Rolex Oyster Precision 6427

Ref. 6427 is a hand-wound Oyster Precision with central seconds and no date. Published examples have steel or 9K yellow-gold cases.

Core facts

detail	value
reference	6427
model name	Oyster Precision; some dials and catalogues add "Royal"
display	hours, minutes, central seconds; no date
winding	manual
documented case materials	stainless steel; 9K yellow gold
case diameter	33–36 mm in catalogues; most records are around 34–35 mm
case	screw-down Oyster caseback and crown
movement attributions	Cal. 1210 most often; 1215 and 1225 also appear in catalogues
bezel examples	engine-turned steel; fixed polished bezel on one 9K-gold example
crystal	Plexiglas, as listed by Hodinkee for two examples
bracelets	refs. 6635 and 7205 appear on individual watches

Where it sits in the line

Listings sometimes conflate the references: two watches titled 6427 by Vintage-Oyster have casebacks stamped 6426; Bonhams uses "6426/6427," while Christie's titled a watch 6426 with a 6427 caseback.

The hand-wound Oysterdate Precision ref. 6694 adds a date. Early examples use Cal. 1215, related to the no-date Cal. 1210.

Production outline

Bonhams dates a 9K-gold watch to circa 1958 and a steel watch to circa 1959; the steel caseback is marked IV.59. Sotheby's dates steel examples to circa 1961 and 1965. Antiquorum's black-dial watch is dated circa 1968, and Sotheby's gold example circa 1970. The catalogues date individual examples from circa 1958 to circa 1970.

Movement notes

Cal. 1210 is the best-supported attribution. Bonhams lists it on steel and gold watches; Hodinkee does the same for its 1959 and 1961 examples. Shellman lists it for case 787031, as does Sotheby's for the circa-1970 gold watch. It is a manual, no-date movement.

Antiquorum and Olde Timers list Cal. 1215 on no-date 6427s. The caliber has a date mechanism. Neither listing includes a readable movement photograph, so the attribution remains unconfirmed.

Several catalogues list Cal. 1225. The collector-run Watch Movements Archive says some no-date Cal. 1220 movements may be marked 1225, citing a 1972 Flume catalogue. The Sotheby's and Lockdales listings have no readable movement photographs, so those attributions remain unresolved.

Dial map

The photographed watches have cream, silvered or black dials. Hodinkee's 1959 example has a cream dial with luminous markers; its 1961 "Royal" dial has no luminous material. Antiquorum's circa-1968 steel watch and Bonhams' 2019 gold watch both have black dials. Sotheby's circa-1970 gold watch has a silvered dial.

EVW shows another non-luminous dial, with "SWISS" at six, and calls it a special order without citing factory documentation.

Silvered Oyster Royal dial on a steel Rolex 6427 — Silvered "Oyster Royal" dial, case 786,944. Sotheby's, 2023 lot 134.

Case, bezel, crystal, and crown notes

Antiquorum's 2003 steel watch and Hodinkee's 1961 example have engine-turned bezels. Bonhams' 9K-gold watch has a fixed polished bezel. Reported diameters run from 33 mm in a Christie's group lot to 36 mm in two Sotheby's listings; most individual-watch descriptions give 34 or 35 mm.

The case has a screw-down back and crown. Hodinkee identifies Plexiglas crystals on its 1959 and 1961 watches.

Crown-side profile of case 786,944. Sotheby's, 2023 lot 134.
Exterior caseback of the same watch. Sotheby's, 2023 lot 134.
9K-gold case with silvered dial. Sotheby's, 2025 lot 38.
Caseback of the same gold example. Sotheby's, 2025 lot 38.

Bracelets, end links, clasps, and packaging notes

Hodinkee's 1961 watch is fitted with a riveted Oyster bracelet, ref. 6635, and 57 end links. The clasp is stamped 1 70, and Hodinkee describes the bracelet as a later fit. Bonhams also calls the bracelet on its 1959 steel watch a later fit; the clasp is stamped 3/71.

Antiquorum lists end links 57 and 61 on its circa-1968 black-dial watch and gives the bracelet date as 4/68. Lockdales records a 7205 bracelet on a circa-1969 example. These listings document the watches as sold; they do not establish the original bracelet supplied with each head.

Special examples

Sotheby's catalogued a circa-1965 6427, case 1,241,563, with a Snoopy drawing on its silvered dial and a reported Cal. 1225. The listing does not say when or by whom the drawing was added.

Auction records

sale record	watch described
Bonhams, 2019, lot 83	circa-1958 9K gold, black matte dial, Cal. 1210 attribution, 34 mm
Bonhams, 2016, lot 98	steel, circa 1959, caseback mark IV.59, Cal. 1210 attribution
Sotheby's, 2021, lot 127	circa-1965 steel watch with illustrated dial; movement not shown
Antiquorum, 2022, lot 72	steel, circa 1968, black dial, bracelet with end links 57 and 61
Sotheby's, 2025, lot 38	circa-1970 9K gold, silvered dial, Cal. 1210 attribution, 36 mm

Related references

6426 — adjacent smooth-bezel manual Oyster Precision.
6694 — hand-wound Oysterdate Precision with date.
Precision family guide

Gallery

Steel "Oyster Royal" with silvered dial. Sotheby's, 2023 lot 134.
Dial close-up of case 786,944. Sotheby's, 2023 lot 134.
Crown-side profile. Sotheby's, 2023 lot 134.
Exterior caseback. Sotheby's, 2023 lot 134.
9K-gold example. Sotheby's, 2025 lot 38.
Caseback of the same example. Sotheby's, 2025 lot 38.
Illustrated-dial example. Sotheby's, 2021 lot 127.

Sources