Rolex Hurricane Observatory

[Lol-x]

Didn't know about this model (borrowed photograph)

[frostie]

didn't know about this watch either i've never heard of the Hurricane rolex

[chris_nor_cal]

what the heck is observatory movement? lol

[daunwaun]

lol classic beauty though

[Alcan]

The Observatory was produced in the 30's and 40's, mostly with the 10 1/2 ligne hunter movement which was used up to 1969.. Here are some examples and listings

http://www.watchestobuy.com/RolexPoc...ervatoryGf.htm

http://cgi.ebay.com/Very-Rare-Vintag...QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/1930s-ROLEX-PRIN...QQcmdZViewItem

[SPACE-DWELLER]

That must be ONE rare bird, that "Hurricane"!

Thanks for sharing, Steve!

[daunwaun]

always great info al

thanks - D

[SPACE-DWELLER]

Originally Posted by Spacedweller

That must be ONE rare bird, that "Hurricane"!

Thanks for sharing, Steve!

"Et al"

[Alcan]

Back in the day, Rolex marketed some product lines exclusively to Canada. Don't know why they favoured Canada for this, but here's a short blurb and some examples.

http://www.yorktime.com/articles/200312123544

http://www.farfo.com/menswatches/Pag...toryblack.html

http://www.yorktime.com/search?cid=38:sku=140

[Tools]

Nice....

Great example....I'll bet in it's day, those hands could light up an entire room...

[SPACE-DWELLER]

Originally Posted by Tools

Nice....

Great example....I'll bet in it's day, those hands could light up an entire room...

Yeah, that would have been Radium!

Even though the dials shown don't say "Swiss" at 6, here is a nice overview over the dial markings as what luminescance is concerned:

Rolex Dial markings. Click!

[problmchylde]

Military model....Can i still buy it for $50.......

[Flyjet601]

Very interesting never seen any of those.......great info, thanks

[dr_rolex]

Wow.

Breath taking.

Thank you.

[WorldOysterWatcher]

You should have sent a note to the original owner of the watch and pictures (er... that would be me) and I could tell you oodles.... OODDLES.

Truly.. the Hurricane was named after the fighter jet. The Hurricane (watch) was marketed alongside the Rolex Corvette.

The Hawker Hurricane was a major milestone in the evolution of British fighter planes. Monoplanes weren't new to the type, but the Hurricane set new standards of armament and performance in one stroke. When it appeared in 1935, with eight guns, it was the world's most heavily armed fighter, and it was Britain's first to exceed 300mph.

The corvette was born out of dire need at the beginning of World War Two for something to fill the gap until the larger destroyers could be brought on line. The design that was used was an untested one based on a whaling ship.

The corvettes could sail at 16 knots while the surfaced U-boats could manage 17-18 knots. They were short and had a broad beam which allowed them to patrol in a fierce weather while most other escort vessels could only concentrate on survival. This hull design also made them "roll on a wet grass" as one quote has it, they were very lively at sea and during the worst storms even the most hardened naval veterans felt uneasy for sea-sickness. But they served very well and never gave the U-boats any break due to bad weather. Over 20 corvettes were lost to U-boats.

Eventually roughly half of the escorts in the North Atlantic convoys were corvettes.

The most famous class of corvettes was the Flower class which was a formidable U-boat hunter.

All Corvettes classes. The list is divided by navy, then ordered by number of ships of that class.

[Black Bay Dan]

Not wishing to be pedantic but the Hawker Hurrican was actually a piston engine fighter plan rather than a jet. It was the most numerous fighter the British had during the Battle of Britain, despite the Spitfire taking all the glory in films and nostalgia.

Dan

[Taffi Abernathy]

Most impressive is that Rolex prices haven't changed since that time.

[JJ Irani]

Imjpressive stuff, Steve......but just look at those prices, guys.

Hell, you couldn't get an SS link for those prices today!!

[Nods]

Yes very reasonably priced for a Rolex!. The Hurricane was a piston aircraft as were most of the WWII aircraft. The Germans did bring out some jet fighters towards the end of the war, but due to fuel shortages by that time they had very little effect in the war. The Hurricane had a 32L V12 merlin engine, and it was made out of timber. This reduced the cost of the aircraft, made it quicker to build and easier to repair and maintain. For those reasons it was the main British fighter of WWII.

[Tony-GB]

That's a beauty- thanks for sharing & thanks for all the info guys.

BUT- "Unbreakable glass"...?

[Czechman]

Originally Posted by Nods

The Hurricane had a 32L V12 merlin engine, and it was made out of timber. This reduced the cost of the aircraft, made it quicker to build and easier to repair and maintain.

Actually the Hurricane had a steel tube/fabric fuselage and conventional aluminum wings. You're thinking of the de Havilland Mosquito.

[padi56]

Now this is a old thread first posted 1 September 2007 and Just few of the various names used by Rolex over the years Air Lion,Air Tiger,Airgiant,Airking,SpaceDweller,SkyRocket, Speedking,Falcon,Orchid,Observatory,Tridor,Athlete ,Commando,Turtle Timer,Canadian,Empire, Oyster Lipton, Rolex Scientific,Rolex Everest,Tudor Advisor,Oyster Junior Sport, Oyster Raleigh, Oyster Commander, Oyster Recorda, Oyster Edison, Oyster Grenfell, Oyster Shipmate and Oyster Standard,and there are a quite a few more that I cannot remember now.

[WorldOysterWatcher]

this still won't be all of them, but...

Oyster Chester, Oyster Essex, Rolex Corvette Observatory, Rolex Wellington, Rolex Victory (sometimes, just "Victory"), Oyster Centrgraph, Oyster Lincoln, Oyster Regent, Rolex Oyster Majestic Observatory, Rolex Oyster Seaforth Observatory, Rolex (London Chronometer) Observatory 18 jewel, Rolex Oyster Ellsworth Observatory, Rolex Oyster Pall Mall Observatory, Rolex Oyster Royalite, Rolex Oyster Royal, Oyster Recorda and Oyster Pioneer.

(sorry for any overlap)

[Tools]

No need to worry about overlap..

Great information here..

It shows that TRF was providing great information when this thread started 2 years ago... and it's still going strong today..

Collecting Rolex watches, besides the traditional Subs and GMTs, can bring a lifetime of learning and enjoyment... and you still wouldn't get them all

[Lol-x]

That's right there is so much more to Rolex model history than the current popular sports models like the Sub, GMT, DSSD etc......

[Warnsboy]

Thanks for resurecting this Steve....saw a Victory model a couple of weeks ago, not a Hurricane though....very nice!!

[JimSnyder]

Originally Posted by Alcan

Back in the day, Rolex marketed some product lines exclusively to Canada. Don't know why they favoured Canada for this, but here's a short blurb and some examples.

http://www.yorktime.com/articles/200312123544

http://www.farfo.com/menswatches/Pag...toryblack.html

http://www.yorktime.com/search?cid=38:sku=140

At one time begining around 1919 there was a 3 way partnership between Rolex, Gruen and Aegler with Aegler supplying movements to both Rolex and Gruen. An agreement was made with regard to distribution-Rolex would market their watches in Europe, Asia and the entire British Empire, while Gruen would sell only to the U.S.. Rolex gained the right to enter the US market themselves when the Gruen brothers left the board of Aegler in mid 30s selling their shares to the two remaining parties, Rolex and Aegler.

[HL65]

Very nice Steve!! It is nice to see different watches we never get to see!!!

[Johny]

Originally Posted by Lol-x

That's right there is so much more to Rolex model history than the current popular sports models like the Sub, GMT, DSSD etc......

x2 well said. what about a pictorial sticky thread of all the rolex watches we can find in chronological order. quite a task. is there one already?