, placed them in high quality cases, and then sold the watches to jewellers. The jewellers would then place their own brand name on the watch face, although a W&D mark was typically found inside the caseback of the watch.
The trademark Rolex was first registered by Wilsdorf in 1908 and the pair opened an office in Switzerland. The company name Rolex was not registered until 1915. Since this time, the Rolex brand has introduced many different innovations to the luxury watch market and has won plaudits and praise accordingly throughout the years.

Rolex watches remain as popular as ever and the company continue to create high quality watches that are widely considered to be among the most accurate and the best looking of all luxury watches. New and old models can fetch a large amount of money, but unfortunately this means that there is also a large number of fake Rolex watches doing the rounds so buyers do need to beware that they’re getting the genuine item.
As always, all my shipping items are sent out with Royal Mail signed for and registered Post, with tracking available.