Rolex Datejust Ref. 6075 'Ovettone' - Silver Patina Dial

Hard to believe - but the Datejust has been around since 1945. It is far older than its bigger and attention-hogging Submariner brethren. The Datejust was Rolex’s idea of the perfect everyday watch. The robustness of the Oyster case, combined with the elegance of an Oyster Perpetual. The ‘4 digit’ series of Datejust are particularly attractive for their pie-pan dials which offer a layer of three-dimensionality to the dials that went away with the advent of quickset date and 5-digit Datejusts. 

While the 16xx series of Datejusts are plentiful, coming across the earlier references is actually uncommon, as Rolex simply was not making as many watches in the 40s and 50s as they later would. So its a special day when we are able to find not only an early Datejust, but one in the condition like the piece that we have here....

This is a Reference 6075, and despite being from the early 1950s, this piece has many of the characteristic, and yes, iconic, features that the Datejusts of today still have, but with some subtle differences that are unique to Rolexes from this era: The bezel is more finely 'fluted' (known as a 'coin-edge' bezel). The date disk features numerals printed in red, rather than all black. The indices themselves are of the 'dart' style. The hands are of the 'obelisk'-style. And last but not least, the case itself has a few minor differences, namely the caseback carrying over some of the 'bubble-back' shape of even older Rolex models.

This particular example dates to circa 1950 and happens to be in fantastic overall condition. The case shows signs of having been very lightly polished at a previous time, retaining thick and symmetrical lugs with clear hallmatks and correct proportions. The correct 'coin-edge' bezel appears to have been spared previous polished and retains excellent defined finishing. This example even retains a period-correct yellow gold 'Super Oyster' crown. The dial inside is beautifully preserved. Spared of any previous refinishing, the satin surface has patinated to a 'cream'-tone and features applied 'dart' indices and a correct 'obelisk' handset to compliment them.

Last but not least, this piece comes fitted to a very rare, correct 18k Jubilee bracelet with a blade clasp that remains in exceptional overall condition.

We cannot overstate how special and hard to come by these are, and we are honored to be able to offer this piece on the site.