Rolex Cellini Model Ref.3801 18ct c1968

Rolex

Founded in 1905 in England by Hans Wilsdorf and Alfred Davis as Wilsdorf & Davis, the partnership later became known as the Rolex Watch Company in 1915, moving to its new Geneva headquarters in 1919. The success of the wristwatch can be largely attributed to many of Rolex’s innovations which made the company one of the most respected and well-known of all luxury brands. These have included its famous “Oyster” case — the world’s first water-resistant and dustproof watch case, invented in 1926 — and its “Perpetual” — the world’s first reliable, self-winding movement for the wristwatch, launched in 1933. These would form the foundation for Rolex’s Datejust and Day-Date, respectively introduced in 1945 and 1956. Also and equally importantly, Rolex is known for its sports watches, such as the Explorer, Submariner and GMT-Master launched in the mid-1950s.

Description

A simply wonderful Rolex Cellini ladies dress watch from c1968. A stunning watch in every regard with a beautiful, intricate Rolex dial and a superb Calibre 1600, 19 Jewel movement all cased inside a wonderful Rolex Swiss-made 18ct yellow gold watch case.

Needless to say this watch is stunning in every way and makes this watch a stand out piece.

The Dial

The dial is a highly impressive-looking Rolex Geneve dial. Here, Rolex has elected to use yellow gold ‘baton’ hour indices and the dial is signed with the Rolex Coronet at 12. The original black gilt ‘stick’ hands and baton indices stand rich and proud on the wonderful cream dial. The dial has a subtle speckled effect which we think adds uniqueness and charm to the watch and this works wonderfully against the yellow gold case. All of these fine aspects come together perfectly as we have tried to demonstrate in the images.

The dial is branded with the early Rolex Coronet and signed ‘Rolex’, ‘Genève’ and ‘Cellini’ with ‘Swiss’ at the very bottom.

As this dial is original and unrestored, this has been left untouched by our restoration team due to its superb condition. Usually, we restore the dials of the watches we sell, however we decided in this case to leave it alone, due to its unusually good condition and to retain its originality and charm for those who prefer this. It also helps to contrast with almost all of the other watch dials you see on our website, which have been restored. The hands, likewise, have also been left in their original untouched condition.

Please note, studio lights, professional-grade digital cameras, and macro lenses can be very unkind to an unrestored vintage watch dial. Also the dial here measures less than 1.25 inches across, so the image you’re seeing may be between 5 – 25 times larger than the watch itself. Therefore please keep in mind you are seeing many tiny flaws which cannot be seen, or will be very hard to see with the naked eye, even under close examination. Suffice to say, on the wrist, in natural light, this dial looks much better and carries a great deal more charm than the photographs portray.

The Movement

The high grade Calibre 1600, 19 Jewel, hand-wound movement is in incredibly clean and sparkling condition and has just been fully overhauled and serviced by our expert vintage Rolex specialist watchmaker.

The movement is in very clean condition having just completed a full overhaul and service by our vintage Rolex specialist watchmaker. This means it has been completely dismantled to each of its component parts before cleaning and inspection under high magnification, replacement where necessary with only genuine Rolex parts, then careful reassembly, adjustments and oiling to Rolex specification, before final calibration and testing. The movement is therefore now running accurately and within expectations of 30 seconds per day. We are therefore confident in offering this watch with a 12-month written warranty*.

The movement is signed ‘Rolex Geneva’, ‘Swiss’, and ‘19 Rubis’ with the calibre number ‘1600’.

*Please note – our 12 months’ warranty is only applicable if the list price is paid.

The Case

The 18ct yellow gold case measures 26mm across, excluding the correct Rolex signed crown, 23mm from top to bottom, and 33mm across the diagonal including the lugs making the watch perfectly sized and it sits upon the wrist beautifully.

The watch is in superb condition with no marks or scratches visible to the naked eye. It has been beautifully well cared for and after a close inspection has simply required a careful clean and a gentle polish to bring it back to its current, almost as new condition. The case is of full-thickness and has never been inscribed.

The interior of the case-back is correctly signed ‘Montres Rolex S.A Geneva’ with the correct 18ct hallmarks. Also shown is the model reference number 3801 37 and a further reference number 3901.

Please note – our standard advice applies: Vintage watches should be kept clean and dry at all times.

The Strap and Buckle

The watch is fitted with a genuine Rolex black leather strap and gold-plated Rolex buckle. However, if a different colour or style of strap is preferred, please let us know and we will do our best to oblige free of charge. We carry tan, conker, dark brown and black in stock in plain padded leather, crocodile skin or lizard skin, but can also obtain most types and colours from our partners at ‘Watch Obsession’ within 48hrs. Please take a look at their huge range of straps if you wish here.

Box and Papers

Although there are no original papers with this watch, the reference numbers, markings, signatures and hallmarks are all correct, dating this watch to c1968.

Detailed particulars will be included with our purchase receipt for your interest and security. A separate insurance valuation for the replacement value of this watch will be provided at the time of sale along with our unique ‘Lifetime Authenticity Guarantee’ which states: “If this watch proves to be anything less than 100% genuine, authentic and original, a full refund will be given at any time”.

This watch comes complete with a green suede Rolex presentation box, as shown in the photographs.

Payment and Delivery

If you would like to pay by bank transfer, we will be pleased to assist you with this and pass on a 3% saving to you. Paying by bank transfer for a 3% saving will not affect your 12 months warranty. Similarly, if you wish to pay by International SWIFT or Bank Wire Transfer we will provide you with our BIC / Swift number and our IBAN number.

Please check the import duties and any taxes your government may apply, these are different for each country and, unfortunately, out of our control.

We understand there may be some ‘loopholes’ that may help you avoid these charges; however, attempting to use these could impact our ongoing ability to serve our growing international customer base.

For those who happen to visit London on occasion, we are, of course, more than happy to store your watch until we can meet you in our offices in Kensington, London, and hand your watch directly to you there.

As with all our watches, this watch will be sold under our 14 days no-quibble sale or return policy.

In Conclusion

One of the nicest ladies Rolex dress/cocktail watches we have seen, from horology’s most famous name which will provide an excellent financial investment as well as be something to treasure and enjoy! It will make the perfect gift as well as a practical, accurate and reliable timepiece to use for evening wear, on a regular basis, as you so wish.

A word on our prices – We always try our hardest to acquire the very highest quality watches we can find, before restoring them to the highest possible standards. We then offer these at the fairest prices we can, taking into account our pre and post-sales care and service. This approach means we will never be the cheapest, but nor will we be the most expensive. Indeed there are some well-known stores in West London which are highly successful charging between two to three times the price you see here. We, therefore, consider our prices to be fair, given the quality of watches we have to offer.

Please note, we also welcome part exchanges. If you have a watch or a small collection for sale, please contact us as we will be happy to discuss this.

We will also be happy to Service your watch, Repair your watch or Restore your watch, all at ‘sensible’ prices. Please see here.

If you have any questions please call us on 020 7727 7095 or if calling from overseas on +44 207 727 7095.

Please take a look at our other fine vintage gold watches.

Thank you.