RVM 0001
In the 1950s, Rolex produced 2 models of automatic wristwatches, ref. 6062 and ref. 8171 with functions showing the phases of moon, month, day and date in small numbers and in pink gold, yellow gold and steel.
Ref. 8171 has a snap on back and ref. 6062 has an Oyster water-resistant back.
Over the years, 2 in steel, one with stars on dial, 1 pink gold with star dial, 3 yellow golds, 2 with star dials and 2 movements passed through my hands.
One half complete movement was sold at Christie’s auction in 1994 for Sterling Pounds 13,800.
This watch with serial nos.788596 was serviced by Rolex Singapore and sold before the construction of our website.
I personally do not agree with what some major auction houses have stated in their catalogues that very few of this reference were made in steel because I had known and seen quite a number of steel pieces with some overseas dealers and at various auctions too. The steel pieces are found in the major Rolex markets like India with some in Burma, the Philippines, China and the Middle East countries.
I once read in a Rolex watch book that due to the failure of this model, many remaining movements were later re-encased as steel pieces.
Out of curiosity, I wrote to ROLEX, GENEVE, on this matter and the reply was that the information on number of pieces produced is confidential. I wondered what could be so confidential after 50 years, or could it be that Ms Rolex did not keep proper records of their production? I hope to write to MS ROLEX again and hopefully, this time, they could be more helpful to provide more information to Rolex diehards like myself.
It is interesting to note that pink gold have the reference no. of 6062 on the upper case in between the lugs and 6063 stamped on the inside of the back case. 14th December 2012, Christie's NY auction, lot no.154 is one such example.
Early Rolex watches are with a lot of inconsistency and info is so rarely available and that makes collecting of vintage Rolexes very challenging and interesting.
Price : NOT FOR SALE