Rolexopedia

Rolex Oyster Perpetual Date 1501

This is a checked version, approved on 8 October 2026. New changes may have been made.


Oyster Perpetual → 1501

Steel Rolex Oyster Perpetual Date ref. 1501 with blue textured dial and engine-turned bezel
Steel ref. 1501, Christie’s, sale 14815, lot 14.

The ref. 1501 is a date-equipped Oyster Perpetual with a textured bezel. Auction catalogues identify steel examples with Cal. 1560 and 1570 and show several dial treatments. The corroborated steel lots reviewed here run from 1963 to 1977. A separate circa-1978 gold watch is catalogued as a 1501, but its reference stamp is unreadable and the attribution remains disputed.

    1. Core facts
detail value
reference 1501
model Oyster Perpetual Date
dated steel auction examples 1963–1977; a separate circa-1978 gold lot has a disputed reference attribution
documented case material Stainless steel in the corroborated examples; one 2022 Antiquorum catalogue attributes an 18K-gold watch to ref. 1501, but its caseback photograph does not show a readable reference stamp
case diameter Auction catalogues usually give 34–35 mm
bezel Catalogues variously call it engine-turned, machined, ribbed, engraved or baton; those descriptions do not establish separate factory variants
date display Date at 3 o’clock; photographed examples have a Cyclops lens
documented movements Cal. 1560 in an Antiquorum 1963 lot; Cal. 1570 in later catalogues
observed bracelets Oyster 7205/57, 7205 with no. 60 end links, 78350/557, and Jubilee 6251H; lot-specific combinations
    1. Where it sits in the line

Phillips identifies the 1501 as an Oyster Perpetual Date and calls its bezel engine-turned. Other auction catalogues use “machined,” “ribbed,” “engraved” and “baton” for individual examples. The photos show a textured bezel; the records leave its factory terminology and any distinct versions unsettled.

    1. Production outline

Antiquorum dates one steel example to 1963. Other dated steel examples include a tropical black-dial watch estimated to 1966, a 1968 example, and several watches catalogued around 1970. Later records include Christie’s 2017 blue-dial lot estimated to 1970, Bonhams’s circa-1974 example, and a 1977 Tiffany-signed watch at Antiquorum. The auction estimates also place cases 953,774, 1,263,879, 1,993,245, 2,321,357 and 2,447,009 against those dates; the serial-number notes give the lot links. The circa-1978 gold attribution is separate and remains unverified. These catalogue dates establish a sample of watches, not production endpoints.

    1. Movement notes

Antiquorum’s 2011 Hong Kong catalogue identifies a 1963 steel 1501 with Cal. 1560. Later examples from Christie’s, Phillips, Dorotheum and Bonhams carry Cal. 1570 labels. The auction record supports both identifications, while leaving the changeover year open. For an individual watch, read the movement markings and calendar work rather than relying on a catalogue label alone.

    1. Dial map

The lots reviewed document silver baton, blue textured, slate Tiffany-signed, tropical black, University emblem, and white Roman-and-baton dials. The frequency of each treatment and the original delivery status of the special dials remain unknown.

Christie’s condition report for the blue-dial watch says the dial and hands appear original and that their luminous material matches in color. That is the house’s assessment of one watch, not a rule for other 1501s.

The gallery shows Phillips’s University emblem dial and Antiquorum’s Tiffany-signed slate dial. Each is a single auction example; neither catalogue provides its order history.

    1. Case, bezel, crystal, and crown notes

The catalogues give 34 mm for some examples and 35 mm for others. Christie’s records a 34.5 mm diameter for its 2017 blue-dial lot. The spread may reflect measurement or rounding; this sample cannot show whether the case size changed during production.

The bezel terminology varies by sale: Phillips and Antiquorum use “engine-turned,” Christie’s describes one as “machined” and another as “ribbed,” Bonhams says “fixed engraved,” and a separate Christie’s listing says “baton bezel.” These words describe different lots; the records leave any formal bezel branches unverified. The other corroborated examples are steel. Antiquorum’s 2022 listing of an 18K-gold ref. 1501 is a lone exception, and its exterior caseback image has no readable reference stamp. That material attribution remains unresolved.

The Christie’s blue-dial photographs show the date magnifier; the listing leaves the crystal material unspecified. A separate Christie’s catalogue describes a screw-down crown and screw-back case. Those construction details come from that lot alone.

Angled view of a steel Rolex ref. 1501, showing the case flank and bezel
Angled view, Christie’s, lot 14.
    1. Bracelets, end links, clasps, and packaging notes

Auction catalogues record a riveted Oyster 7205 with 57 end links, a 7205 with no. 60 end links, an Oyster 78350/557, and a Jubilee 6251H. These are observed lot configurations; original delivery is unverified. Phillips lists a DE2 clasp on its 78350 bracelet, while Antiquorum dates the clasp on one 7205 bracelet to 1970. A clasp date belongs to the bracelet, not the watch head.

The Antiquorum 1963 example came with a guarantee and receipt. A 1970 Antiquorum lot included a box, warranty and certification leaflets. Bonhams records a box and outer card with its circa-1974 lot. These records document those particular packages; standard contents by reference and date are unknown.

Closed caseback and Oyster bracelet on a blue-dial Rolex ref. 1501
Caseback and bracelet, Christie’s, lot 14.
    1. Special branches

The dial records include a retailer-signed Tiffany example and the King Abdulaziz University emblem dial. Phillips identifies the University emblem, and Antiquorum documents the Tiffany signature. The order history and fitting date for both dials remain unknown.

Antiquorum catalogued one circa-1978 18K-gold watch as ref. 1501. Its available photographs show the outside of the caseback without a legible reference stamp. This single attribution leaves a gold-case 1501 branch unverified.

    1. Historical market and auction record
watch date sale date house and lot recorded example
1963 26 February 2011 Antiquorum Hong Kong, lot 67 Steel; case 953,774; Cal. 1560; silver dial; engine-turned bezel; guarantee and receipt
circa 1966 2014 Christie’s, lot 281 Steel; case 1,263,879; Cal. 1570; tropical black/brown dial; 35 mm
1968 25 October 2015 Antiquorum Hong Kong, lot 60 Steel; case 1,993,245; 34 mm; catalogue identifies a 26-jewel automatic movement without naming its caliber
circa 1970 3–17 October 2017 Christie’s, sale 14815, lot 14 Steel; blue textured dial; 34.5 mm; Cal. 1570; bracelet 7205 with no. 60 end links
circa 1970 2022 Phillips Hong Kong Watch Auction XIV, lot 892 Steel; case 2,447,009; Cal. 1570; University emblem dial; 78350/557 bracelet, DE2 clasp
circa 1970 26 May 2023 Dorotheum Vienna, lot 459 Steel; case 2,321,357; Cal. 1570; silver baton dial; 34 mm
circa 1974 2020 Bonhams, lot 162 Steel; Cal. 1570; white Roman-and-baton dial; 35 mm; 6251H Jubilee
circa 1977 10 March 2010 Antiquorum New York, lot 44 Steel; slate Tiffany-signed dial; Cal. 1570; 35 mm
circa 1978 24 June 2022 Antiquorum Forte dei Marmi, lot 73 Catalogue attributes an 18K-gold watch to ref. 1501; case 5,971,259; reference stamp not legible in the available caseback photograph

The dates in this table are the houses’ watch-date estimates unless the row says otherwise. Production endpoints remain unknown.

    1. Gallery

Sources

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