# Vintage Ladies' Rolex (From The 20S?)



## wotsch

Recently, my parents showed me an old ladies' watch that belonged to my grandmother.

The watch is kept in an old box from Miller's jewellers of Snow Hill Wolverhampton (BTW: Miller's is still in business):

Rolex01small by wotsch, on Flickr

Rolex02small by wotsch, on Flickr

My father reckons the watch must have been bought by my grandfather in the 40s, but it seems to be older than that, so maybe it was bought second-hand.

It's a lovely old Rolex in art deco style:

Rolex04small by wotsch, on Flickr

The case is in three parts with hinged front and back:

Rolex05small by wotsch, on Flickr

Opening up the back, there's a lot stamped on the inside of the case-back:

Rolex06small by wotsch, on Flickr

It says:

R.W.C.Ltd

some marks: 'H', '9', '.375' and 'b'

ROLEX

7 WORLD'S RECORDS

GOLD MEDAL

GENEVA-SUISSE

8899

The movement is a lovely, decorated 15 jewel Rolex piece:

Rolex07small by wotsch, on Flickr

I did a little internet research and found some watches with similar features (especially the hinged case and the same writing stamped on the inside of the case-back), and they all seem to be from the 20s or early 30s (see here, here, here and here).

Can an expert please tell me something about this watch? Some specific questions that come to mind, for example:


The stamps '9' and '.375' inside the case-back obviously refer to a 9ct gold (plated) case. What do the marks 'H' and 'b' mean?

What are the 7 'World's records' referred to and what Gold Medal is mentioned?

From the serial number 8899, can we derive the date of manufacture? Is it from the 20s?

The hands are purple in the right light - is this done by the same process that makes blued steel hands, screws etc.?


Any information would be much appreciated.

Many thanks in advance,

-wotsch


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## davidcxn

Hi, hopefully I can help with some of your queries.

The 9-375 means that the case is 9 carat gold, it is not gold plated. When silver / gold was manufactured overseas they were then assayed when they were imported to the UK. I cant tell from the picture but you mention one of the hallmarks as being an "H". This is more likely to be a mark which represented the town where the gold was assayed. It is possible the mark is a capital F next to an upside down capital F. If it is that symbol would represent the Glasgow assay office. The letter "b" is for the year it was hallmarked. If the symbol is for Glasgow then your watch case was hallmarked in 1924. Your research was spot on when seeing other watches of the same era.

The RWC represents Rolex Watch Company. I am not so sure about the medal reference. I think companies submitted mechanisms for testing and recognition would be given in the form of a gold,silver etc award. This was then engraved on watches which were fitted with the movement as a further indication as to the quality of the watch.

You definitely have a solid gold ladies rolex from the 1920s which looks to be in fantastic condition.

I am no expert but hope this is of some help.

Kind regards

David


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## wotsch

davidcxn said:


> ... I cant tell from the picture but you mention one of the hallmarks as being an "H". This is more likely to be a mark which represented the town where the gold was assayed. It is possible the mark is a capital F next to an upside down capital F. If it is that symbol would represent the Glasgow assay office. ...


Hi David,

thank you for the helpful feedback. That certainly sounds promising.

Regarding the 'H' hallmark, here's as good a close-up as possible given the resolution of the photos I took of the watch:



Rolex08 by wotsch, on Flickr

The 'H' could be interpreted as two 'F's, however, they'd be 1. mirror image and 2. on their sides. Does this look like the mark of the Glasgow assay office?

Many thanks again,

-wotsch


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## davidcxn

Hi, that symbol is indeed the one used for imported gold / silver that was being hallmarked in the Glasgow assay office. If you go to www925-1000.com/importmarks.html it shows the actual marks. Far better than my description!

Regards

David


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## wotsch

davidcxn said:


> Hi, that symbol is indeed the one used for imported gold / silver that was being hallmarked in the Glasgow assay office. If you go to www925-1000.com/importmarks.html it shows the actual marks. Far better than my description!


Thanks!


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## wotsch

After some more searching, I found a list of Rolex serial numbers by date at watches.co.uk/watches/information/rolex-serial-numbers/ [i think I'm not allowed to link this as it's a commercial site].

The list starts in 1925 with 25000, which would also correspond to my Grandmother's watch, SN 8899, being pre-1925.

Very interesting! Does anyone have more information for me?


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## davidcxn

Hi again,

The "8899" will be a case number as it is engraved on the case and not the movement. I think the movement may be a Rolex calibre 190. If you google "Rolex 190 calibre" you should get a number of results where you could compare the movement with your own one. I tried to find more information on the "World Records" but only found reference to it rather than what it was.

The watch could have been purchased by your grandfather at any time as a gift. My mother has a similar watch and said it was a common gift for a 21st birthday (though not necessarily rolex or gold). She was 21 during the second world war and apparently the retailers had no gold watches. She was therefore given her grandmothers watch which is hallmarked to the 1920s when her grandmother would have been 21. Your watch may have been purchased second hand but there is a possibility it was from an earlier generation in the family.

Anyway, hope this is of some interest.

Regards

David


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## wotsch

David,

thank you for taking the time to give me such helpful feedback - it's much appreciated.

All the best,

-wotsch


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