Rolex Oyster Perpetual Date 1505

Two-tone Rolex Oyster Perpetual Date ref. 1505 with blue dial, engine-turned yellow-gold bezel, and Jubilee bracelet — Two-tone ref. 1505, Sotheby's, lot 399.

Rolex's 1980 catalogue describes the ref. 1505 as the steel-and-gold version of the Oyster Perpetual Date ref. 1503, with a “fancy dial.” Cambi's 2024 catalogue labels one circa-1971 example all steel, leaving that attribution in conflict with Rolex's description. Auction catalogues assign dates from circa 1960 to circa 1980, but Heritage's circa-1960 estimate for case 1,351,111 conflicts with Pergola's unofficial chart, which places that serial in 1966. Factory production limits remain unknown.

Core facts

detail	value
reference	1505
model	Oyster Perpetual Date / Date
documented dates	Auction estimates run circa 1960–1980; the circa-1960 date conflicts with the case serial chart
case	Oyster case with screw-down back
materials	Rolex specifies steel and gold; auction records include 14K and 18K yellow-gold components, while Cambi labels one example all steel
diameter	34 mm in two detailed catalogues; other auction records give 35 and 36 mm
bezel	Rolex's 1980 catalogue assigns the 1503 engine-turned bezel to the 1505 model; auction houses also use “milled” and “fluted”
crystal	Acrylic on Heritage's circa-1960 example
movement evidence	Cal. 1570 in the major-house examples reviewed
dial evidence	Blue, silvered, and champagne examples; a Christie's 1977 entry describes a Saudi emblem
bracelets	Two-tone Jubilee and Oyster examples; original-delivery pairings are unproved

Where it sits in the line

Rolex's 1980 catalogue places the 1505 beside the 1500 and 1503 in the Oyster Perpetual Date range. It calls the 1503 “similar to” the smooth-bezel 1500 but fitted with an engine-turned bezel, then describes the 1505 as the same model as the 1503 in steel and gold. That factory wording is the clearest source for the 1505's position and bezel type.

Auction catalogues call the model either “Date” or “Oyster Perpetual Date.”

Production outline

Heritage dates a 14K-gold-and-steel example with case 1,351,111 to circa 1960. Christie's records another watch as circa 1969 and says its caseback is stamped “1505” and “II/69.” A separate Christie's lot identifies a Saudi-emblem example as manufactured in 1977. Sotheby's catalogues further examples circa 1977 and circa 1978; Christie's dates another to circa 1980. These catalogue estimates do not set factory production endpoints. The circa-1960 Heritage date conflicts with the serial evidence; other records date 1505 examples to the late 1970s and circa 1980. Rolex's 1980 catalogue still lists the model.

Most records describe steel-and-gold cases, with 14K and 18K yellow-gold components. Cambi's 2024 catalogue labels its circa-1971 example all steel and shows a patterned bezel in the photograph; its text gives no bezel description. That conflicts with Rolex's 1980 material description, and the available record does not resolve the attribution.

Across the catalogues reviewed, no dated caliber change or sequence of case or dial revisions emerges.

Movement notes

Heritage, Sotheby's, and Christie's identify Cal. 1570 in individual 1505 lots catalogued from circa 1960 through circa 1978. The circa-1960 date for Heritage case 1,351,111 conflicts with Pergola's serial chart; see the production outline. Christie's does not name the caliber in its circa-1980 listing. These records document Cal. 1570 fitment on the cited watches; they do not establish that every 1505 left Rolex with that caliber.

Dial map

The 1980 Rolex catalogue calls the 1505 dial “fancy” but does not define a single layout. Auction records show blue baton dials, silvered dials with baton markers, and champagne dials. Heritage describes one champagne dial with applied gold and black-enamel baton indexes. The 1977 Christie's catalogue records a silvered dial with a polychrome Saudi Arabian emblem; its entry does not give a presentation or military history.

In a 2019 Rolex Forums sale post, the seller of a 1978 ref. 1505 called its block-shaped markers a “doorstop” dial, adding that he was unsure of the term. It is collector slang; Rolex's catalogue uses only “fancy dial.” Its date remains unknown.

Blue baton dial and date display on a two-tone Rolex ref. 1505 — Blue dial on Sotheby's circa-1977 example, lot 399.

Case, bezel, crystal, and crown

Rolex's catalogue gives the bezel name: the 1505 follows the 1503, which Rolex calls engine-turned. Auction houses are less consistent. Heritage uses “engine turned,” Sotheby's describes a yellow-gold engine-turned bezel, and a Bonhams catalogue calls a similar 1505 bezel “fluted.” Christie's calls its 1977 example “milled.” The photographs show a cut, repeated pattern; the wording varies, so “engine-turned” follows Rolex's period catalogue.

Heritage gives 34 mm for its circa-1960 example and Sotheby's also gives 34 mm for lot 399. Bonhams lists 35 mm, and Sotheby's gives 36 mm for a circa-1978 1505. The 34 mm figure is the clearest repeated measurement, but catalogued dimensions vary by house.

The 1960 Heritage lot describes an acrylic crystal and screw-down caseback. Christie's notes a screw-down crown on its 1977 example. The sources establish these features on the two watches; construction changes across the run remain undocumented.

Case profile from Sotheby's, lot 399.

Bracelets, end links, clasps, and packaging

Sotheby's records a two-tone Jubilee bracelet on its circa-1977 watch. Christie's describes a two-tone riveted Oyster bracelet on its circa-1969 example and a steel-and-gold Oyster bracelet on the 1977 Saudi-emblem example. Heritage lists a Rolex USA steel-and-14K-gold band with deployant clasp. The lots document the bracelets as sold; original-delivery pairings remain unestablished. A bracelet clasp date belongs to the bracelet, not the watch head.

Special branches

Christie's records a polychrome Saudi emblem on one dial but gives no order, issue, or presentation history. The watch's connection to Saudi Arabia beyond the emblem remains unknown.

Collectors use “doorstop” for the block-marker layout. Rolex's catalogue calls the dial “fancy” and does not use that nickname; the name remains informal.

Auction record

watch date / sale date	house and lot	recorded example
circa 1960; sold 20 November 2024	Heritage, lot 54188	Case 1,351,111; steel and 14K gold; 34 mm; Cal. 1570; champagne dial with gold and black-enamel baton indexes; acrylic crystal; two-tone band
circa 1969; sold 12 March 2019	Christie's, Watches Online, lot 227	Caseback stamped 1505 / II/69; champagne dial; Cal. 1570; 35 mm; two-tone riveted Oyster bracelet
manufactured 1977; sale 2009	Christie's, lot 5257457	Case 5,225,028; silvered dial with Saudi emblem; Cal. 1570; milled gold bezel; steel-and-gold Oyster bracelet
circa 1977; sale 2024	Sotheby's, lot 399	Case 5,036,208; steel and 18K yellow gold; blue dial; Cal. 1570; two-tone Jubilee bracelet; 34 mm
circa 1978; sale 2017	Bonhams, lot 309	Cal. 1570; champagne sunburst dial; two-tone Oyster bracelet; catalogue calls the bezel fluted and gives 35 mm
circa 1978	Sotheby's, lot 423	Blue dial; Cal. 1570; 18K yellow gold and steel; Jubilee bracelet; catalogue gives 36 mm
circa 1980	Christie's, lot 5569805	Case 5,696,735; silvered dial; baton markers; Oyster bracelet; 34 mm
circa 1971	Cambi, lot 130	Catalogue labels an all-steel 1505, case 2,772.xxx, Cal. 1570 and 34 mm; its photograph shows a patterned bezel. This conflicts with Rolex's steel-and-gold description.

Gallery

Sotheby's, lot 399: complete two-tone watch with blue dial and Jubilee bracelet
Sotheby's, lot 399: dial and bezel detail
Sotheby's, lot 399: case profile, crown, crystal, and bezel

Sources