Reference:6580: Difference between revisions

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Latest revision as of 02:11, 18 October 2026

Rolex Oyster Perpetual reference 6580 with honeycomb dial and 3-6-9 numerals, circa 1954.

Reference 6580 is a mid-1950s Oyster Perpetual recorded in stainless steel with caliber 1030. The best-documented example has an off-white honeycomb dial with 3-6-9 numerals and a smooth bezel, but dealer and auction records also show other dial and bracelet configurations. The page treats those as individual examples rather than a complete factory specification.

Core facts

detail	value
reference	6580
family	Oyster Perpetual
documented period	circa 1954; dates belong to individual examples
case	stainless-steel Oyster case; catalogued examples measure about 34mm
crystal	Plexiglass is reported on dealer examples; confirm on the individual watch
movement	caliber 1030 automatic; 25 jewels reported by dealer and auction records
dial	published examples include honeycomb or white dials, with 3-6-9, baton, and chronometer layouts
bezel	Smooth

Where it sits in the line

The 6580 belongs to the same broad caliber 1030 Oyster Perpetual period as 6098, 6085, 6564, and 6584. The 6584 is also catalogued with Cal. 1030, though its steel attribution is less settled. That shared movement period does not establish identical cases or dials. The related references are useful comparisons, not substitutes for a 6580 caseback and movement check.

Production outline

A dealer example is dated circa 1954 and is identified with case number 39801. Other listings also use circa 1954, but no Rolex-published production window or total for 6580 was located. These dates should remain attached to the examples that carry them. Eguchi Vintage identifies a steel watch as 6580 and records 6584 inside its caseback; the listing does not explain the marking. Eguchi Vintage, item 299802.

Movement notes

Caliber 1030 is identified in the published 6580 records. Dealer and auction descriptions report 25 jewels, but the movement details should be checked against the individual watch rather than inferred from the reference number alone.

Dial map

The clearest documented configuration is an off-white honeycomb dial with printed 3-6-9 Arabic numerals. Other records describe a white OCC dial, silver or white dials, and examples with different marker layouts. Those records establish variation among surviving watches; they do not provide a complete period sequence or prove that every dial was factory-original.

Case, bezel, crystal, and crown

The documented cases are stainless steel and about 34mm across. Plexiglass, a smooth bezel, and an 11mm thickness are reported for the pictured example, but the reviewed auction records do not provide a full case, bezel, crown, and crystal specification for every 6580.

Bracelets, clasps, and packaging

Bracelet fitments vary in the available examples. Dealer records show leather and riveted Oyster bracelets, and one 2026 auction record identifies an Oyster bracelet with a clasp and end-link marking. Those component stamps date the bracelet or clasp, not the watch head, and do not prove original delivery.

Auction record

Source	Date described	Configuration	Reported result or estimate
Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood	IV.54 case date, sold 2026	stainless steel, OCC dial, 34mm, Oyster bracelet	hammer GBP 1,700
EveryWatch archive example	circa 1954	yellow-gold and steel, silver dial	reported result EUR 2,000
Hodinkee Shop	1954	stainless steel, honeycomb dial, caliber 1030	dealer listing; no auction result

These records describe individual watches and should not be read as a reference-wide price range or production count.

Related references

6098 and 6085, Oyster Perpetual references from the same broad caliber 1030 period.
6564, a separate Oyster Perpetual reference with documented gold and steel examples.
Oyster Perpetual family index

Shared references

Sources

1954 Rolex Oyster Perpetual reference 6580 (Hodinkee Shop)
Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood, Oyster Perpetual 6580, lot 464
Rolex Oyster 6580 archive example (EveryWatch)
The Vintage Rolex Field Manual — Colin A. White, Morning Tundra

@@ Line 11: / Line 11: @@
 }}
-<small>[[Reference:oyster-perpetual|Oyster Perpetual]] -&gt; '''6580'''</small>
+<small>[[Reference:oyster-perpetual|Oyster Perpetual]] → '''6580'''</small>
-[[File:Ref 6580 hero.webp|thumb|right|300px|Rolex Oyster Perpetual 6580, circa 1954, honeycomb dial with 3-6-9 numerals.]]
+<div class="rp-lead">
+[[File:Ref 6580 hero.webp|thumb|center|640px|alt=Rolex Oyster Perpetual reference 6580 with honeycomb dial|Rolex Oyster Perpetual reference 6580 with honeycomb dial and 3-6-9 numerals, circa 1954.]]
+</div>
-The 6580 is a steel Oyster Perpetual from the same mid-1950s flat-caseback generation as [[Reference:6098|6098]], [[Reference:6085|6085]] and [[Reference:6564|6564]], carrying an off-white honeycomb dial with a 3-6-9 numeral layout under a smooth bezel. A documented example dates to circa 1954, cal 1030, 34mm steel case.
+Reference 6580 is a mid-1950s Oyster Perpetual recorded in stainless steel with caliber 1030. The best-documented example has an off-white honeycomb dial with 3-6-9 numerals and a smooth bezel, but dealer and auction records also show other dial and bracelet configurations. The page treats those as individual examples rather than a complete factory specification.
 == Core facts ==
@@ Line 30: / Line 32: @@
 | Oyster Perpetual
 |-
-| production
+| documented period
-| circa 1954 (documented example)
+| circa 1954; dates belong to individual examples
 |-
 | case
-| 34mm x 11mm, stainless steel
+| stainless-steel Oyster case; catalogued examples measure about 34mm
 |-
 | crystal
-| Plexiglass (acrylic)
+| Plexiglass is reported on dealer examples; confirm on the individual watch
 |-
 | movement
-| Caliber 1030, self-winding
+| caliber 1030 automatic; 25 jewels reported by dealer and auction records
 |-
 | dial
-| Off-white honeycomb texture, 3-6-9 Arabic numerals
+| published examples include honeycomb or white dials, with 3-6-9, baton, and chronometer layouts
 |-
 | bezel
@@ Line 51: / Line 53: @@
 == Where it sits in the line ==
-The 6580 shares its cal 1030 movement and case architecture with [[Reference:6098|6098]], [[Reference:6085|6085]] and [[Reference:6564|6564]], and specifically shares the honeycomb dial vocabulary with 6085 and 6098. Its own dealer description contrasts the smooth bezel here against a "shinier fluted cousin" elsewhere in the family — consistent with the same bezel-driven naming logic that organises the classic 4-digit [[Reference:1002|1002]] / [[Reference:1003|1003]] / [[Reference:1005|1005]] generation a few years later.
+The 6580 belongs to the same broad caliber 1030 Oyster Perpetual period as [[Reference:6098|6098]], [[Reference:6085|6085]], [[Reference:6564|6564]], and [[Reference:6584|6584]]. The 6584 is also catalogued with Cal. 1030, though its steel attribution is less settled. That shared movement period does not establish identical cases or dials. The related references are useful comparisons, not substitutes for a 6580 caseback and movement check.
 == Production outline ==
-A documented example, case number 39801, dates to circa 1954. No Rolex-published production window exists; the reference sits inside the same mid-1950s window as its flat-caseback siblings.
+A dealer example is dated circa 1954 and is identified with case number 39801. Other listings also use circa 1954, but no Rolex-published production window or total for 6580 was located. These dates should remain attached to the examples that carry them. Eguchi Vintage identifies a steel watch as 6580 and records 6584 inside its caseback; the listing does not explain the marking. [https://eguchi-store.jp/stocklist/299802/ Eguchi Vintage, item 299802].
 == Movement notes ==
-Caliber 1030, the self-winding movement shared across this generation. No jewel count or beat rate was recovered from the located source.
+Caliber 1030 is identified in the published 6580 records. Dealer and auction descriptions report 25 jewels, but the movement details should be checked against the individual watch rather than inferred from the reference number alone.
 == Dial map ==
-The signature configuration is an off-white honeycomb texture with printed 3-6-9 Arabic numerals, showing light aging around the indexes on the documented example, with radium lume plots described as largely intact aside from a few losses between 12 and 6 o'clock. No other dial variant has been independently confirmed for this reference.
+The clearest documented configuration is an off-white honeycomb dial with printed 3-6-9 Arabic numerals. Other records describe a white OCC dial, silver or white dials, and examples with different marker layouts. Those records establish variation among surviving watches; they do not provide a complete period sequence or prove that every dial was factory-original.
 == Case, bezel, crystal, and crown ==
-The case is stainless steel, 34mm across and 11mm thick, fitted with a Plexiglass crystal and a smooth steel bezel.
+The documented cases are stainless steel and about 34mm across. Plexiglass, a smooth bezel, and an 11mm thickness are reported for the pictured example, but the reviewed auction records do not provide a full case, bezel, crown, and crystal specification for every 6580.
+== Bracelets, clasps, and packaging ==
+Bracelet fitments vary in the available examples. Dealer records show leather and riveted Oyster bracelets, and one 2026 auction record identifies an Oyster bracelet with a clasp and end-link marking. Those component stamps date the bracelet or clasp, not the watch head, and do not prove original delivery.
+== Auction record ==
+{| class="wikitable sortable"
+|-
+! Source !! Date described !! Configuration !! Reported result or estimate
+|-
+| Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood || IV.54 case date, sold 2026 || stainless steel, OCC dial, 34mm, Oyster bracelet || hammer GBP 1,700
+|-
+| EveryWatch archive example || circa 1954 || yellow-gold and steel, silver dial || reported result EUR 2,000
+|-
+| Hodinkee Shop || 1954 || stainless steel, honeycomb dial, caliber 1030 || dealer listing; no auction result
+|}
+These records describe individual watches and should not be read as a reference-wide price range or production count.
 == Related references ==
-* [[Reference:6098|6098]] and [[Reference:6085|6085]] — the honeycomb-dial siblings of the same generation.
+* [[Reference:6098|6098]] and [[Reference:6085|6085]], Oyster Perpetual references from the same broad caliber 1030 period.
-* [[Reference:6564|6564]] — the gold-case sibling on the same cal 1030 platform.
+* [[Reference:6564|6564]], a separate Oyster Perpetual reference with documented gold and steel examples.
 * [[Reference:oyster-perpetual|Oyster Perpetual family index]]
@@ Line 83: / Line 104: @@
 == Sources ==
-* [https://shop.hodinkee.com/products/1950s-rolex-oyster-perpetual Hodinkee Shop — "1954 Rolex Oyster Perpetual Reference 6580"]
+* [https://shop.hodinkee.com/products/1950s-rolex-oyster-perpetual 1954 Rolex Oyster Perpetual reference 6580] (Hodinkee Shop)
+* [https://www.easyliveauction.com/catalogue/lot/a9c403c5893dee2f3f33afcbf5d27064/0af8d24542e81eb9357e7ef448a6646f/silver-watches-jewellery-auction-lot-464/ Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood, Oyster Perpetual 6580, lot 464]
+* [https://everywatch.com/rolex/6580/watch-3227730 Rolex Oyster 6580 archive example] (EveryWatch)
 * ''The Vintage Rolex Field Manual'' — Colin A. White, Morning Tundra
 [[Category:Oyster Perpetual]]
 [[Category:References]]