On the 22nd of March, just a few days before the BaselWorld exhibition opens and show us what Rolex have come up with this year, Chrono24 is having a auction of Rolex watches only. Hosted by auction house Auctionata, Chrono24 organizes this auction with no less than 68 Rolex watches. I selected a few nice Rolex watches from their lots and talk about them in this post.

Rolex1680RedSub2

Red Rolex Submariner ref.1680 ca.1970

This Rolex Submariner with red printing is reference 1680 and has the caliber 1570 movement. As you can see in the header photo and the photo above, this red Submariner has a nice patina on the dial and hands as well as a bezel with tritium pearl. This watch comes on a nice leather – vintage looking – strap and buckle without any specific signature. This ref.1680 has a 3184377 serial number which makes it approx 1970 or 1971. The lot description says 1975 but that seems a bit too ‘new’ for this one in our opinion. No box or papers, but a nice Rolex Submariner for every day wear. Auctionata estimated this watch at 7.000 Euro and the bidding starts at 3400 Euro.

Rolex1680RedSubMore on this red Rolex Submariner 1680 can be found here.

Rolex1675gmt4

Rolex GMT-Master Ref. 1675 ca. 1966/1967

It is no secret that I have a bit more love for vintage Rolex GMT-Master watches than most their other models. That includes Daytonas. Yes, I am a rare breed. The history of the GMT-Master with PanAm (click here for our in-depth story on the GMT-Master), the complication of an extra time zone and the nice pepsi colored bezels do a bit more for me than the Rolex Cosmograph Daytona to be honest. Chrono24 has this GMT-Master Reference 1675 up for auction and it is actually the only GMT in stainless steel in that auction. The other GMT-Master watches in the auction are gold and gold/steel.  Acutionata estimated the price of this GMT-Master 1675 at 5.000 Euro and bidding starts at 2400 Euro. The aluminium inlay looks good and the dial has a nice cream-ish patina that matches the patina of the hands. The bracelet appears to be a bit stretched and for daily use you might want to consider wearing it on a NATO strap, leather strap or a newer type Oyster or Jubilee bracelet.

Rolex1675gmt2

Rolex1675gmtMore information on this reference 1675 GMT-Master can be found here.

RolexExpl24

Rolex Explorer II Ref. 1655

Another vintage Rolex that I fancy is the Explorer II reference 1655, also to be known as the Steve McQueen Rolex. Based on some of the dial characteristics, I would say this is a Mk1 Stern dial. With the same complication as the GMT-Master, this Explorer II has an extra hand to indicate the 24 hour time. Useful when seeing no daylight while doing your thing in a cave, being an explorer. The Explorer II was – and perhaps still is – the underestimated sports watch of the bunch. Mainly due to the lack of recognition by the crowd, as I think it is actually one of the coolest vintage pieces to have. Although the dial shows some patina, it is still very fresh looking and a perfect piece for every day use. Office or cave. Auctionata estimates this Rolex Explorer II 1655 at 12.000 Euro and bidding starts at 6.000 Euro. The bracelet shows some stretch but seems to be wearable/usable still.

RolexExpl21

RolexExpl23More information on this ref.1655 Rolex Explorer 2 can be found here.

To have a glance at all the 65 other Rolex watches as well, click here.