Rolex Oyster Perpetual 6502

Auction catalogues describe several gold, time-only watches as ref. 6502 and commonly name Cal. 1030. Some records repeat the same case: Monaco Legend and Antiquorum both list 36675, while Monaco Legend and Phillips assign different references to case 36701. The evidence supports a small group of catalogued examples; the identity of case 36701 remains unsettled. Christie's, London, lot 22; Artcurial, lot 14; Antiquorum, Geneva, lot 225; Phillips, Geneva Watch Auction X, lot 254.

Catalogue examples show black, silver, off-white and textured dials. Heritage’s 2022 lot adds a crosshair example and labels it a Zephyr; that remains the house’s attribution for one watch, not a confirmed 6502 branch.

Core facts

detail	value
reference	6502
family	Oyster Perpetual, no date
observed dates	Catalogue dates mostly fall in the 1950s. Sotheby's dates case 994893 to circa 1964; the Pergola chart places that serial around 1954. These records do not establish production limits.
movement	Cal. 1030 is named in multiple auction records; Christie's 1998 lot lists a 25-jewel automatic movement without a caliber number.
case size	34–35 mm in the catalogues; two catalogues give different diameters for the same case 36675
case material	Multiple lots describe 18K yellow gold; Heritage separately attributes one steel-and-gold example to the reference.
dial records	Black gilt markers; silver batons; off-white; textured honeycomb or waffle. Heritage attributes a crosshair example to 6502.
date	none

Where it sits in the line

The 6502 is a mid-century, time-only Oyster Perpetual. Christie’s lot 22, Artcurial lot 14 and Antiquorum lot 225 describe their watches as chronometers. Artcurial’s photograph also shows “Officially Certified Chronometer” on the dial.

Production outline

catalogued example	catalogue date	identifying details	source
Christie's, case 36809	1950s	35 mm gold case, black gilt-baton dial, 25-jewel automatic movement	Christie's, London, lot 22
Artcurial, case 36729	circa 1955	34 mm 18K gold, Cal. 1030, silver dial	Artcurial, lot 14
Sotheby's, case 994893	Sotheby's: circa 1964; serial chart: circa 1954	35 mm 18K gold, Cal. 1030, off-white dial	Sotheby's, lot 409
Antiquorum, case 36675	circa 1958	35 mm 18K gold, Cal. 1030, textured dial and riveted gold Oyster bracelet; Monaco Legend gives the same case number	Antiquorum, Geneva, lot 225
case 36701, disputed	Monaco Legend: circa 1954; Phillips: circa 1955	Both describe a 34–34.5 mm gold watch with honeycomb dial; they assign different references	Invaluable archive of Monaco Legend, lot 166; Phillips, lot 254

Each date belongs to an individual catalogue entry. Sotheby’s dates case 994893 to circa 1964, while the Pergola chart places its serial around 1954. The roughly ten-year gap keeps this case from setting a production endpoint. Monaco Legend and Antiquorum both list case 36675, so their sales describe one watch, not two.

Movement notes

Artcurial, Antiquorum, Sotheby’s and Watch-Wiki associate ref. 6502 with Cal. 1030; some auction houses give 25 jewels. Christie’s 1998 lot names an automatic movement with 25 jewels but leaves the caliber unnamed. Christie’s 2016 catalogue calls case 36676 a Cal. 1030, identifying the watch through an inside-back 6502 stamp. Phillips also reports that stamp inside a case it catalogues as ref. 6603. The conflicting case evidence makes the 2016 lot a weak fitment record. The reviewed sources give no dated movement transition. Artcurial, lot 14; Antiquorum, lot 225; Sotheby's, lot 409; Watch-Wiki, Cal. 1030 reference list.

Dial map

The table records individual catalogue descriptions. “Honeycomb” and “waffle” are the catalogues’ terms for textured surfaces; the examples show no dated sequence or established factory variant names.

documented example	catalogue description	source
case 36809, 1950s	Black dial, raised gilt baton numerals, silvered outer minute ring, luminous gold hands	Christie's, London, lot 22
case 36729, circa 1955	Silver dial with applied markers	Artcurial, lot 14
case 36675, circa 1954–1958	Light textured dial with applied faceted gold batons; Antiquorum calls it honeycomb. Monaco Legend's earlier listing gives the same case number and a similar description.	Antiquorum, Geneva, lot 225; Monaco Legend, lot 71
case 994893, circa 1964	Off-white dial	Sotheby's, Geneva, lot 409
case number unreported, circa 1956	Crosshair dial, luminous plots and dauphine hands; Heritage catalogues it as a Zephyr	Heritage, lot 54232

Antiquorum's close view shows the textured surface and applied markers on case 36675. Artcurial's separate lot shows a silver dial with baton markers on case 36729.

Textured dial and applied markers on Antiquorum's case 36675, circa 1958.
Silver dial on Artcurial's case 36729, circa 1955.

Case, bezel, crystal, and crown notes

Christie’s and Sotheby’s describe 18K-gold cases with screw-down backs; Christie’s and Artcurial also specify screw-down crowns. Catalogue measurements range from 34 mm for Artcurial’s case 36729 to 35 mm for several other gold examples. Christie’s calls its bezel fluted; Artcurial describes its example as striated. Fluted and striated describe individual catalogue examples; the reviewed records do not connect those terms to a factory sequence. Crystal material is unreported in the examined auction catalogues. Christie's, London, lot 22; Artcurial, lot 14.

Phillips lists case 36701 as ref. 6603 with an inside-back stamp reading 6502, while Monaco Legend catalogued the same case as ref. 6502; the matching case number, honeycomb dial and similar size point to the same watch, but the catalogues leave its reference unresolved. Christie’s 2016 lot also identifies case 36676 through an inside-back 6502 stamp. Invaluable archive of Monaco Legend, lot 166; Phillips, lot 254; Christie's, Hong Kong, lot 2854.

Bracelets, clasps, and packaging notes

Antiquorum records an 18K riveted Rolex Oyster bracelet on case 36675. Christie's, Artcurial and Sotheby's describe leather straps on other examples, sometimes with a Rolex buckle. These are sale pairings; factory fitment across the reference remains unconfirmed. Antiquorum's lot 225 also included a fitted box, one documented example of packaging. Antiquorum, Geneva, lot 225; Christie's, London, lot 22.

Special branches

Heritage’s 2022 catalogue calls a steel-and-gold, crosshair-dial ref. 6502 a Zephyr. A Rolex Forums collector list treats Zephyr as informal terminology and lists men’s Oyster examples under 6582, 1008/1009 and 1038. The two sources leave the name’s status on this watch uncertain: Heritage uses it for one lot, while the forum list describes broader collector usage. Neither establishes a factory 6502 branch. Heritage Auctions, lot 54232; Rolex Forums, “Rolex Zephyr models”.

Auction record

sale date	auction record	catalogued example	result
18 March 1998	Christie's London, lot 22	Gold 6502, case 36809, black gilt-baton dial	GBP 2,070
17 July 2017	Artcurial, lot 14	18K gold, case 36729, silver dial	EUR 3,640
8 November 2025	Antiquorum Geneva, lot 225	18K gold, case 36675, textured dial and riveted bracelet	CHF 15,625

Gallery

Antiquorum's 18K-gold example with textured dial and riveted bracelet, circa 1958.
Close view of the same Antiquorum dial.
Artcurial's separate silver-dial example, circa 1955.