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- 1934 Rolex 'Curvex' 18K Solid gold - Original Box - Ref. 869
1934 Rolex 'Curvex' 18K Solid gold - Original Box - Ref. 869
A fine and extremely rare 18K Rolex 'Curvex' Ref. 869
WHY IS THIS WATCH SPECIAL
Rolex Geneva states that the reference 869 was manufactured in 1934 and made in a unique series of only 20 pieces !
This featured model is in an extremely well preserved original condition and comes with its original box from 1934.
The 'Curvex' (Curved case for a better fit on the wrist) models were very rare and this one features a large unpolished case housing a beautiful original black dial.
This is a very collectible timepiece with a large size accordingto today's standards, usually the watches were way smaller at the time..
THE STORY
Rolex, in full Montres Rolex SA, also called (1905–15) Wilsdorf & Davis Ltd. and (1915–20) Rolex Watch Co. Ltd., Swiss manufacturer of rugged but luxurious watces. Company headquarters are in Geneva.Founder Hans Wilsdorf was born in Germany but moved to Switzerland when he was a young man. There he found work at a watch-exporting company in La Chax-de-Fonds, one of the centres of the Swiss horological industry. He then moved to London, where in 1905 he and a brother-in-law, Alfred Davis, established Wilsdorf & Davis Ltd. to assemble and market watches using works imported from Switzerland. At a time when most men still wore large pocket watches and considered “wristlet” watches—as they were then called—to be slightly effeminate, Wilsdorf, the dominant partner, staked his company’s future on the wristwatch. He came up with the brand name Rolex, registered it as a trademark in 1908, and set out to make wristwatches that were both manly and fashionable. In 1914, in an early display of his considerable talent for generating publicity, Wilsdorf had the British government certify a Rolex as the first wristwatch to pass a test for durability and accuracy that was customarily given only to marine chronometer. The company was renamed Rolex Watch Co. Ltd. in 1915, probably because the name Wilsdorf was provoking anti-German prejudice in Great Britain during World War I. Rolex opened a Geneva office in 1919 and soon afterward moved headquarters to Switzerland and adopted the French-language corporate name of Montres Rolex SA. Rolex registered the five-spiked crown as its trademark in 1925, while steadily improving its products. In 1926 the company introduced the waterproof and airtight Oyster model. The Oyster Perpetual, said to be the first self-winding wristwatch, followed five years later. In 1956 Rolex introduced the Milgauss, a watch especially resistant to magnetization, a phenomenon that can reduce accuracy. The company also carried a less-expensive line of watches called Tudor, which it had introduced in 1952.
Rolex consistently strove to associate itself with sportsmen, adventurers, and athletes of both sexes. In 1927 Wilsdorf gave Mercedes Gleitze, the first British woman to swim the English channel, a Rolex to wear on her wrist while attempting a Channel crossing. (Not until later would the company make watch models specifically for women.) The British driver Sir Malcolm Campbell gave Rolex an endorsement after wearing its watches during his land speed record attempts in the early 1930s. Rolex achieved a publicity coup in 1953 when Edmund Hillary and other members of his expedition made the first successful ascent of Earth’s highest peak, Mount Everest, while wearing Rolex wristwatches. In January 1960, when Jacques Piccard’s bathyscaphe Trieste made its descent into the planet’s deepest waters, in the Mariana Trench, a specially made Rolex with a thick “bubble” crystal was attached to the vessel’s hull—and was found to be in working order after the vessel resurfaced.
THE DATA
- Maker: Rolex
- Model: Curvex
- Reference: 869
- Case N°: 640XX
- Year: 1934
- Material: Solid 18K Yellow Gold
- Dimentions (WxHxT): 26x37x9mm
- Caliber: Rolex 520
- Bracelet/Strap: Aligator
- Buckle: Original Rolex
- Lug width: 18mm
- Box/Papers: Original Rolex box from 1934
THE IMPORTANT DETAILS
This watch is in extremely good condition for its age. The unpolished 18K solid gold case has all its sharp angles well preserved and the black original dial is stunning.
This is a great and extremely rare Rolex Curvex, very elegant and highly collectible.
A nice presence on the wrist with its large case, perfect for every day wear or formal occasions.