On March 17th, Antiquorum will auction an extremely rare 1953 Rolex Ref. 6202 Monometer Oyster Perpetual. The Monometer comes in a brushed and polished stainless steel case measuring 35 mm by 13 mm, with a black bi-directional bezel (dive bezels are uni-directional). Black dial with triangular, round and bâton luminous indexes, gilt outer minute/seconds track.

Luminous gilt “baton” hands, end dot seconds hand. Inside is caliber A260, rhodium-plated, “fausses côtes” decoration, 19 jewels, straight line lever escapement, superbalance, self-compensating Breguet balancespring, index regulator. Screwed-down case back and crown This timepiece is still in the hands of the original owner and is accompanied by a service invoice from Rolex Geneva dated December 1990.

“The rarity of the 6202 Monometer has never been questioned by collectors. Only four examples have appeared in the last 20 years on the market and are found with either honeycomb or regular dials (such as this example). Bought new in 1953, the watch was well cared being serviced exclusively by Rolex in 1962, 1965, 1967 and for a last time in 1990.

Known as the earliest Submariner despite not carrying that name yet, Rolex was obviously still experimenting with the right name, cased in the 6202 Turnograph case. Reasons for the name Monometer are still not clear but it obviously sounds very scientific just like an instrument used to measure depths. Still equipped with its original bezel and pencil hands with a lollipop second, a rare opportunity to complete one’s early Submariner collection.”

Estimate $33,000 – $45,000

Antiquorum Geneva – March 17, 2013 – Lot 493