An underrated vintage Oyster Perpetual that stands larger than most

If you’re the “watch guy” in your friend group, you probably know the question well. “What’s a good entry-level ‘luxury’ watch?”, perhaps followed by some arbitrary price limit.

This is your chance to bring someone into the fold! This is what you study for! That’s why we write guides like The Best Luxury Watches for Young Professionals, The Cheapest Watches You Can Get from Luxury Brands, and the Best Everyday Watches in 2019.

But, one of the things I also tell people is not to buy brand new. If you’re new to watches, there’s no reason to head down to the local authorized dealer and pay a hefty premium for something you’re not sure about. That’s why secondary market sites like Chronext (article about my experience), TheRealReal and others are a huge boon for introducing new consumers to watches. Pre-owned and vintage watches are a great way to dip your toes into the world of watches without losing a bunch of money if you want to later offload your purchase.

The Perpetual Entry Point

That’s why I often tell people that, if you’re just getting into watches, there’s no better option than a vintage stainless steel Rolex Oyster Perpetual. Generally, I’m talking about Oyster Perpetuals from the 1960s and 1970s, with reference numbers in the 10xx range (1002, 1008 and others; or, perhaps, an Oysterdate like Reference 6694). They look great on the Rolex Oyster bracelet or swapped out with any number of straps, providing a versatile watch for someone who’s looking for their first “nice” watch and this might be the only watch in their collection. Oyster Perpetuals are typically found with gorgeous, clean silver dials, baton indices (topped with small tritium lume plots) and chronometer-certified movements. The Reference 1002, for example, is powered by a caliber 1560 or 1570 movement. This caliber also powers more popular Rolex sports models of the same era, as well as serving as the base for more complicated Rolex calibers. For many years, it served as the base for much of Rolex’s timekeeping prowess. And it can be your in an Oyster Perpetual package for just a couple thousand dollars. Usually, when I show people they can have a Rolex for just a few thousand bucks, they’re pleasantly surprised.

But, there’s one problem with these vintage Oyster Perpetuals: They typically measure just 34mm in diameter, a bit small by most modern standards. Enter the Reference 1018.

Reference 1018: Living Large

While searching “Rolex 1002” on eBay, Chronext, or WatchRecon might yield hundreds of returns at any point in time, a search for “Rolex 1018” will yield only a few. By all accounts, the Rolex Oyster Perpetual Reference 1018 is an extremely rare watch, produced for just a few years of Rolex’s history. What at first glance might look like a simple Oyster Perpetual is in fact an under-the-radar collectible Rolex available in extremely limited quantities.

For example, I’ve seen just two examples of the 1018 pass through forum sales this year, (here and here, listed at $3,099 and $3,950, respectively. You’ll see them listed for much higher prices from dealers).

What makes the Reference 1018 different? In a word: size.

To wit, the specs of the 1018: 36mm case diameter, 20mm lug width, and 11.5mm thick. The 1018 has about the same specs as its cousin, the Explorer Reference 1016, though the case has a slightly slimmer profile.

There isn’t a lot of information about the Reference 1018 on the internet, but it looks as though it was produced for just a few years in the mid to late 1960s. Every example I’ve seen has a serial number dating it to this range. Our best guess is that the watch just wasn’t very popular: If you wanted a 36mm watch, you’d go with an Explorer or Datejust and the extra 2mm didn’t differentiate it enough from the Oyster Perpetual collection to warrant it staying in the Rolex catalog. Of course, this is contrary to today’s catalog, where Rolex has an Oyster Perpetual at 26mm, 31mm, 34mm, 36mm, and 39mm.

Whatever the case, for today’s collector it’s sufficient to know that this is a chronometer-certified, 36mm Rolex made for just a few years. This makes it extremely rare and collectible by any standards.

The Reference 1018 can be found with both the caliber 1560 and the 1570. The 1560 was an in-house movement introduced by Rolex in 1959 and remained in use until 1965, when Rolex transitioned to the caliber 1570. The main improvements of the 1570 were a slightly faster beat rate (19,800 bph, as compared to the 1560’s 18,000), and hacking seconds. The caliber 1570 would go on to power Explorers, Submariners, and Oyster Perpetuals until the 1980s.

Like the more common 34mm Oyster Perpetual, you’ll mostly find the Reference 1018 with a silver dial and baton hands, though are also earlier versions (c. 1963-64), that feature sword hands with a line of lume down the middle. Additionally, you’ll also find the rare variant with a black dial. If you’re lucky, it might be an early, glossy gilt black dial (for example, here). Some later examples can also be found with a slate grey dial (ignore the service hands/lume on that example). I’ve also seen a couple Tiffany & Co. stamped Reference 1018 examples; these seem to be extremely rare.

In other words, if you want a chronometer-certified movement in a 36mm case, the reference 1018 might be your best (i.e., most affordable) bet. But, they continue to fly mostly under the radar in most collecting circles. It’s a classic case of “if you know, you know.”

At Rescapement, a theme I consistently come back to is that, as vintage Rolex sports watches continue to inflate in price, collectors are turning (and will continue to turn) to alternative brands and models for bargain opportunities. We’ve seen Universal Geneve, Gallet, Movado, Tudor, and other brands all experience surges in popularity over the past few years. But I also think collectors will look further down Rolex’s catalog to find the next hot model.

To me, none is a better candidate than the Rolex Reference 1018.