Rolex Oyster 1069
Pre-Perpetual Oyster → 1069
Reference 1069 appears on early manual-wind Oysters with cushion-shaped cases. Auction catalogues date examples to the 1920s and around 1930. A later dealer listing dates a watch with a photographed caseback marked 1069 and 21,836 to the 1940s, but that number falls before the first point in the published serial reconstruction, 23,969 for 1928. The available records do not settle an exact year or production span.
Core facts
| Detail | Documented record |
|---|---|
| Reference | 1069, stamped inside the caseback of one photographed example |
| Model | Oyster; auction descriptions call it a cushion or cushion-shaped watch |
| Winding | Manual, in the auction and dealer records cited here |
| Production dates | Individual catalogues assign dates in the 1920s, circa 1930, and the 1940s; no continuous span is established |
| Case materials | Stainless steel, silver-plated, and nickel are separately described on individual examples |
| Case dimensions | 30–32 mm across in the cited catalogue descriptions; a dealer gives one watch as 31 mm wide by 37 mm long |
| Movement | Antiquorum reports an 11-ligne movement on one watch; other records describe unnamed 15- or 17-jewel manual movements |
| Seconds | Subsidiary seconds in the documented watches discussed here |
Where it sits in the line
Reference 1069 belongs among the cushion-form manual Oysters that preceded the full-rotor Oyster Perpetual line. The case already uses a screw-down back and crown. Auction descriptions show that Rolex sold this basic form with more than one dial layout and more than one movement description; they do not document when each version entered or left production. The early Oyster and Bubbleback index places 1069 with the pre-Perpetual watches.
Production outline
Antiquorum dates two examples to the 1920s: a Solar Aqua/Anti-Magnetic watch in 1995 and a silver-plated Oyster in 2003. Christie's calls a stainless-steel example circa 1930. A caseback photographed in a later dealer listing reads reference 1069 over 21,836; that seller dates it to the 1940s. The published serial reconstruction starts at 23,969 for 1928, so it does not support that later estimate. The number is earlier than the chart's first point, which leaves the exact year unresolved.
The Bonhams archive records another 1069, case 21,431, dated to the 1940s. An auction index shows the same case and description in two Bonhams entries in 2008; they are repeat appearances of one watch, not separate examples. Those later dates conflict with the two case numbers in the 21,000 range and with the 1920s and circa-1930 auction attributions. None of these records establishes a production endpoint.
Movement notes
Antiquorum describes an 11-ligne manual movement with 15 jewels in its 2003 entry. Christie's describes a 15-jewel lever movement but gives no caliber number. The dealer listing with case number 21,836 says manual winding; its movement photograph is signed Rolex and marked 17 jewels, but no caliber is legible in the published image. These are descriptions of individual watches, not proof that every 1069 used the same movement.
The Aste Bolaffi catalogue describes a 1920s, double-signed Marconi Oyster with a manual movement based on FHF 30 and a 15-jewel count. It records “1069” as the case number, not explicitly as the reference, so that movement is not assigned here as a confirmed 1069 fitment.
Dial map
The standard layouts in the auction descriptions use Arabic numerals and a small-seconds register at six. Christie's describes a matte silver dial with luminous numerals and hands. Antiquorum's 2003 example has a matte silver dial with radium-coated numerals and skeleton hands. A separate Antiquorum catalogue calls its 1920s example “Solar Aqua” and “Anti-Magnetic”; it adds a 24-hour graduation to the silver dial.
The photographed 21,836 example also has a red 13–24 scale. Its dial is not labeled Solar Aqua in the dealer description, so the two descriptions should remain separate. Aste Bolaffi records another Oyster dial signed both Rolex Oyster and Marconi, but its catalogue does not identify the stamped 1069 as the model reference.
Case, bezel, crystal, and crown
The cited examples have cushion-shaped cases with a screw-down back and screw-down crown. Catalogues variously call the bezel ribbed, reeded, or milled. Antiquorum describes one case as silver-plated and another as stainless steel; Christie's and Aste Bolaffi also describe steel cases. The dealer listing for case 21,836 calls its case nickel. These material descriptions belong to particular watches and do not establish a single reference-wide specification.
The recorded diameters run from 30 to 32 mm across: the Bonhams archive gives 30 mm, Christie's 31 mm, and Antiquorum 32 × 32 mm. The dealer listing measures case 21,836 at 31 mm wide and 37 mm long. No cited lot describes a date window, rotating bezel, or current water-resistance test. Historical catalogue wording such as “water-resistant” describes the watch when catalogued, not its condition today.
Bracelet, clasp, and packaging
The 1stDibs watch is listed with an 18 mm alligator strap. Aste Bolaffi's comparison Oyster is on a generic strap with a Rolex buckle, but its catalogue does not identify 1069 as the reference. The located records do not establish an original bracelet or clasp specification for reference 1069.
Notable branches
The Solar Aqua/Anti-Magnetic dial is the clearest named branch in the records. Its 24-hour scale and small seconds differ from the plain Arabic layouts catalogued by Christie's and Antiquorum in 2003. A separate 1069 listing shows a red 13–24 track, while the Marconi double signature remains an adjacent early-Oyster comparison because that catalogue identifies 1069 only as a case number.
Auction record
| Sale | Example and catalogue details |
|---|---|
| Antiquorum, Geneva, 21 October 1995, lot 582 | Solar Aqua/Anti-Magnetic, stainless-steel cushion case, 1920s attribution, subsidiary seconds and central 24-hour graduation; the catalogue describes it as water-resistant. |
| Christie's, lot 3892839 | Ref. 1069, circa 1930 attribution, stainless-steel cushion case, 31 mm, matte silver luminous Arabic dial, subsidiary seconds, 15-jewel movement without a caliber number. |
| Antiquorum, Geneva, 15 June 2003, lot 480 | Ref. 1069, 1920s attribution, silver-plated case, 32 × 32 mm, 11-ligne manual movement with 15 jewels, and a caseback monogram recorded as W.F.B. |
| Bonhams, London, 2008, lots 95 and 234 | The archive repeats one case, 21,431, in two entries. It describes a 30 mm steel 1069 with a reprinted silvered dial and assigns it to the 1940s; the two catalogue entries are not two watches. |
Gallery
-
Case and dial of the dealer-listed 1069, stamped 21,836 inside the caseback -
Antiquorum's Solar Aqua/Anti-Magnetic example, 1995 -
Inside caseback with reference 1069 and number 21,836 -
Manual movement photographed in the same dealer listing
Sources
- Antiquorum, Geneva, 21 October 1995, lot 582: Solar Aqua/Anti-Magnetic example catalogued as ref. 1069.
- Christie's, ref. 1069, circa 1930: steel cushion case, 31 mm, 15-jewel unnamed movement.
- Antiquorum, Geneva, 15 June 2003, lot 480: silver-plated 1069, 11-ligne manual movement, 15 jewels, 32 × 32 mm.
- RolexHaven serial-number chart photographs: reconstructed chart lists serial 23,969 for 1928; it does not assign an exact year to 21,836.
- 1stDibs dealer listing, seller no. 2605: caseback photographs show 1069 and 21,836; listing dates the watch to the 1940s and describes a 31 × 37 mm nickel case.
- Bonhams entries in a sale archive: repeats Bonhams' 2008 entries for case 21,431.
- Aste Bolaffi, 24 October 2022, lot 87: comparison listing for a double-signed Marconi Oyster; the catalogue gives 1069 as a case number, so it does not confirm reference fitment.