Admin: Add researched Rolex Oyster Perpetual Date ref. 1505

2026-10-20T23:27:43Z

Add researched Rolex Oyster Perpetual Date ref. 1505

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{{DISPLAYTITLE:Rolex Oyster Perpetual Date 1505}}
{{#seo:
|title=Rolex Oyster Perpetual Date 1505 — Reference Guide | Rolexopedia
|description=Research guide to the Rolex ref. 1505, with the 1980 factory description, observed dial and bracelet variants, Cal. 1570 records, and conflicts in bezel terminology and case measurements.
|keywords=Rolex 1505, Oyster Perpetual Date 1505, Cal. 1570, engine-turned bezel
|image=Ref 1505 hero.webp
|image_alt=Two-tone Rolex Oyster Perpetual Date ref. 1505 with blue dial, engine-turned gold bezel, and Jubilee bracelet
|type=Article
|og_type=article
|robots=index,follow,max-image-preview:large
}}

<small>[[Reference:oyster-perpetual|Oyster Perpetual]] → '''1505'''</small>

<div class="rp-lead">
[[File:Ref 1505 hero.webp|thumb|center|640px|alt=Two-tone Rolex Oyster Perpetual Date ref. 1505 with blue dial, engine-turned yellow-gold bezel, and Jubilee bracelet|Two-tone ref. 1505, [https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2024/fine-watches/date-reference-1505-montre-bracelet-en-acier-et-or Sotheby's, lot 399].]]
</div>

Rolex's 1980 catalogue describes the ref. 1505 as the steel-and-gold version of the Oyster Perpetual Date ref. 1503, with a “fancy dial.” Cambi's 2024 catalogue labels one circa-1971 example all steel, leaving that attribution in conflict with Rolex's description. Auction catalogues assign dates from circa 1960 to circa 1980, but Heritage's circa-1960 estimate for case 1,351,111 conflicts with Pergola's unofficial chart, which places that serial in 1966. Factory production limits remain unknown.

==Core facts==

{| class="wikitable rp-facts"
|-
! detail
! value
|-
| reference
| 1505
|-
| model
| Oyster Perpetual Date / Date
|-
| documented dates
| Auction estimates run circa 1960–1980; the circa-1960 date conflicts with the case serial chart
|-
| case
| Oyster case with screw-down back
|-
| materials
| Rolex specifies steel and gold; auction records include 14K and 18K yellow-gold components, while Cambi labels one example all steel
|-
| diameter
| 34 mm in two detailed catalogues; other auction records give 35 and 36 mm
|-
| bezel
| Rolex's 1980 catalogue assigns the 1503 engine-turned bezel to the 1505 model; auction houses also use “milled” and “fluted”
|-
| crystal
| Acrylic on Heritage's circa-1960 example
|-
| movement evidence
| Cal. 1570 in the major-house examples reviewed
|-
| dial evidence
| Blue, silvered, and champagne examples; a Christie's 1977 entry describes a Saudi emblem
|-
| bracelets
| Two-tone Jubilee and Oyster examples; original-delivery pairings are unproved
|}

==Where it sits in the line==

Rolex's 1980 catalogue places the 1505 beside the 1500 and 1503 in the Oyster Perpetual Date range. It calls the 1503 “similar to” the smooth-bezel 1500 but fitted with an engine-turned bezel, then describes the 1505 as the same model as the 1503 in steel and gold. That factory wording is the clearest source for the 1505's position and bezel type.

Auction catalogues call the model either “Date” or “Oyster Perpetual Date.”

==Production outline==

Heritage dates a 14K-gold-and-steel example with case 1,351,111 to circa 1960. Christie's records another watch as circa 1969 and says its caseback is stamped “1505” and “II/69.” A separate Christie's lot identifies a Saudi-emblem example as manufactured in 1977. Sotheby's catalogues further examples circa 1977 and circa 1978; Christie's dates another to circa 1980. These catalogue estimates do not set factory production endpoints. The circa-1960 Heritage date conflicts with the serial evidence; other records date 1505 examples to the late 1970s and circa 1980. Rolex's 1980 catalogue still lists the model.

Most records describe steel-and-gold cases, with 14K and 18K yellow-gold components. Cambi's 2024 catalogue labels its circa-1971 example all steel and shows a patterned bezel in the photograph; its text gives no bezel description. That conflicts with Rolex's 1980 material description, and the available record does not resolve the attribution.

Across the catalogues reviewed, no dated caliber change or sequence of case or dial revisions emerges.

==Movement notes==

Heritage, Sotheby's, and Christie's identify Cal. 1570 in individual 1505 lots catalogued from circa 1960 through circa 1978. The circa-1960 date for Heritage case 1,351,111 conflicts with Pergola's serial chart; see the production outline. Christie's does not name the caliber in its circa-1980 listing. These records document Cal. 1570 fitment on the cited watches; they do not establish that every 1505 left Rolex with that caliber.

==Dial map==

The 1980 Rolex catalogue calls the 1505 dial “fancy” but does not define a single layout. Auction records show blue baton dials, silvered dials with baton markers, and champagne dials. Heritage describes one champagne dial with applied gold and black-enamel baton indexes. The 1977 Christie's catalogue records a silvered dial with a polychrome Saudi Arabian emblem; its entry does not give a presentation or military history.

In a 2019 Rolex Forums sale post, the seller of a 1978 ref. 1505 called its block-shaped markers a “doorstop” dial, adding that he was unsure of the term. It is collector slang; Rolex's catalogue uses only “fancy dial.” Its date remains unknown.

[[File:Ref 1505 dial-detail.webp|thumb|right|240px|alt=Blue baton dial and date display on a two-tone Rolex ref. 1505|Blue dial on Sotheby's circa-1977 example, [https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2024/fine-watches/date-reference-1505-montre-bracelet-en-acier-et-or lot 399].]]

==Case, bezel, crystal, and crown==

Rolex's catalogue gives the bezel name: the 1505 follows the 1503, which Rolex calls engine-turned. Auction houses are less consistent. Heritage uses “engine turned,” Sotheby's describes a yellow-gold engine-turned bezel, and a Bonhams catalogue calls a similar 1505 bezel “fluted.” Christie's calls its 1977 example “milled.” The photographs show a cut, repeated pattern; the wording varies, so “engine-turned” follows Rolex's period catalogue.

Heritage gives 34 mm for its circa-1960 example and Sotheby's also gives 34 mm for lot 399. Bonhams lists 35 mm, and Sotheby's gives 36 mm for a circa-1978 1505. The 34 mm figure is the clearest repeated measurement, but catalogued dimensions vary by house.

The 1960 Heritage lot describes an acrylic crystal and screw-down caseback. Christie's notes a screw-down crown on its 1977 example. The sources establish these features on the two watches; construction changes across the run remain undocumented.

[[File:Ref 1505 case-detail.webp|thumb|right|240px|alt=Side profile of the steel case, yellow-gold bezel, acrylic crystal, and crown of Rolex ref. 1505|Case profile from Sotheby's, [https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2024/fine-watches/date-reference-1505-montre-bracelet-en-acier-et-or lot 399].]]

==Bracelets, end links, clasps, and packaging==

Sotheby's records a two-tone Jubilee bracelet on its circa-1977 watch. Christie's describes a two-tone riveted Oyster bracelet on its circa-1969 example and a steel-and-gold Oyster bracelet on the 1977 Saudi-emblem example. Heritage lists a Rolex USA steel-and-14K-gold band with deployant clasp. The lots document the bracelets as sold; original-delivery pairings remain unestablished. A bracelet clasp date belongs to the bracelet, not the watch head.

==Special branches==

Christie's records a polychrome Saudi emblem on one dial but gives no order, issue, or presentation history. The watch's connection to Saudi Arabia beyond the emblem remains unknown.

Collectors use “doorstop” for the block-marker layout. Rolex's catalogue calls the dial “fancy” and does not use that nickname; the name remains informal.

==Auction record==

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! watch date / sale date
! house and lot
! recorded example
|-
| circa 1960; sold 20 November 2024
| Heritage, lot 54188
| Case 1,351,111; steel and 14K gold; 34 mm; Cal. 1570; champagne dial with gold and black-enamel baton indexes; acrylic crystal; two-tone band
|-
| circa 1969; sold 12 March 2019
| Christie's, Watches Online, lot 227
| Caseback stamped 1505 / II/69; champagne dial; Cal. 1570; 35 mm; two-tone riveted Oyster bracelet
|-
| manufactured 1977; sale 2009
| Christie's, lot 5257457
| Case 5,225,028; silvered dial with Saudi emblem; Cal. 1570; milled gold bezel; steel-and-gold Oyster bracelet
|-
| circa 1977; sale 2024
| Sotheby's, lot 399
| Case 5,036,208; steel and 18K yellow gold; blue dial; Cal. 1570; two-tone Jubilee bracelet; 34 mm
|-
| circa 1978; sale 2017
| Bonhams, lot 309
| Cal. 1570; champagne sunburst dial; two-tone Oyster bracelet; catalogue calls the bezel fluted and gives 35 mm
|-
| circa 1978
| Sotheby's, lot 423
| Blue dial; Cal. 1570; 18K yellow gold and steel; Jubilee bracelet; catalogue gives 36 mm
|-
| circa 1980
| Christie's, lot 5569805
| Case 5,696,735; silvered dial; baton markers; Oyster bracelet; 34 mm
|-
| circa 1971
| Cambi, lot 130
| Catalogue labels an all-steel 1505, case 2,772.xxx, Cal. 1570 and 34 mm; its photograph shows a patterned bezel. This conflicts with Rolex's steel-and-gold description.
|}

==Gallery==

<gallery mode="packed" heights="180">
File:Ref 1505 hero.webp|[https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2024/fine-watches/date-reference-1505-montre-bracelet-en-acier-et-or Sotheby's, lot 399]: complete two-tone watch with blue dial and Jubilee bracelet
File:Ref 1505 dial-detail.webp|[https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2024/fine-watches/date-reference-1505-montre-bracelet-en-acier-et-or Sotheby's, lot 399]: dial and bezel detail
File:Ref 1505 case-detail.webp|[https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2024/fine-watches/date-reference-1505-montre-bracelet-en-acier-et-or Sotheby's, lot 399]: case profile, crown, crystal, and bezel
</gallery>

== Sources ==

* [https://ttabvue.uspto.gov/ttabvue/ttabvue-91290853-OPP-14.pdf "Rolex Oyster Perpetual Date catalogue, 1980, page 21 (catalogue reproduced in USPTO TTAB exhibit)", Rolex; reproduced in a USPTO TTAB filing, 1980]
* [https://jewelry.ha.com/itm/timepieces/wristwatch/rolex-ref-1505-early-two-tone-oyster-perpetual-date-circa-1960/a/5563-54188.s "Heritage Auctions, 20 November 2024, lot 54188 — Rolex ref. 1505", Heritage Auctions, 2024]
* [https://rolexhaven.com/serial-numbers.html RolexHaven (anonymous specialist), "RolexHaven — Serial Numbers (Pergola + Dowling charts photographed)", rolexhaven.com]
* [https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2024/fine-watches/date-reference-1505-montre-bracelet-en-acier-et-or "Sotheby's, Fine Watches, 28 March 2024, lot 399 — Rolex Date ref. 1505", Sotheby's, 2024]
* [https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2023/fine-watches-2/reference-1505-oyster-perpetual-date-a-yellow-gold "Sotheby's, Fine Watches, 15 June 2023, lot 423 — Rolex Date ref. 1505", Sotheby's, 2023]
* [https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-5257457 "Christie's, Rolex ref. 1505 case 5,225,028, manufactured 1977", Christie's, 2009]
* [https://onlineonly.christies.com/s/christies-watches-online/rolex-two-tone-date-ref-1505-227/67553 "Christie's Watches Online, two-tone Date ref. 1505, 12 March 2019, lot 227", Christie's, 2019]
* [https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-5569805 "Christie's, Elegance: Jewels Watches, Rolex ref. 1505, circa 1980, lot 5569805", Christie's, 2012]
* [https://electronicsandbooks.com/edt/manual/Art/Auction/Bonhams/2017/20170524%20S-24231-0-1%20Watches%20and%20Wristwatches.pdf "Bonhams, Watches and Wristwatches, 24 May 2017, lot 309 — Rolex ref. 1505", Bonhams, 2017]
* [https://www.rolexforums.com/showthread.php?t=700027 "Rolex Forums, “FS: 1978 Rolex Date 1505 14K/SS,” September 2019", Rolex Forums participants, 2019]
* [https://www.cambiaste.com/uploads/auctions/1081-cambi_orologi_999_2024_12_eb.pdf "Cambi, Orologi 999, December 2024, lot 130 — Rolex Date ref. 1505", Cambi Casa d'Aste, 2024]

[[Category:Oyster-Perpetual]]

Reference:1505 - Revision history

Admin: Add researched Rolex Oyster Perpetual Date ref. 1505