Rolex Oyster Perpetual Date 1511

Yellow-gold Rolex Oyster Perpetual Date ref. 1511 with champagne dial and gold mesh bracelet — Ref. 1511 listed as a 1971 watch by Bachmann & Scher.

Ref. 1511 is a 34 mm, 18K yellow-gold Oyster Perpetual Date documented in auction and dealer records from circa 1970 to 1971. The listings show champagne and black gilt dials, textured gold bezels, and gold bracelets described as bark-finish or Milanese. They leave the production span and any factory name for the bezel texture undocumented.

Core facts

detail	documented record
reference	1511; one auction catalogue uses 1511/8
model	Rolex Date / Oyster Perpetual Date
dates	Auction and dealer records date examples from circa 1970 to 1971; Caso assigns 1969 from a partial serial. These are example attributions; production limits remain unknown.
case	18K yellow gold in the reviewed examples
diameter	34 mm in Sotheby’s, Rapp, Bachmann & Scher, and HODINKEE listings
dial examples	Champagne baton; black gilt
bezel	Textured yellow gold; catalogued as bark-finish or linen-textured, with collector terms including woven and straw/paille
crystal	Plexiglas or acrylic in catalogue and dealer descriptions
movement	Time Connection II and HODINKEE associate 1511 with Cal. 1575; Sotheby’s, Rapp, and Bonhams catalogue date-equipped examples as Cal. 1570. None of these listings includes a movement photograph to resolve the difference.
bracelet	Gold Milanese, mesh, and bark-finish link examples; original delivery remains unproven

Where it sits in the line

The 1511 belongs to Rolex’s four-digit Oyster Perpetual Date line. Its gold case and textured bezel set it apart from the steel and Rolesor Date references. Rolex factory nomenclature for the finish and the suffix used on some examples remains undocumented in the sources reviewed here.

Production outline

Rapp’s 2024 catalogue dates a ref. 1511/8 to 1971. Sotheby’s dates case 2,554,911 to circa 1971; Pensinasia gives the same case number and says it was bought in Singapore in 1970. The matching number likely identifies the same watch in both records, so the purchase account is not a second manufacture date. Sotheby’s records a 4/70 clasp stamp, which dates the bracelet component.

Bonhams dates case 2,879,754 to circa 1970; its catalogue lists Cal. 1570, a champagne sunburst dial, bark-finish bezel and bracelet, and a clasp stamped 4/71. HODINKEE dates a nearby serial, 2,879,809, to 1971 and lists Cal. 1575. Its page URL says 1973, while its title and specifications say 1971. These neighboring numbers carry overlapping catalogue dates; they do not establish a serial sequence. Bachmann & Scher dates a photographed example to 1971 without giving a serial. Caso assigns 1969 to its black-dial example from a partial serial beginning 1,901; its listing leaves the full number and period papers unavailable for checking that date.

Movement notes

Time Connection II’s case-reference list associates 1511 and 1511-8 with Cal. 1575; HODINKEE also lists that caliber for case 2,879,809. Sotheby’s, Rapp, and Bonhams catalogue their date-equipped examples as Cal. 1570. The auction listings leave each individual movement identification unverified.

Rolex’s Cal. 1575 parts catalogue lists date-indicator applications for refs. 1500, 1501, and 1503. Separately, a 2018 Rolex Forums thread reproduces manual pages that distinguish the date-equipped 1575 parts from 1570 and show the 1575 bridge marked 1570. That may explain why some catalogues use 1570 for date watches, but it does not identify the movements in these examples. The reference-level assignment remains unresolved: the sources use both labels, and none of the examined watches has a published movement photograph.

Dial map

Rapp and Bachmann & Scher catalogue champagne baton dials. Bonhams describes its champagne dial as sunburst and notes luminous inserts in the hands. Caso shows a black gilt dial with gold-colored printing and markers, and describes its lume as tritium. These records document two dial appearances; a factory range and changeover sequence remain undocumented.

Close view of the champagne dial, baton markers, date window, and Cyclops on ref. 1511 — Champagne dial on the Bachmann & Scher example.

Case, bezel, and crystal

The auction and dealer examples reviewed here are described as 18K yellow gold and measure 34 mm. Rapp and Bachmann & Scher call the bezel bark-finish; Caso calls its texture linen. A Rolex Forums contributor uses “woven” but says that is his own description. In a later Reddit chart, the same contributor uses straw or paille. Those labels describe how individual writers read the surface; a factory term remains undocumented.

Rapp and Caso describe Plexiglas or acrylic crystals. Time Connection II’s parts table lists a 25-117 acrylic Cyclops crystal for 1511 and 1511-8. The photographs show the date under a Cyclops. The reviewed images cover the case exterior; inside-caseback stamps and movement numbers remain unseen.

Case and bezel profile, Bachmann & Scher example.

Bracelet, clasp, and packaging

Rapp and Bachmann & Scher catalogue gold Milanese bracelets. Bonhams describes a bark-finish link bracelet with a 4/71 clasp; Sotheby’s records a gold bracelet with a 4/70 clasp on the watch also listed by Pensinasia. HODINKEE’s separately numbered example was shown on a green leather strap. These are individual configurations, and the available photographs leave original bracelet pairing unproven. Rapp notes wear damage at the bracelet’s end attachment.

The Rapp catalogue lists a box and a 1989 service paper with its 1511/8. Their connection to the watch’s original sale is undocumented.

Closed caseback on the Bachmann & Scher example; no serial is legible
Reverse of the gold bracelet clasp; no date code is identified
Gold mesh bracelet shown with the Bachmann & Scher watch

Suffix records

Rapp prints the reference as 1511/8. Time Connection II groups 1511 and 1511-8 in its Cal. 1575 parts-fitment list. These are commercial fitment categories. Whether the slash and hyphen forms are equivalent, and what the suffix denotes, remains unspecified.

Auction and sale records

date and listing	recorded example	result
9 October 2020, Sotheby’s Hong Kong, lot 2112	Case 2,554,911; circa 1971; 18K yellow gold, champagne dial, 34 mm; catalogue calls the movement Cal. 1570	HKD 69,300, as archived by EveryWatch
24 May 2022, Bonhams Paris, lot 142	Case 2,879,754; circa 1970; 18K yellow gold, champagne sunburst dial, 34 mm; catalogue calls the movement Cal. 1570	€6,375 including premium
7 December 2024, Rapp Christmas Auction, lot 6017	Ref. 1511/8; 1971; 18K yellow gold, champagne baton dial, 34 mm, Milanese bracelet	CHF 6,000 hammer; estimate CHF 6,000–7,000
HODINKEE Shop archive	Case 2,879,809; listed as 1971; 18K yellow gold, 34 mm, Cal. 1575	Sold for USD 5,800

Gallery

Complete champagne-dial ref. 1511, listed as 1971 by Bachmann & Scher
Champagne dial and date display
Textured bezel and case profile
Plain outer caseback
Gold bracelet clasp
Gold mesh bracelet

Sources