Rolex Oyster Speedking 6056

Oyster → 6056

Steel Rolex Oyster Speedking ref. 6056 with textured dial and bracelet — Freeman's Sale 999, lot 318, case 865392

Ref. 6056 is a 30 mm stainless-steel Oyster Speedking recorded in auction catalogues from about 1952 to 1953. Three catalogues describe manual winding; Watches of Knightsbridge names Cal. 710 on one example. Freeman’s calls its watch self-winding, a description that conflicts with the other lots and remains unresolved.

Core facts

Detail	Evidence
Model name	Oyster Speedking; Watches of Knightsbridge also gives “Precision”
Reference	6056, shown in auction descriptions and on an Antiquorum caseback photograph
Dated examples	Circa 1952 (Watches of Knightsbridge) and circa 1953 (Bonhams and Antiquorum)
Case	Stainless steel; catalogued diameter 30 mm in four auction records
Movement	Manual winding in three catalogues; one names Cal. 710. Freeman’s records a conflicting self-winding description
Production limits	Not established by the records cited here

Where it sits in the line

Auction catalogues identify the 6056 as an Oyster Speedking. Watches of Knightsbridge calls its example an “Oyster Speedking Precision,” while the Antiquorum photograph shows “PRECISION” on the dial. These records establish the names used for individual examples; they do not document a formal position within Rolex’s wider Oyster line.

Production outline

Watches of Knightsbridge dates a 30 mm example to circa 1952. Bonhams and Antiquorum each date a separate 30 mm watch to circa 1953. Bonhams records case 864022; Antiquorum records case 865766. Freeman’s identifies another case, 865392, but assigns no production date. The auction dates are estimates for those watches, not a factory production span.

Movement notes

Watches of Knightsbridge describes a 17-jewel manual-wind movement and names Cal. 710. Bonhams records a 17-jewel manual-wind movement, number 59920, without a caliber designation. Antiquorum calls its movement manual-wind and gives its size as 10½ lignes; that is a dimension, not a printed caliber number.

Freeman’s describes its case 865392 as self-winding but publishes no movement photograph or caliber. The other three records describe manual-wind examples. The available catalogues do not show whether this reflects a listing error, a changed movement, or a distinct configuration, so the Freeman’s wording stays attached to that lot.

Dial map

The catalogued examples have different dial descriptions. Watches of Knightsbridge records a silver dial with luminous inlaid gilt batons and hands. Bonhams describes a pale champagne dial with applied gilt bullet markers, a black fifth-second track, pointed gilt baton hands, and a blued-steel center-seconds hand. Freeman’s lists a textured off-white dial with applied gold batons and dagger numerals.

The Antiquorum photograph shows a dial marked “OYSTER SPEEDKING PRECISION,” with Arabic numerals at 3, 6, 9, and 12 and dart-shaped markers at the other hours. The catalogue grades that dial “good” with slight oxidation. The records document these examples; they do not establish a complete dial sequence or a factory variant chronology.

Case, bezel, crystal, and crown notes

Bonhams describes a brushed-and-polished tonneau-form steel case with a screw-down back. Antiquorum also records a screw-down back, engraved “Dennis R. Hoyer”; its inside-caseback photograph shows the 6056 reference stamp. Watches of Knightsbridge describes an Oyster case and a numbered Rolex crown. The catalogues give no consistent crystal specification or crown-reference detail.

Antiquorum, Hong Kong 2021, lot 239: engraved outer caseback, case 865766
Antiquorum, Hong Kong 2021, lot 239: inside caseback stamped 6056

Bracelets, end links, clasps, and packaging notes

Bonhams lists an associated steel link bracelet and folding clasp. Watches of Knightsbridge records a brown leather strap. Freeman’s describes a flexible steel bracelet and a clasp stamped “STEELINOX ROLEX M10 SWISS MADE 62510M.” The photograph below shows that bracelet on case 865392. The stamp identifies the bracelet and clasp; it does not date the watch head or establish original delivery. These lots do not establish a reference-wide bracelet or end-link fitment.

Freeman's Sale 999, lot 318, case 865392

Special branches

The records show no separate material, military, or retailer branch for ref. 6056.

Historical market and auction record

Sale	Lot	Catalogue description	Result
Watches of Knightsbridge, 19 November 2016	328	Circa-1952 steel Speedking Precision, Cal. 710, case about 30 mm	£650 hammer
Antiquorum Hong Kong, 3 March 2021	239	Circa-1953 steel Oyster Speedking, case 865766, manual wind, 30 mm	HKD 17,500
Bonhams, 22 February 2023	57	Circa-1953 steel Oyster Speedking, case 864022, manual wind, 30 mm	Result not stated in catalogue PDF
Freeman’s, Sale 999	318	Steel Speedking, case 865392, self-winding per catalogue, 30 mm	$1,125

Gallery

Freeman's Sale 999, lot 318, case 865392: full watch and textured dial
Freeman's Sale 999, lot 318, case 865392: bracelet and caseback
Antiquorum Hong Kong 2021, lot 239, case 865766: engraved outer caseback
Antiquorum Hong Kong 2021, lot 239, case 865766: inside caseback stamped 6056