Rolex Oyster Perpetual Date 6075
Bubbleback → 6075
The 6075 is a 35–36mm date-equipped Oyster Perpetual documented in auction catalogues around 1950–51. Auction catalogues describe yellow and pink gold cases as well as steel-and-gold examples. They also disagree on movement identification: some name A.295, while a Phillips 1951 example is catalogued with A.296.
The common claim that every 6075 predates the word “Datejust” on the dial is too strong. Antiquorum’s photograph of case 685082 shows that word, but the house graded the dial as restored. The image documents a dial fitted to a 6075 case; it does not settle whether Rolex supplied it that way.
Core facts
| detail | value |
|---|---|
| reference | 6075 |
| family | Oyster Perpetual Date; grouped with the early Datejust, Big Bubbleback and Ovettone references |
| dating | Auction catalogues date examples to 1950 and circa 1951; these dates do not establish the full production run |
| case | Two-body tonneau-form Oyster case; screw-down back |
| diameter | 35–36mm in catalogues; measuring points differ |
| materials | 18K yellow gold, 18K pink gold and steel with yellow gold are documented; one Antiquorum listing describes 10K yellow gold |
| bezel | Reeded, faceted or graduated gold bezels appear in lot descriptions |
| crown | “Super Oyster” appears in several catalogues. Phillips describes it as a non-screw-down waterproof crown. Left-hand examples put it at 9 o’clock. |
| movement | Catalogues identify A.295 and A.296; do not assign either to every 6075 |
| date | Aperture at 3; auction catalogues record alternating red-and-black, all-red and red/black date numerals. One calls the change half-instantaneous. |
| crystal | Heritage specifies acrylic on one 2026 lot |
Place in the line
Auction catalogues describe the 6075 as a successor to the 4467 and place it among the early date-equipped Oyster Perpetuals. Collectors also call it a Big Bubbleback or Ovettone, terms used for the larger, domed Bubbleback cases. They do not define a single dial or movement specification.
The 6075 sits near the 6105 in the early Datejust sequence. Antiquorum dates 6075 examples to 1950 and circa 1951; auction catalogues also place the 6105 in the early 1950s. A restored 6075 dial shows “Datejust,” so the 6075 cannot be described categorically as a pre-text reference. That dial does not settle when Rolex first printed the name on a factory-fitted dial.
Dating and case-number examples
Auction catalogues date individual 6075 watches to 1950 or circa 1951. Examples include Antiquorum cases 685082 and 714441, both dated 1950, and Phillips case 714440, dated 1951. These are sale-house estimates for individual watches, not factory production records or a serial range. The serial-number guide lists the underlying estimates separately from the watch reference.
Case, bezel and crown
Antiquorum describes the 6075 as a two-body case with a screwed back. Its lots record reeded, faceted and graduated bezels. Catalogued diameters range from 35 to 36mm. The 2022 Antiquorum entry gives both a 33.6mm bezel measurement and a 35.5mm case width, illustrating why the measurement should stay attached to its source.
Several sale houses describe a Super Oyster crown. Phillips says this crown used a sealing mechanism without a screw-down action and was phased out after roughly three years. That is a source description of the crown system, not proof that every surviving 6075 retains its original crown. Antiquorum and Phillips also document left-hand watches with the crown at 9.
Auction houses have catalogued 18K yellow gold, 18K pink gold and yellow-gold/steel cases. Antiquorum uses “Rolesor” for a 2001 steel-and-gold example and records more two-tone cases in 2006 and 2022; Bonhams listed another in 2015. Antiquorum’s 2018 catalogue calls case 724412 10K yellow gold. That unusual purity description should be checked against the case marks on an individual watch.
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Case profile and bezel of a 6075 -
Caseback of the steel-and-gold Bonhams example, case 613452
Movement
Caliber attribution varies by lot. Antiquorum identifies case 714441 as A.295; Christie’s also catalogues a 6075 as A.295. Phillips identifies its 1951 case 714440 as A.296, with 18 jewels. Other catalogues give movement numbers or ligne measurements without a caliber name. The descriptions do not show whether the difference reflects production changes, cataloguing differences or replacement movements. Check the movement inside an individual watch directly.
Published catalogue attributions include both A.295 and A.296. Do not reject an A.296 in a 6075 solely because another auction catalogue says A.295. A catalogued caliber does not establish the stamp in a watch that has not been inspected.
Dial map
Catalogues and lot photographs show silver, off-white and black dials, usually with applied gold dart or dagger markers. Hands are described as alpha, dauphine or lozenge. Several catalogues mention luminous dots or hands. One 2003 Antiquorum entry describes tritium-coated markers on a circa-1950 watch; that description is not enough to establish the lume as factory-original.
Date-wheel descriptions include alternating red and black numerals, an all-red wheel and a black/red display. These are documented variants, not a production sequence. The 2022 Antiquorum catalogue calls the date “half-instantaneous”; that term is retained as the house’s description rather than generalized to every movement.
“Datejust” dial wording
An Antiquorum 2006 lot for case 685082 is titled “DateJust” and quotes “Oyster Perpetual, DateJust, Chronometer Officially Certified.” Its photograph visibly shows DATEJUST on the dial. The same catalogue grades the dial “restored.” A second 6075 lot from that sale year is catalogued as a Datejust, but its catalogue text does not by itself establish original dial wording.
These records disprove the categorical statement that no catalogued 6075 has carried Datejust text. They do not prove that the word was printed on a 6075 at the factory. The 6105 is often described as the first dial-signed Datejust; the early factory use of the wording needs to be stated with that qualification.
Bracelets and straps
Gold Jubilee bracelets are documented on yellow- and pink-gold examples, including a Phillips watch with a clasp stamped 2.51 and an Antiquorum pink-gold bracelet dated 1951. Other catalogued watches were sold on leather straps, sometimes with a Rolex gold buckle. These sale descriptions establish observed combinations, not original delivery for every case. A bracelet or clasp date belongs to that component.
Auction record
These auction descriptions document individual watches; they are not a production census.
| Sale record | Catalogue description |
|---|---|
| Antiquorum Geneva, 31 March 2001, lot 533 | Steel and yellow gold; off-white dial; 36mm; two-body case; gold graduated bezel and Super Oyster crown. |
| Antiquorum Geneva, 11 October 2003, lot 520 | 18K pink gold; left-hand crown; black dial; 36mm. |
| Antiquorum Geneva, 15 October 2006, lot 278 | Steel and yellow gold; off-white dial with red date numerals; 36mm. |
| Antiquorum Geneva, 14 May 2006, lot 122 | 18K yellow gold; black dial and roulette date; 36mm; dial graded restored. |
| Antiquorum Geneva, 14 October 2007, lot 68 | 18K pink gold; silver dial and roulette date; 35mm; pink-gold Jubilee bracelet dated 1951. |
| Antiquorum Geneva, 11 May 2014, lot 107 | 18K yellow gold; matte silver dial, all-red date wheel; 36mm; caliber described as A.295. |
| Phillips Geneva Watch Auction: TWO, 2015, lot 284 | 18K yellow gold; red date; A.296, 18 jewels; 36mm; Jubilee bracelet with clasp dated 2.51. |
| Bonhams, 27 November 2015, lot 201 | Steel and gold; silver dial, red date and gold fluted bezel; 36mm. |
| Bonhams Knightsbridge, lot 52 | Steel and gold; case 613452, movement 15308, roulette date; catalogue dates it circa 1950. |
| Antiquorum Hong Kong, 27 October 2018, lot 222 | 10K yellow gold; 35mm; Super Oyster crown. |
| Antiquorum Hong Kong, 28 May 2022, lot 147 | Steel and yellow gold; silver dial; 35.5mm case width; movement described as 13½ lignes. |
| Cambi Aste, 2022, lot 96 | Steel and gold; 36mm; case 715.xxx; catalogue dates it circa 1961, unlike other estimates for nearby case numbers. |
| Heritage, 24 April 2026, lot 54107 | 18K yellow gold; 35mm; silver dial and roulette date; acrylic crystal; dial noted as refinished. |
Checks on an individual watch
Compare the reference, case and movement markings, case material, crown, dial and date wheel as separate parts. Catalogues give more than one movement identification and document steel-and-gold as well as solid-gold cases. Datejust wording alone does not establish a mismatch: the known 6075 example has a restored dial, so its appearance cannot settle factory fitment. The age of a bracelet, buckle or strap does not date the watch head.
Related references
- 4467 — earlier Datejust / Oyster Perpetual Date
- 6105 — adjacent early Datejust reference; movement and dial text require example-level attribution
- Bubbleback family index
- Movement reference
- Serial-number guide
Gallery
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Rolex Oyster Perpetual Date 6075 -
Case profile and bezel of a 6075
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Caseback of the steel-and-gold Bonhams example, case 613452
Sources
- Antiquorum Geneva, 31 March 2001, lot 533 — steel and yellow gold; two-body case; bezel, crown and dial description.
- Antiquorum Geneva, 11 October 2003, lot 520 — left-hand pink-gold example.
- Antiquorum Geneva, 15 October 2006, lot 278 — steel-and-gold case, red date and 36mm measurement.
- Antiquorum Geneva, 14 May 2006, lot 122 — DateJust wording and image; dial graded restored.
- Antiquorum Geneva, 14 October 2007, lot 68 — pink gold, Jubilee bracelet and 35mm measurement.
- Antiquorum Geneva, 11 May 2014, lot 107 — A.295, all-red date wheel and 36mm case.
- Phillips Geneva Watch Auction: TWO, 2015, lot 284 — A.296, 18K yellow gold, Jubilee bracelet and Super Oyster crown description.
- Bonhams, 27 November 2015, lot 201 — steel-and-gold example.
- Bonhams Knightsbridge, lot 52 — case 613452, a second steel-and-gold example.
- Antiquorum Hong Kong, 27 October 2018, lot 222 — 10K yellow-gold description and case number.
- Antiquorum Hong Kong, 28 May 2022, lot 147 — two-tone case and measurements.
- Cambi Aste, 2022, lot 96 — two-tone case 715.xxx, dated circa 1961 by the catalogue.
- Heritage Auctions, 24 April 2026, lot 54107 — case, crystal and refinished dial description.
- Christie’s, ref. 6075, case 699455 — A.295 and 36mm case description.
- Colin A. White, The Vintage Rolex Field Manual — reference/caliber cross-listings; not treated as proof of every individual movement fitment.
- Le Monde Edmond, “Datejust: A Closer Look at a Rolex Icon” — collector terminology for Ovettone.