Rolex Oyster Precision 6426

The Rolex Oyster Precision ref. 6426 is a hand-wound, time-only Oyster with central seconds. Auction catalogues show silver, textured and colored dials, along with separate watches bearing military or state emblems. Case dates conflict. Antiquorum assigns 1948 to cases 614,731 and 615,217, while its other records and published serial charts place similar numbers around 1960. Bonhams catalogued one 1959 watch jointly as 6426/6427. Hodinkee’s 2022 account places the reference from the late 1950s through the 1970s; Phillips later dated a letter-prefixed example to circa 1987. Those dates belong to individual watches; they do not establish factory production endpoints. Antiquorum, lot 353 Antiquorum, lot 241 EveryWatch transcription of Antiquorum’s 2015 lot 25 Bonhams, case N93231 Sotheby's, case 8,788,668 Phillips, Hong Kong Watch Auction: FIVE, lot 891

Core facts

detail	record
Line	Hand-wound Oyster Precision; some dials are signed Oyster Royal or Oyster Shock-Resisting
Display	Hours, minutes and central seconds; no date
Movement	Auction catalogues name manual calibres 1210, 1215 and 1225; no cutover is established
Case	Screw-back Oyster case with screw-down crown; catalogue diameters most often cluster around 34–35 mm
Date evidence	Catalogues assign dates from 1948 to circa 1987; early estimates conflict with other records
Bracelet	19 mm lug width is reported in collector literature; several Oyster bracelet references and end links are recorded
Adjacent reference	6427 appears in joint cataloguing and in one 6426 lot whose caseback is stamped 6427

Where it sits in the line

The 6426 pairs a manual movement with a screw-down Oyster case. The later manual-wind 6694 adds a date. Catalogue records identify Cal. 1210 in some 6694s and Cal. 1225 in some no-date 6426s, so the movement numbers do not follow a simple date/no-date split. See ref. 6694 and Movements.

Production outline

Bonhams dates case N93231 to circa 1959 and transcribes an II.59 inside-caseback stamp, but catalogs the watch jointly as 6426/6427. Antiquorum dates case 502,000 to circa 1960 under ref. 6426 alone. Sotheby’s dates case 8,788,668 to circa 1985; Antiquorum dates an Abu Dhabi Police-dial example, case 8,201,232, to 1983. Phillips catalogued a UAE-emblem 6426, case R492,864, as circa 1987. The same catalogue records Cal. RB 1225 and a 78350/19 bracelet with 557 end links. Bonhams dates case 452,597 to circa 1946, although published serial charts place that number later. These are conflicting dates assigned to individual cases; they do not set the factory start or end. Bonhams, lot 85 EveryWatch transcription of Antiquorum’s 2015 lot 25 Bonhams, case 452,597 Sotheby's, lot 6 Antiquorum, lot 226 Phillips, lot 891

Some auction catalogues date case 614,731 to 1948, case 615,217 to 1948, and case 682,904 to 1950. Other serial charts place these numbers later, but Rolex reused serial ranges, so the numbers alone cannot resolve the conflict. The catalogues do not provide enough independent dating evidence to settle those three examples. A caseback date or original paperwork can help date a particular watch; neither automatically establishes its retail-sale date. Antiquorum, lot 353 Antiquorum, lot 241 Antiquorum, lot 281

Movement notes

The catalogues checked name manual calibres 1210, 1215 and 1225 in the 6426. Their dates overlap: records assign 1210 to examples into the 1970s and 1225 to examples from the 1960s through the 1980s. No changeover year is established. Christie’s called one 6426 automatic in its title while the same entry identifies Cal. 1225; the movement field and image are the useful checks. Bonhams, lot 85, Cal. 1210 Bonhams, lot 81, Cal. 1215 Phillips, lot 95, Cal. 1225 Christie’s, lot 13

Rolex caliber guides describe 1215 and 1225 as date-equipped versions of their no-date counterparts. Auction catalogues also identify those calibres in no-date 6426 watches, while some 6694 records name Cal. 1210 in date watches. RolexForums member winst says the base movements appeared in both date and no-date Precision models. That is a collector explanation; the catalogues do not resolve how Rolex marked or configured each movement. Rolex Forums, topic 926196

Collectors report power-reserve figures that differ from the 58 hours often given for the family. One owner measured a little over two days on his watch. Treat that as a condition-specific report, not a reference specification. Hodinkee, 2022 Rolex Forums, topic 923671

Dial map

Silvered dials with baton markers are the most frequent description in the catalogues checked. Other documented treatments include:

treatment	documented example
Silvered or sunburst	The most frequent catalogue description; batons are usual
Textured or linen	Bonhams records a textured silver dial; Christie’s records a linen-textured dial on case 2,079,298
Honeycomb / 3-6-9	Antiquorum’s 2012 example has a white honeycomb dial, applied Arabic numerals at 3, 6 and 9, and luminous dots
Black	Gloss black batons and black dials with alpha hands appear in separate lots
Black, 24-hour scale	Antiquorum records a black dial with an inner painted 24-hour graduation and baton hands
Blue	Christie’s records a blue dial under ref. 6426. A separate light-blue dial lot uses the joint designation 6426/6427, which leaves its individual reference attribution open.
Gilt	Sotheby’s catalogues a gilt dial with baton markers on case 2,037,794
Silvered with gilt markers	One auction transcription records raised gilt baton markers on a silvered dial in a gold case
24-hour / mixed index	Antiquorum’s case 682,904 has a three-tone dial with Roman and Arabic numerals and an inner 24-hour scale
Tropical or aged	Collector photographs show aged dials, but ageing alone cannot establish the original color or finish

Dial text varies too. Auction records describe Oyster Precision, Oyster Royal Precision, Oyster Royal and Oyster Shock-Resisting signatures. A Vintage Rolex Forum thread discusses a dial without PRECISION, but does not authenticate it as a 6426. An Omega Forums discussion of a similar dial reports a 6427 caseback. These discussions document collector questions; they do not establish a separate dial branch. Antiquorum, Oyster–Shock-Resisting example Hodinkee, Royal dial example Vintage Rolex Forum Omega Forums discussion

The hand sets in catalogues include luminous pointed batons, daggers, alpha, dauphine, gold batons and feuille hands on the mixed-index 24-hour example. One lot establishes a hand style on that watch; it does not date the style across the reference. Refinished and service-replaced dials also appear, so check the printing and hands against the case and movement. RolexForums user winst reports that his service centre offered silver, black, blue and matte slate-grey replacement dials for the 6426. That is an owner’s 2023 account of a service option, not a factory production list. Antiquorum, mixed-index example Antiquorum, Iraqi Eagle example Hodinkee, dial examples Rolex Forums, owner’s service-dial report

Case, bezel, crystal, and crown notes

Catalogue measurements range from 33 to 36 mm, with 34 and 35 mm the figures reported most often. Some catalogues measure the bezel separately from the case. Hodinkee gives 34 mm; Phillips records 35 mm for its 1971 example, and Christie’s gives 33 mm for its 1968 linen-dial watch. The spread is a warning against treating a single auction measurement as definitive.

The case has a screw-down back and crown. Auction records show smooth bezels on 6426 examples, while collector discussions raise questions about engine-turned bezels and the adjacent 6427. One Christie’s lot titled 6426 has a caseback stamped 6427. The overlap in cataloguing makes the caseback and movement more useful than bezel style alone when checking an example. Christie's, silver-dial example Christie's, caseback stamped 6427 Rolex Forums, 6426/6427 discussion

Repair references and owner listings describe acrylic or Plexiglas crystals. An Esslinger parts chart assigns crystal 25-12 to both refs. 6426 and 6427; a Rolex Forums sales listing describes an acrylic crystal on one 1967 example. The part number is a useful replacement lead, while the crystal on any particular watch still needs inspection. Esslinger, Rolex case and crystal chart Rolex Forums, 1967 ref. 6426 listing Klub Miłośników Zegarów i Zegarków, ref. 6426 review

Case and crown profile of the Phillips lot 95 example.

Bracelets, end links, clasps, and packaging notes

Auction catalogues and collector reports document riveted 7205 and 6635 bracelets, folded 7835/19 bracelets, and solid-link 78350/19 bracelets. Recorded end links include 57, 61, 257, 357 and 557. Phillips lot 95 pairs a 7835/19 with 257 end links; Phillips lot 891 pairs a 78350/19 with 557 end links. A Rolex Forums discussion records another 78350/19 and reports 19 mm lug width. A separate forum post shows a claimed 6426 on a 6635 rivet bracelet; treat that as an owner report. These are documented examples, not proof that every combination was supplied with every case. Phillips, lot 95 Phillips, lot 891 Rolex Forums, bracelet fitment discussion Rolex Forums, 6635 example

Clasp stamps date the bracelet or clasp, not the watch head. Phillips’s circa-1971 watch carries a clasp stamped 3,71; its circa-1987 example has an L5 clasp. Bonhams’s circa-1959 watch has a 1971 clasp, and Christie’s identifies a later bracelet on one 6426. Hodinkee reports that an owner’s box and papers place one 6426’s retail sale at Marshall Field’s in 1980. Date documents separately and match their serial to the case before assigning them to a watch.

Caseback and 257 end link on Rolex Oyster Precision ref. 6426 — Phillips lot 95 shows the caseback and folded Oyster bracelet with 257 end links.

Special branches

Auction catalogues attribute separate 6426 watches to Gulf-state and Iraqi recipients. Examples include UAE emblems, UAE Armed Forces markings, Abu Dhabi Police logos and an Iraqi Eagle. Another silver dial carries Arabic script without an emblem. The records describe distinct watches. Antiquorum and Sotheby’s offered the same UAE-emblem watch, case 5,846,767, more than once; those sales represent one documented case. Christie's, UAE Armed Forces example Antiquorum, Iraqi Eagle example Antiquorum, Abu Dhabi Police example Phillips, UAE military-emblem example

Steel is the most common case material in the catalogues checked. Other lots are described as gold-plated steel, pink-gold-plated steel, or steel with a gold bezel. One 2024 Antiquorum listing calls case 682,793 9K pink gold; that single attribution does not establish a solid-gold production branch.

Historical market and auction record

The table records catalogue descriptions and sale results for individual lots. These results belong to those watches, not to the reference as a whole.

house and lot	case / catalogue date	notable detail	result
Bonhams, lot 85	N93231 / circa 1959	Cal. 1210; inside back stamped II.59; later clasp stamp 1 71	£1,912.50
Christie’s, Dubai, lot 110	2,079,298 / circa 1968	Cal. 1225; silvered linen-textured dial; 1970 warranty	US$4,375
Phillips, Hong Kong Watch Auction XIV, lot 95	2,640,386 / circa 1971	Explorer-style 3-6-9 dial; Cal. 1225; folded bracelet with 257 end links	HK$139,700
Phillips, Hong Kong Watch Auction: FIVE, lot 891	R492,864 / circa 1987	UAE military emblem; Cal. RB 1225; 78350/19 bracelet with 557 end links	HK$81,250
Antiquorum, Geneva, lot 226	8,201,232 / 1983	Abu Dhabi Police dial; Cal. 1225	CHF 3,750
Sotheby’s, Watches Online, lot 6	8,788,668 / circa 1985	Cal. 1225; 35 mm catalogue measurement	CHF 1,000–2,000 estimate; result not shown

Gallery

Whole watch, Phillips lot 95
Explorer-style 3-6-9 dial
Caseback and end link 257
Case profile and crown

Sources