ROLEX Oyster Perpetual Date Obsidian Patina Dial 1964s

Fully serviced 09/04/2026
Timegrapher +11s/d 242° 0.9ms
Dial reverse inspected — no signs of alteration or modification.

The Oyster Perpetual Date Ref. 1501 has long been admired as the most honest of Rolex's everyday automatics — a 34mm Oyster case, an engine-turned bezel, and a chronometer-certified movement, with nothing further asked of it. This 1964 example is distinguished by a dial that only decades could have produced.

The stainless steel Oyster case measures 34mm across and 41.5mm from lug to lug, and still carries the drilled lug holes of the period. The engine-turned bezel, with its raised tabs and finely cut hash marks, supplies the only ornament the design permits, and the restraint of the case allows the dial to take center stage.

Originally finished in black gloss, the surface has aged into a dense, mottled patina that shifts between charcoal, olive and warm bronze as the light moves across it — a depth that earns the name obsidian. The grain reads closer to something geological than to paint, yet the applied baton markers stand untouched and the printing remains legible beneath it. A Cyclops lens over the date at 3 o'clock completes the familiar vintage profile.

At its heart beats the automatic Caliber 1560, running at 18,000 vibrations per hour on 26 jewels — the chronometer-grade movement behind the "Superlative Chronometer Officially Certified" line on the dial. Fully serviced in September 2026, it is now running to approximately +11 seconds a day.

Completing the watch is a Rolex Oyster bracelet with its signed folding clasp, matched to the 19mm lug width and fitted to a wrist of up to 17cm. Its three-link construction keeps the proportions faithful to the period.

Elegant, understated, and unmistakably vintage, this Oyster Perpetual Date carries an individuality that no two examples can share.

- wrist size in our picture is 17cm circumference -