Reference:4467: Difference between revisions
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Rolex sold the first hundred 4467 watches by subscription through a Swiss newspaper. Buyers paid CHF 975 (roughly several months of skilled-worker income in 1945) and received a numbered piece with their assigned position between the lugs, 1 through 100. Custom engraving was offered: a coat of arms or the buyer's initials. | Rolex sold the first hundred 4467 watches by subscription through a Swiss newspaper. Buyers paid CHF 975 (roughly several months of skilled-worker income in 1945) and received a numbered piece with their assigned position between the lugs, 1 through 100. Custom engraving was offered: a coat of arms or the buyer's initials. | ||
The newspaper is contested. Some sources identify it as ''La Suisse'', a Geneva daily published from 1898 to 1994. | The newspaper is contested. Some sources identify it as ''La Suisse'', a Geneva daily published from 1898 to 1994. Other editorial coverage identifies it as ''Tribune de Genève'', the other major Geneva daily of the period. No surviving 1945 advertisement has been publicly reproduced in any source surveyed. | ||
Souscription pieces are physically distinct. The number appears between the lugs at 6 o'clock, in the position the case serial number takes on later examples. Some carry "Modèle Déposé" (a French-language registration notice) between the lugs instead of a serial; the placement convention on these earliest examples was not yet standardized. By the run-out phase (1946–1949), the serial-number position had shifted to its conventional location. Documented numbered examples include "No:030" and "No:085" (VRF records). Only 18K yellow gold souscription pieces carry the numbering; the rare 18K pink gold examples are unnumbered. | Souscription pieces are physically distinct. The number appears between the lugs at 6 o'clock, in the position the case serial number takes on later examples. Some carry "Modèle Déposé" (a French-language registration notice) between the lugs instead of a serial; the placement convention on these earliest examples was not yet standardized. By the run-out phase (1946–1949), the serial-number position had shifted to its conventional location. Documented numbered examples include "No:030" and "No:085" (VRF records). Only 18K yellow gold souscription pieces carry the numbering; the rare 18K pink gold examples are unnumbered. | ||