Rolex Oyster Perpetual 1008
Oyster Perpetual → 1008
The 1008 is a no-date, self-winding Oyster Perpetual with a patterned bezel. Auction photographs show sector dials with quarter lines and luminous dots on many examples. Catalogues describe the bezel as graduated, milled or reeded; the Vintage Rolex Field Manual calls it engine-turned.
Core facts
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Reference | 1008 |
| Family | Oyster Perpetual, no date |
| Observed dates | Catalogued examples dated 1961–1967; these dates do not set production limits |
| Movement | Auction catalogues list Cal. 1560 and Cal. 1570; they do not show when the changeover occurred |
| Case | Three-body Oyster case, screw-down back and crown |
| Diameter | Most catalogues give 34 mm; some give 33.7 or 35 mm |
| Case materials | Documented steel with gold components and separate 14K-gold examples; catalogues vary in karat descriptions |
| Bezel | The Field Manual calls it engine-turned; Adam's Auctioneers (2025) describes one example as fluted, with originality unconfirmed |
| Dial | Sector lines and luminous dots appear on many examples; white baton and black lacquered dials are also documented |
| Crystal | Acrylic, as listed for the four-digit no-date Oyster Perpetual family |
| Date | None |
Where it sits in the line
The 1008 sits in the 34 mm, four-digit no-date Oyster Perpetual group. BeckerTime describes the 1002 with a smooth bezel and the 1003, 1006, 1007 and 1008 with engine-turned bezels. The Field Manual lists the 1003 with a polished smooth bezel; Black Bough describes one 9ct 1003 as smooth and chamfered, but says the bezel may have been changed at sale.
For the 1008, Antiquorum describes the bezel as reeded or graduated, Christie's calls one milled, and the Field Manual classifies it as engine-turned. These source terms do not establish separate factory bezel variants.
The 1018 is the 36 mm relative, with its own case and dial proportions. The 1008 has no date display; related Oyster Perpetual Date models add a date aperture.
Production outline
Auction catalogues date examples to 1961, 1963–1966 and circa 1967. Antiquorum's 2003 and 2007 entries estimate production through around 1966; its 2018 and 2023 entries date watches to circa 1967. The catalogued examples therefore extend beyond Antiquorum's earlier estimate, but do not establish a final production year.
The catalogues date individual cases: Antiquorum dates case 666,184 to 1961; Christie's records an inside-caseback stamp of IV.63; other entries date cases 1,284,790 to 1965/66, 1,450,709 to circa 1966, and 1,619,991 to circa 1967. These points anchor the watches described in those records; they do not map the full serial sequence.
Movement notes
Auction catalogues list Cal. 1560 in examples dated 1961 and 1963–1967. They list Cal. 1570 in a 1967 black-dial watch and a 14K-gold example. The overlap in the catalogue dates leaves the reference-specific changeover unclear; a movement photograph paired with a reliable date would help place it.
Antiquorum's 2008 New York catalogue labels one 18K-gold watch ref. 1008/1005 and lists Cal. 1570. The paired reference is the catalogue's designation for that watch; it does not establish a broader 1008 case variant.
Dial map
Sector dials are common in the auction record. Two lines cross the dial at the quarters, with luminous dots at the hour positions. Catalogues describe the surfaces as silvered, champagne, satiné or gilt-brushed. Several examples use gold Alpha or dauphine hands. The color terms describe individual lots rather than one standard dial color.
Antiquorum also catalogued a black lacquered sector dial in steel and pink gold. Two sales show the same watch, identified by case 1,612,569 and movement D190288; they are repeat appearances of one example. A separate 14K-gold watch had a white dial with applied baton indexes and tritium dots, a different layout from the sector dials.
Case, bezel, crystal, and crown
Auction catalogues describe a three-body case with screw-down back and crown. They usually give a 34 mm diameter; Christie's lists 35 mm on two examples, and Antiquorum gives 33.7 mm on another. These are catalogue measurements of individual watches, not evidence of separate case sizes.
Steel cases with yellow- or pink-gold bezel and crown are documented, along with 14K-gold examples. Antiquorum catalogued one 18K yellow-gold watch under the paired designation 1008/1005. Preserve both numbers for that lot; its material description applies to that example.
Christie's calls one 1008 bezel milled; Antiquorum describes others as reeded or graduated; the Field Manual calls it engine-turned. Adam's 2025 catalogue describes its lot's gold bezel as fluted. Its condition report says the auction house could not confirm every component was original, so this lot does not establish a factory fluted variant. The four-digit family uses an acrylic crystal; the reviewed 1008 catalogues do not specify another crystal material.
Bracelets, clasps, and packaging
Auction records pair individual watches with a 7205 rivet Oyster, an expandable Oyster, an 18K-gold rivet Oyster, steel-and-gold Jubilee bracelets, or leather straps. Freeman's photographed a US-made oval-link Jubilee on a circa-1966 watch; Crédit Municipal de Paris also catalogued a US Jubilee on a 1008. These records show what accompanied those watches, not a standard bracelet for the reference.
Freeman's records a 5-9 stamp on the Jubilee clasp; that mark dates the bracelet assembly, not the watch head. Antiquorum's 14K-gold 1008 lot included a warranty, chronometer certificate, 1968 bill of sale and an 18K-gold rivet bracelet. Those records describe the equipment sold with that watch.
Special branches
Several auction catalogues call the 1008 and related watches Zephyr; Antiquorum's 2023 entry qualifies the name as "so called Zephir." The page uses Zephyr as catalogue terminology, since the cited sources do not show Rolex using it as an official model name.
Auction record
| Date | Auction | Example | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14 May 2006 | Antiquorum Geneva, lot 29 | Steel and yellow gold, gilt sector dial, Cal. 1560; case 1,284,790 | CHF 5,310 |
| 18 June 2008 | Antiquorum New York, lot 57 | 18K yellow gold, paired ref. 1008/1005, Cal. 1570 | USD 2,400 |
| 25 April 2012 | Antiquorum New York, lot 9 | Steel with gold bezel, champagne sector dial, Cal. 1560; case 666,184 | USD 2,500 |
| 11 May 2014 | Antiquorum Geneva, lot 103 | 14K yellow gold, Cal. 1560, with 1968 sale papers | CHF 8,750 |
| 27 October 2018 | Antiquorum Hong Kong, lot 296 | "Zephyr" gilt dial, steel and 14K yellow gold, circa 1967, case 1,619,991; estimate HKD 30,000-45,000 | No result shown |
| 8 March 2023 | Antiquorum Hong Kong, lot 140 | Black lacquered sector dial, pink gold and steel, Cal. 1570 | HKD 31,625 |
| 15 June 2024 | Crédit Municipal de Paris, lot 336 | Steel and yellow gold, champagne sector dial, Cal. 1560 | EUR 1,950 before fees |
| 3 December 2025 | Adam's Auctioneers, lot 25 | Steel and 18K gold; catalogue describes a fluted bezel; silvered dial, Cal. 1570 | EUR 3,200 hammer |
Antiquorum has also sold complete "Speedy Oyster Opener" tool sets numbered ref. 1008 (Hong Kong lots between September 2025 and May 2026 realised HKD 13,860 to HKD 50,000); the tool number does not refer to the watch. The table records individual results. Antiquorum's 2022 Geneva and 2023 Hong Kong lots show the same black-dial watch, so count it once as a physical example.
Related references
- Oyster Perpetual 1002, 34mm, smooth bezel
- Oyster Perpetual 1003, 34mm, usually engine-turned; its page discusses smooth-bezel descriptions
- Oyster Perpetual 1005, 34mm, fluted gold bezel
- Oyster Perpetual 1007, engine-turned bezel
- Oyster Perpetual 1010
- Oyster Perpetual 1011
See also the movement reference, bracelet & clasp guide, and serial numbers by year.
Gallery
-
Freeman's circa-1966 steel and gold example, champagne sector dial -
Antiquorum's black sector-dial example, case 1,612,569 -
Freeman's caseback and US-made Jubilee bracelet
Sources
- Christie's, ref. 1008, lot 5008636
- Christie's, sale 17565, lot 23
- Antiquorum, Geneva 2003, lot 104
- Antiquorum, Geneva 2006, lot 29
- Antiquorum, Geneva 2007, lot 64
- Antiquorum, New York 2007, lot 284
- Antiquorum, New York 2008, lot 57
- Antiquorum, New York 2012, lot 9
- Antiquorum, Geneva 2014, lot 103
- Antiquorum, Hong Kong 2018, lot 296
- Antiquorum, Geneva 2022, lot 458
- Antiquorum, Hong Kong 2023, lot 140
- Freeman's, lot 39
- Crédit Municipal de Paris, lot 336
- Adam's Auctioneers, lot 25
- Watch Wiki, Rolex calibre concordance
- BeckerTime, 34 mm no-date Oyster Perpetual bezel and specification overview
- The Vintage Rolex Field Manual, ref. 1008 table entry, p. 163
- The Vintage Rolex Field Manual, ref. 1003 table entry, p. 163
- Black Bough, 9ct Oyster Perpetual ref. 1003, sold in 1964
- Strictly Vintage Watches, Collector's Guide: Rolex Oyster Perpetual ref. 1018
- Antiquorum Monaco, ref. 1008, 19 July 2017, lot 268