Rolex Oyster Cushion Cal.11 9ct 1936

Rolex

Founded in 1905 in England by Hans Wilsdorf and Alfred Davis as Wilsdorf & Davis, the partnership 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.

During the 1930s and ’40s, Rolex also became quite masterful at courting tremendous publicity and excitement through literally being ‘on hand’ during numerous record-breaking events. These were, for example, swimming the English Channel (1927), breaking the world automobile speed record (300mph, 1935), breaking the sound barrier (1947) and climbing Everest for the first time in 1953. No matter how well orchestrated these events came to be, we have to admire Rolex for becoming masters of self-promotion and capitalising on every opportunity with simultaneous worldwide marketing campaigns.

Description

A beautifully previously restored gentleman’s Rolex ‘Cushion’ watch from 1936 in 9ct yellow gold. The case is in superb condition and measures 32mm x 32mm, or 41mm corner to corner, including the lugs. These watches were very popular during the 1930s and were a forerunner to the Rolex Precision. They are however becoming harder to find these days, particularly in such wonderful condition as this.

The Dial

The previously restored white dial is in wonderful condition as are the original ‘index’ hands which carry the wonderful lume. These are original and are an outstanding feature of this watch. The dial also carries attractive 1 – 12 Breguet style standard Arabic numerals, framed perfectly by an outer minutes track.There is also a wonderful looking subsidiary seconds dial at 6 o’clock.

The dial is simply signed ‘Rolex Oyster’ at the very top of the dial below 12 along with ‘Swiss Made’ at the very bottom of the dial.

This dial has been previously restored to a very high standard and remains in a wonderful condition.

The Movement

The original movement here is referred to as a Rolex Rebberg movement and it was this movement which helped to establish Rolex and make the company famous. It was made by the Swiss Aegler company, with whom Rolex formed a partnership. Rebberg is a Swiss district where the factory that produced these movements was located. The movement is a 15 Jewel, 11 Ligne, meaning this is the smaller-sized Rolex Rebburg movement.

The movement is fully signed, with ‘Rolex, 15 Rubies’, ‘Swiss Made’ and ‘Fab Suisse’ as seen in the images. The Rebberg was available in two grades, the best of these, as found here, has 15 Jewels as opposed to the standard 7.  As can be seen, the movement is in incredibly clean and unmolested condition indicating it has been very well looked after.

As part of the servicing of this watch, the movement has been overhauled and serviced by our vintage specialist watchmaker. This involves dismantling the watch to all its component parts, careful inspection under high magnification, replacement where necessary with only original parts before careful reassembly and adjustment.

Please note – Rolex watches of this period are reliable and accurate by the standards of their day. However, they do need to be treated with some care so while perfectly suited for occasional use, we would not recommend this watch for everyday wear.

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