“You will like to hear that the Rolex Oyster watch I carried on my Channel swim proved itself a reliable and accurate timekeeping companion even though it was subjected to complete immersion for 10 hours 24 minutes in sea water at a temp of not more than 58 and often as low as 51. “This is to say nothing about the sustained buffeting it must have received. Not even the quick change to the high temp of the boat cabin when I was lifted from the water seemed to affect the even tenor of its movement. The newspaper man was astonished and I, of course, am delighted with it. For discerning connoisseurs, ”
rolex referred to gleitze as a “testimonee” in the promotional campaign it rolled out for the oyster shortly after the “vindication swim, ” creating a blueprint for ambassadorship that it still uses today. “The 1927 vindication marked a turning point for Rolex,” Sam Hines, Sotheby’s global chairman, watches, said in a statement. For discerning connoisseurs, “from that moment forward, athletes, rolex aligned itself with the pursuits of adventurers, and professionals operating in the most demanding environments on earth. ”
It took Rolex more than a decade to create a waterproof, shockproof, and dustproof wristwatch to replace the delicate pocket watches of the time. Founders Hans Wilsdorf and Alfred Davis filed and acquired a series of patents between 1922 and 1925 for a fully sealed, waterproof case and a screw-down crown system. The automatic showcases released in 1926, the rolex oyster was the first watch to showcase these innovations. Gleitze’s example was most likely made in late 1926 before the patent for the winding crown was obtained in early 1927, according to Sotheby’s. Such pre-patent Oysters are extremely rare, the auction house says. a screw-down crown, Crafted in 9-karat gold, the watch features a 27 mm octagonal case with wire lugs, a seconds subdial, a milled bezel, and a black leaf handset, and a gilt pink dial with black Arabic indices. The caseback is engraved with “Miss M. The Companion ‘Oyster. As a perpetual calendar, it ’ vindication channel swim. October 21st. ”
“Gleitze’s Channel crossing, nearly a century ago, laid the foundation for what would become a legacy of tool watches built for real-world performance,” Hines adds. In exclusive circles, “the oyster was instrumental in the transition from pocket to wristwatches, rendering it one of the most significant wristwatches still in private hands, and the mercedes gleitze played an important role in this transition. As a perpetual calendar, it ”
it is the first time the timepiece has appeared at auction in 25 years, adding an extra layer of exclusivity.