Rolex Oyster Perpetual Date 1504

The 1504 is a gold Oyster Perpetual Date, documented with a textured Moreau bezel and, in one auction record, a geometric bezel. Surviving listings show yellow- and white-gold examples; the factory range and production dates remain unestablished.

Core facts

detail	value
reference	1504; two listings report an inside caseback stamped 1503
model	Oyster Perpetual Date
documented dates	Dated examples from circa 1966 to a seller-assigned 1972; one archived auction record is dated to the 1970s; production limits unknown
case materials	18k white gold in one circa-1966 auctioned watch; 18k yellow gold in several listings
case diameter	34 mm in Phillips and several specialist listings
movement	Cal. 1570 in the white-gold Phillips watch and several yellow-gold object listings
documented bezel descriptions	Moreau on yellow-gold examples; geometric or fancy on one white-gold watch sold twice
dials recorded	Silvered, champagne, blue and grey Shantung/brick
bracelet evidence	Moreau-finished yellow-gold bracelet paired with one listing; delivery history and reference-specific fitment remain unverified

Where it sits in the line

The 1504 belongs to the four-digit Oyster Perpetual Date family. Collector charts and specialist listings associate the number with the Moreau bezel, a dense, irregularly patterned gold finish. The Moreau name comes from collector charts and specialist listings; factory terminology and the number-to-finish rule remain unconfirmed. A 2016 Phillips catalogue and a 2019 Sotheby’s catalogue describe a white-gold watch as ref. 1504 with a geometric bezel; matching case and movement numbers show that both catalogues concern the same watch. That record sits apart from the better-documented yellow-gold Moreau examples.

Production outline

The catalogues and listings place documented examples from circa 1966 to a seller-assigned 1972. Phillips dates the white-gold example to circa 1966. Listings date yellow-gold Moreau examples to 1969 and 1970; a Japanese retailer lists a yellow-gold watch with case serial 2714*** as 1971. A 34 mm listing assigns its watch to 1972 from a partially masked serial, while an archived auction description dates another yellow-gold example to the 1970s. 1969 listing 1970 listing 1971 listing 1972 listing The records establish appearances by those dates, not production endpoints.

Movement notes

Phillips identifies Cal. 1570, 26 jewels, in the white-gold watch. Several yellow-gold listings also identify Cal. 1570; the movement photograph in one shows a 1570 marking, and its seller describes the date as slow-set. Cal. 1570 listing Cal. 1570 listing photographed movement These are object-level attributions; the records give no changeover sequence for ref. 1504. Rolex’s Cal. 1575 parts catalogue lists date components for refs. 1500, 1501 and 1503. That parts list covers three related references; it does not establish fitment for the 1504. See Reference:Movements.

Open Rolex movement in a yellow-gold ref. 1504; the bridge is marked 1570 — Cal. 1570 marking; the inner caseback stamp 1503 is visible at the edge of this photograph.

Dial map

The records show several dial treatments, with no dated progression. Phillips describes a silvered dial on the white-gold watch. A specialist listing records a champagne dial, EveryWatch preserves an auction description of a blue dial, and one photographed watch has a grey Shantung or “brick” dial. champagne dial grey Shantung/brick dial They document individual watches rather than a complete dial range.

Grey Shantung dial with date window on a yellow-gold Rolex 1504 — Grey Shantung/brick dial in item W3674.

Case, bezel, crystal, and crown

The dated yellow-gold listings identify 34 mm cases. Phillips gives the same diameter for the circa-1966 white-gold watch. One listing describes a screw-back case, screw-locked crown and acrylic crystal with a date magnifier; those details apply to that watch. A separate image shows an inner caseback stamped 1503, and another listing notes “1503” as the caseback number. case description caseback photograph caseback entry The outside reference and inner caseback marking should therefore be recorded separately when identifying an example.

Most object records describe a yellow-gold Moreau bezel. The white-gold Phillips/Sotheby’s watch is the exception in this source set: Phillips calls its bezel fancy, and Sotheby’s describes a geometric design. Because the catalogues give identical case and movement numbers, they document one watch, not two examples of a white-gold branch. Collector descriptions of Moreau vary; the term here follows the specialist listings and Rolex Forums chart.

Moreau bezel and bracelet texture
Exterior caseback and bracelet

Bracelets, end links, clasps, and packaging

Two listings pair a yellow-gold Moreau bezel with a matching brick-pattern bracelet. One describes solid end links and a non-concealed clasp. bracelet details second bracelet listing These are paired sale configurations; factory delivery, bracelet reference, clasp code and wider fitment remain unverified. Other recorded examples use leather straps. The bracelet and clasp should be dated independently from the watch head.

Special branches

The documented white-gold example has a silvered dial and a geometric or fancy bezel in the two sale catalogues. It is one repeatedly sold watch, identified by case 1,420,737 and movement D84767. This remains one documented white-gold example; whether it represents a broader factory branch is unknown.

Historical market and auction record

record	object-level details
Phillips, Hong Kong Watch Auction: THREE, 29 November 2016, lot 1068	Circa-1966 white-gold 1504; case 1,420,737; movement D84767; Cal. 1570, 26 jewels; 34 mm; silvered dial; crocodile strap
Sotheby’s, Geneva, Important Watches, 12 May 2019, lot 167	Same case and movement numbers as the Phillips watch; white gold; Cal. 1570, 26 jewels; 34 mm; catalogue calls the bezel geometric
EveryWatch archived auction description	Yellow-gold 1504; case 2,472,771; movement D590621; Cal. 1570; blue dial; dated circa 1970s and listed as 35 mm; originating auction house is not identified in the accessible record
Specialist product archive	34 mm yellow-gold Moreau example dated 1969
Specialist product archive	1970 yellow-gold listing; case 2,537,128; Cal. 1570, 26 jewels; champagne dial; acrylic crystal; Moreau bezel and bracelet
Japanese retailer archive	Yellow-gold example listed as 1971; case serial 2714; movement D043; Cal. 1570; caseback noted as 1503
Specialist product archive, item W3674	Yellow-gold Moreau example; 34 mm; masked serial 27xxxx assigned by the seller to 1972; grey Shantung/brick dial; patterned bracelet; movement and inside caseback photographed

Gallery

Product photograph, item W3674: full watch
Product photograph, item W3674: grey Shantung/brick dial
Product photograph, item W3674: Moreau bezel and bracelet texture
Product photograph, item W3674: movement marked 1570
Product photograph, item W3674: exterior caseback and bracelet

Sources