Reference:oyster-perpetual

Rolex Oyster Perpetual family

Rolex Oyster Perpetual family

The Oyster Perpetual combines an Oyster case with automatic winding. The name also appears on Rolex watches with their own model names. This page covers the lineages that carry the Oyster Perpetual name directly and have not split into their own hub: the 1950s flat-caseback generation and the four-digit time-only models of the following decades. Early manual-wind Oysters are covered on the Bubbleback and early Oyster hub. Bubbleback and Air-King are close relatives on the same case architecture and have their own family hubs.

References in scope

Reference	Production	Movement	Notes
1069	Auction examples dated 1920s and circa 1930; span unproved	Manual-wind; lot-specific caliber descriptions	Early cushion-case Oyster, including Solar Aqua/Anti-Magnetic dial	2136 / 2574 / 3139 / 3358 / 3359 / 4220	1930s–1940s	manual-wind	Early Oyster / Oyster Royal / Speedking generation, before the Perpetual rotor became standard across the line
6098 / 6085 / 6084 / 6564 / 6580	1950s; see individual references	Varies by reference	The 1950s flat-caseback group. Catalogues document 6085 in steel, gold, and a steel-and-gold example, with waffle, black, silvered, and cloisonné Dragon dials; these are individual watches, not a complete specification. Reference 6084 is described as a transitional "Semi-Bubbleback" case; 6564 is an 18k gold example with an early "Brevet" patent marking; 6580 has documented steel honeycomb-dial examples.
6567	Auction examples dated circa 1954–1960	Cal. 1030 in multiple Antiquorum lots and the Field Manual	Mid-size, no-date Oyster Perpetual documented in gold, steel and mixed-metal cases. Its placement within the flat-caseback group remains uncertain
1002 / 1003 / 1005 / 1007 / 1008 / 1009 / 1018	1959–mid-1980s	cal 1560 then 1570	The classic 4-digit line, organised by bezel: 1002 smooth, 1003/1007/1008 engine-turned, 1005 fluted; auction records describe the 1009 as full 18K gold with a graduated, linen-textured bezel. 1018 is the 36mm model in this group
1022	Auction examples circa 1961–1964; production limits unknown	Cal. 1560 in four records; caliber not named in one	34 mm gold examples with Florentine, textured, satin/polished, or fluted surfaces; two records report 1005 inside the caseback
1024	auction examples circa 1965/66–1985; production limits unknown	Cal. 1560 and 1570 in auction records	Gold-covered steel examples; polished smooth bezel per the Field Manual; catalogue sizes 33–36 mm; caseback stamps include 1024 and 1025
1006	undated, same era	cal 1560/1570 per the Watch-Wiki caliber concordance	Listed as a sibling of the 1002/1005 pair in the caliber concordance and family survey; no auction example has surfaced for a separate article
114300	2015–2020 catalogue period	cal 3132 in Rolex product material	Oyster Perpetual 39 in Oystersteel. Rolex documented dark rhodium, red grape, blue, black and white dials; Phillips later catalogued individual lots with a conflicting 3230 attribution, which does not establish a factory-wide change

This index concentrates on early, four-digit and published 39 mm plain-name references. Rolex’s current catalogue uses newer Oyster Perpetual references, including 124300 (41 mm) and 124200 (34 mm); their current specifications belong to Rolex’s product pages rather than to the vintage rows above.

Where it sits across Rolex

The Air-King and Explorer use related Oyster cases and movements. Compare the specific references: shared components do not make watches with different sizes, dial markings or chronometer status interchangeable.

Related families

• Air-King — related time-only Oyster references, with their own dial and movement variants.
• Bubbleback — the earlier curved-caseback generation this line's flat-caseback references replaced.
• Explorer — related time-only watches, including the 36mm 1016.

Shared references

• Serial numbers by year — serial ranges and the limits of dating
• Movement reference — the calibers used across the line
• Bracelet & clasp guide — bracelet types, end-links, and clasp date codes

Sources

• Antiquorum, ref. 6567, 2006 lot 63
• Antiquorum, ref. 6567, 2013 lot 420
• Antiquorum, ref. 6567, 2010 lot 180
• Christie's, ref. 6567, Geneva lot 33

• The Vintage Rolex Field Manual — Colin A. White, Morning Tundra
• Phillips, ref. 6085 Oyster Perpetual
• Craft & Tailored, ref. 6084
• Hodinkee, ref. 6564
• Hodinkee, ref. 6580
• Rolex, Oyster Perpetual 39 product sheet for ref. 114300
• Rolex, Oyster Perpetual 41 product sheet for ref. 124300

• Adams Auctioneers, 2025, ref. 1022, case 768587, Cal. 1560
• Bonhams, 2015, ref. 1022, case 692570, Cal. 1560
• Pandolfini, 2014, ref. 1022, case 692564, Cal. 1560
• Tajan, 2014, ref. 1022, case 1,060,089
• HODINKEE Shop, 1963 ref. 1022, case 856369, inside stamp 1005

• Morton Subastas, ref. 1024, lot 100, Cal. 1560
• Waddington's, ref. 1024, lot 5, Cal. 1560
• Dorotheum, ref. 1024, lot 142, Cal. 1570
• Phillips, ref. 1024, lot 904, Cal. 1570
• Heritage Auctions, ref. 1024, 2026, lot 12012
• Anglia Car Auctions, ref. 1024, 2025, lot 33
• Antiquorum, Air-King 5520/1024, 2006, lot 188