Rolex Oyster Perpetual Date 1550

Champagne-dial Rolex Oyster Perpetual Date ref. 1550 on a leather strap — Ref. 1550, Sotheby's Watches Online, 2019, lot 63.

The 1550 is a date-equipped Oyster Perpetual with a steel case carrying an outer gold layer. Auction catalogues variously call the case plated, capped, or shell and date individual watches from the early 1970s through circa 1981.

Core facts

detail	value
reference	1550
model	Oyster Perpetual Date; often shortened to Date
documented dates	Auction examples from the early 1970s through circa 1981; factory endpoints are not established
case	Oyster case with screw-down back and crown in catalogued examples
materials	Steel with a gold outer layer; catalogues variously call it plated, capped, or shell
diameter	33 mm to 35 mm in auction catalogues
bezel	Smooth or polished in the Field Manual and auction examples
crystal	Acrylic, reported by Heritage for one example
movement evidence	Exact-reference catalogues and the Vintage Rolex Field Manual report Cal. 1570; Watch-Wiki lists 1575 and WatchGuys gives 1565/1575. Complete-caliber fitment is unresolved
dial evidence	Silver, champagne, blue, and chocolate examples; mosaic, Sigma, UAE-emblem, and Khanjar dials are also documented, with factory origin unproved for the special dials
bracelet and strap evidence	Gold-plated Oyster bracelets, 7835/19 with 357, a later 78351B/19 with 457B, a seller-reported C&I rivet bracelet, and leather straps

Where it sits in the line

The 1550 is a mid-size member of the Oyster Perpetual Date line. Auction catalogues call it an Oyster Perpetual Date or simply Date; its dial has a date window at three under a Cyclops lens. Colin A. White's The Vintage Rolex Field Manual (Morning Tundra, 2020) places it in the Oysterdate group.

Production outline

Auction catalogues date case 2,977,126 to circa 1972 and case 6,633,683 to circa 1981. Those are dates assigned to individual watches. Across the sampled records, the cases have a gold outer layer and smooth bezels; factory production endpoints remain unestablished.

Movement notes

Exact-reference auction catalogues and the Field Manual report Cal. 1570. Sotheby's 2024 catalogue identifies case 2,977,126 and a signed Cal. 1570 movement. Watch-Wiki maps the 1550 to Cal. 1575; WatchGuys' Date guide lists 1565/1575. Rolex's Cal. 1575 parts catalogue marks the automatic-device bridge 1570 and lists date-indicator parts for refs. 1500, 1501, and 1503, but not 1550. The complete caliber fitted to the 1550 remains unresolved across these sources.

Antiquorum's 2009 and 2011 lots describe hacking. The 2000 Antiquorum lot and Heritage's 2008 and 2019 records report 26 jewels. These details apply to those catalogued watches.

Dial map

Auction catalogues describe silver or satiné silver, champagne, and midnight-blue dials. Heritage's 2008 lot describes a silvered dial with applied gold-tone indexes; Antiquorum's 2011 example has champagne paint, gold-and-black batons, luminous dots, and luminous hands. Burstow & Hewett's 2022 listing describes a chocolate dial on case 3,251,336. Its page and a Saleroom copy differ on whether the lot sold, so the listing serves here as a dial description.

Owner and dealer listings show mosaic-dial watches, and an enthusiast video presents a champagne Sigma dial. These are example-level records; factory origin remains unverified. Antiquorum's circa-1980 UAE-emblem lot calls the dial a made-to-order “U.A.E. Eagle” and reports replacement hands. Dr. Crott's catalogue for its 31 October 2026 sale lists a 1550/5 with a red Khanjar emblem on a gold Sigma dial, case 3,409,257, dated circa 1972. Crott attributes the watch to Oman and describes a Sultanate commission, without citing commission paperwork.

Case, bezel, crystal, and crown

The case is steel with a gold outer layer. Antiquorum calls examples gold plated or gold shell over steel; Sotheby's says gold capped in the detailed case field while its headline says gold plated; Heritage calls its example gold cap top with a steel back. Their terminology leaves the construction of the gold layer unspecified.

Catalogued diameters range from 33 mm to 35 mm. The Field Manual calls the bezel polished (smooth); that description matches the reviewed catalogued examples. Antiquorum describes screw-down crowns and casebacks. Heritage identifies an acrylic crystal on its 2008 and 2019 watches.

Case profile and crown on the same Sotheby's example.

Bracelets, clasps, and packaging

Antiquorum's 2000 and 2009 catalogues describe gold-plated Oyster bracelets. Ginza Rasin identifies a 7835/19 with end link 357 on one champagne-dial 1550. A Rolex Forums seller describes a C&I gold-shell rivet bracelet on a claimed 1978 U.S.-market example and calls it original to the watch; that remains a seller report. Dr. Crott's catalogue lists bracelet 78351B/19 with 457B end links on its 1550/5 and describes it as added later. Other catalogued 1550s are shown on leather straps, including the Sotheby's watch pictured here.

Antiquorum's 2000 lot lists a fitted box and certificate with the watch. That record applies to this lot; reference-specific packaging remains unverified.

Auction record

catalogue	recorded example
Antiquorum, Geneva, 19 November 2000, lot 321	Dated to the 1970s; 33 mm; gold-plated steel; satiné silver dial; Cal. 1570, 26 jewels; Oyster bracelet, fitted box, and certificate
Heritage, 20 May 2008, lot 46190 (unsold)	Case 3,108,564, circa 1972; 35 mm; gold shell with a stainless-steel back; silvered dial; Cal. 1570, 26 jewels; plastic crystal
Antiquorum, New York, 11 June 2009, lot 199	Dated to the late 1970s; 34 mm; midnight-blue dial; Cal. 1570, 26 jewels; hacking; gold-plated Oyster bracelet
Antiquorum, New York, 14 September 2011, lot 249	Case 3,482,962, dated early 1970s; 34 mm; gold shell over steel; champagne dial; Cal. 1570, 26 jewels; hacking
Gardiner Houlgate, 22 May 2019, lot 51	Serial masked as 417xxxx, circa 1976; 34 mm; champagne dial; Cal. 1570, 26 jewels; gold-plated steel; modern leather strap
Sotheby's, Watches Online 6, 19 September 2019, lot 63	Case 3,251,340, circa 1973; 33.5 mm; champagne dial; Cal. 1570, 26 jewels; movement no. D048552; case field says gold capped, headline says plated
Heritage, 10 December 2019, lot 54311	Case 6,074,382, dated to the 1970s; 34 mm; gold cap top and steel back; acrylic crystal; champagne dial; Cal. 1570, 26 jewels
Antiquorum, Hong Kong, 29 November 2020, lot 66	Case 6,140,905, circa 1980; UAE-emblem dial; Cal. 1570; catalogue reports replacement hands
Cambi, auction 684, 15 December 2021, lot 138	Case 6,633,683, circa 1981; 34 mm; title says “Gold Shell,” material field says “Steel”; Cal. 1570
Sotheby's, Important Watches II, 2024, lot 8848	Case 2,977,126, circa 1972; 33.5 mm; gold-plated steel; silvered dial; Cal. 1570, 26 jewels; catalogue says the case, dial, and movement are signed
Schmitt Horan, 1 November 2025	Case 5,844,548; movement no. D558912; Cal. 1570, 26 jewels; champagne dial; listing identifies bracelet ref. 7215
Auktionen Dr. H. Crott, 115th auction, scheduled 31 October 2026, lot 100	Ref. 1550/5; case 3,409,257, circa 1972; 34 mm; Cal. 1570; red Khanjar emblem on a gold Sigma dial; listing identifies bracelet 78351B/19 with 457B end links as a later addition

Gallery

Sotheby's, Watches Online 2019, lot 63: full watch, champagne dial, leather strap.
Sotheby's, Watches Online 2019, lot 63: case, crown, and crystal profile.
Sotheby's, Watches Online 2019, lot 63: the same watch on the wrist.

Sources