I accidentally might have stumbled upon the most important day date watch in the world.
The watch above is no ordinary day-date. It was given by Hans Wilsdorf (who was the founder and owner of Rolex) to Theodore Beyer who was the owner of the famous watch retailer in Zurich Beyer, and one of the biggest watch collectors in the world (his collection is now in the museum of Beyer – see blog post on the Museum here).
The message is in German but reads as follows: To my friend Th. Beyer- to remember our most pleasant relationship since 1932- Hans Wilsdorf.
This watch is extremely important in many ways.
First, this watch is a Day-Date which was the Rolex flagship model at the time. Secondly Hans Wilsdorf was one of the most important figures in the watch industry. He was the visionary and founder of Rolex and owned the company until his death- leaving it today to the ‘Hans Wilsdorf’ foundation (the watch is presumed to have been given by Hans Wilsdorf shortly before his death in 1960).
While this watch was most probably not his personal watch, it is still extremely rare, as apparently Hans Wilsdorf very rarely gifted watches with a personal message and his signature on it.
Today the watch fittingly sits in the Beyer Museum in Zurich and most people don’t realize its importance (neither did we when we did our report on the Beyer Museum). In the Beyer Museum the watch is displayed with the front so the visitor assumes it is only an early and nice day-date.
However we were allowed access to a few pieces of our choosing to photograph up-close (this is the first time the museum has done and allowed this) and only then did we understand that this day-date is no ‘ordinary model.
Without a doubt this is one of the most important day-dates we have ever seen. The founder of Rolex, displaying a personal message and signature shortly before his death to his friend, Mr. Theodore Beyer- one of the most important figures and collectors of watches in the world.
In terms of provenance- it does not get much better than this.
Hans Wilsdorf was originally German and gave this watch to his friend and business partner Mr. Theodore Beyer who was from Zurich.
Accordingly the language in this particular day-date calendar is German. ‘Donnerstag’ is Thursday in German. Given the words ‘ Superlative Chronometer Officially Certified’ on the dial, the reference appears to be 6611, the second day date model introduced, after the 6511.
The back of the watch as originally photographed at the Beyer Museum in Zurich.
This is the first time the watch is shown (at least that I am aware of) on social media.
I would like to thank the Beyer Museum for letting me take pictures of some of their important watches. For more important Rolex watches that sit in the Beyer Museum please see link here.
For an interview with the current CEO who runs the retailer today please see our interview here.
