Wts:1952 Steel Rolex Oyster Perpetual Explorer Ref# 6098

[rolexmonger]

Up for sale this week at Ye Olde Rolex Shoppe is a gorgeous authentic stainless steel ROLEX OYSTER PERPETUAL EXPLORER, one of the very first ones ever made, in fact. With a reference number of 6098, date marked IV 52, combined with a serial number of 726 471 (a 1951 serial number), this watch is among the earliest of prototype or pre-Explorers, released before Sherpa Tenzig Norgay and Sir Edmund Hillary made that famous climb that would reinforce the marketing of this line of watches. It is a piece that belongs in a seasoned Rolex collector's treasure box. What makes this particular one so unique is the excellent original black dial, with Rolex coronet logo, Rolex chevrons, original radium dauphine hands with matching gilded sweep seconds hand, and the most pristine A.296 automatic movement that I have ever seen on a vintage Rolex this old.

CASE: Stainless steel with serial number 726 471. Reference number 6098 between the lugs is repeated on the inner back, along with IV 52, and Rolex signature. Both the serial and reference number between each pair of lugs is very legible, with each number being easily seen. The case is large, 20mm between the lugs, 44m long, 35mm wide not including the crown. Some refer to this style as big bubbleback. Call it what you will, it is a first run EXPLORER, in excellent condition. As a matter of fact, this watch came from the California desert, so it has been in a moisture-free environment for decades. And it still has its original lead gasket. Getting the back off proved to be a challenge, as it was on about as tight as I have ever seen. That turned out to be a good thing, as you will see in the photos of the movement. The crown is the original Super Oyster, a push-pull system that Rolex used for only one year, due to bad results as far as waterproofing went. It seems obvious that as the crown could come out easily, there must have been incidents that caused Rolex to terminate the system early and continue as always with the more secure screw-down system. I sold another 6098 recently without a dial, and it was manufactured in the exact same time sphere, about 156 pieces apart (1951-1952), but it had the screw-down system, which would lead one to surmise that they never gave up on the traditional system, and only had the Super Oyster out as an experiment. Nonetheless, this makes it all the more collectible, as there are not many of these around.


MOVEMENT: Signed Rolex Perpetual chronometer movement, 17J plus 2 jewels for the rotor makes this one of the final movements that Rolex used before they started graduating to the more familiar calibers of the modern automatics, beginning with the 1030, and ending with the current run that still use the red coloured wheels. This is an A. 296 movement, 10 1/2 ligne. Correct for this reference number. There are other markings and numbers on the movement, as you can see in the photos. Clean, running strongly and keeping time surprisingly accurately for a watch this old. As mentioned above, the stubborn case back with original lead gasket was practically fused to the case, and required full body strength to remove. I had my back turned the whole time, but luckily the watchmaker finally got it off. And the result was about as breathtaking as I have ever seen - a near-pristine movement, with all the rhodium or nickel plating looking about as good as the day it was manufactured, which is exceedingly unmatchable among older Rolexes. I have never seen a movement from this period in such fine shape. And that makes owning this watch all the more exciting. All it needs is a good overhaul. I have not done so yet because operation is excellent. But, if you like, as buyer, I can have this done for you at a modest price, or you can take it as it is. Please note that the corrosion visible on the inner lip of the case, seen in the movement photos, is on the original lead gasket itself, and not on the case. The guy who opened it advised a rubber replacement if waterproofing is again desired. This will also guard against another future trial getting the case open again.

DIAL: The original black dial is in excellent shape. It says ROLEX OYSTER PERPETUAL, PRECISION, SWISS MADE, has gilded features throughout, including closed minute track with fifths of seconds marked of, doubling as a seconds chapter. Coronet logo is below the 12, the only number on the dial. Large chevron shaped indicators surmounted with radium at the 3-6-9 position, and smaller chevrons in every other position except for 12. Radium dots behind each small chevron, dauphine style radium hands with matching gilded sweep seconds hand, all original and beautiful, condition being more than agreeable. Experienced students of Rolex will immediately notice that the three large radium-inlaid chevrons are set out in the same 3-6-9 pattern that would finally sport arabic numerals, the more familiar EXPLORER trademark.

The only non-original parts on this watch are the newly-installed crystal and 20mm Italian sports leather strap with matching stainless buckle. Everything else is factory original.

Do not miss this opportunity to own a 1st run ROLEX OYSTER PERPETUAL EXPLORER. All earliest examples of this watch do not read EXPLORER on the dial. Subsequent examples did, specifically the dress models with dauphine hands. The first sports models, issued later, also simply read ROLEX OYSTER PERPETUAL, with the sometimes added PRECISION. The very first EXPLORERS were all, without exception, 6098 and 6298 dress watches. The early 1950s were what one might call trial years, before the EXPLORER brand became a staple of the company. Rolex, in fact, patented the EXPLORER name in 1950, a good indication that there was a plan to develop a line of watches. Rolex simply didn't know at the time what style to choose. The famous climb up Everest looks in hindsight like another shrewd opportunity to use an event to market a product. As it turns out, that product already existed well before 1953. The indelible 3-6-9 EXPLORER signature often obscures the fact that the sports look finally adopted as the definitive EXPLORER style was the second, not the first, manifestation of a legendary product.

3,750.00 GBP or best offer
FedEx Priority service only.
Photos available at [email protected]