January 1st, 2024 | Words and photography by DAHTT
1967 Rolex Oyster Perpetual.
This vintage Rolex ref' 1003 is quietly brilliant.
Some watches don't live up to the hype. Others deliver so much more than expected that they leave a lasting impression. This Rolex over delivers in a way that almost no modern Rolex's do. It is brimming with nostalgia, but it has important lessons to teach us in the present day.
1967 was the year of the long hot summer. Race riots ripped through American cities as the Vietnam war entered its second most deadly year. The Beatles recorded "Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band", and in Geneva this discreet Rolex Oyster Perpetual was making its way along the production line.
I've long believed that the simple Oyster Perpetual is Rolex's greatest model. Few people are pilots, even less professional racing drivers and only a handful are deep sea divers. Most people want a watch subtle enough to wear with a smart shirt and robust enough to withstand a weekend of adventure.
The Oyster Perpetual has always obliged with minimal fuss. It was doing it before the Explorer came along with it's pretentious and dubious claims of summits never reached. The Oyster Perpetual has always been a watch that just got on with it, for people who just got on with it.
That isn't to say it's basic. It's a Rolex after all. The case is exquisitely finished and water resistant to 100m, the engine turned bezel is a masterpiece, the proportions of the dial are impeccable and the movement is chronometer rated. It is fastidiously designed and engineered, with water resistance and accuracy standards which are still impressive today.
The difference then between this 1967 Rolex and it's modern counterpart lies not in its performance or specifications, but rather in the way it carries itself. This is most evident in the diameter of the case. 34mm was once considered an excellent size for an everyday watch. Large enough to be legible, small enough to be understated. I would argue that it remains an excellent size.
The notion that we need increasingly large watches is a con the watch industry has pulled successfully over the last decade. Case sizes have inflated to bursting point, until recently, the trend popped, just in time for the manufacturers to release the same watches in smaller sizes. The return to more sensibly sized watches was inevitable.
The light brushing of the solid steel link bracelet is in stark contrast to the high polished rare metal scratch magnet centre links of many modern Rolex's. Practical, sensible. Still extremely fine in execution, but finished to withstand real life, rather than Instagram wrist shots.
And withstand real life it has. In the last half a century this watch has picked up few marks. A nick here and a chip there. Just enough to let you know it's been present. It has experience. It hasn't just been locked in a safe the way many vintage Rolex's are.
The dial is gorgeous. Simple, but gorgeous. No bright "Tiffany" - look at me - turquoise here. Just enough blue to be interesting. Individual, but conservative.
The hands are simple batons, forgoing the unnecessary extravagance of "Mercedes" hands (I've never understood that link, or lack thereof) and the plexiglass crystal distorts wonderfully. Drilled lugs seen here are a luxury conspicuously absent from modern Rolex's.
If the watch reveals its vintage anywhere, it's in the hollow end links and stamped clasp. These are two areas where Rolex's has undoubtedly evolved over the last half century.
I've been lucky enough to wear quite a few Rolex's over the years. Most modern, some retro, and just one vintage. Some have great wrist presence, but this one has presence before you even remove it from the box.
Modern maxi case era Rolex's feel like heavy chunks of milled steel. This doesn't feel as crude. It somehow feels almost as robust, but with a gracefulness which more recent Rolex's lack. This has something that they don't.
The point I guess I'm making is that sometimes less can be more. For me this Rolex epitomises everything that made Rolex become adored by so many. It isn't big, it isn't flashy, it predates all that. It's just a great, simple watch.
In 1967, a year when the world was quite unstable, this Rolex calmly did what Rolex does best.
I can't help but think in an era where the extreme is becoming the norm, where bigger is better and the meaning of luxury is more and more confused, this vintage Rolex has a lot to teach us about quietly getting on with it.
Being reliable. Being subtle. Being quietly brilliant.