By the close of the Second World War, Rolex had been producing its famous waterproof Oyster case for close to 20 years, and its Perpetual automatic movements for nearly 15 years. The potent combination of these two important horological developments led to the Oyster Perpetual, a series of highly water resistant, automatically-wound timepieces that would be adopted into all manner of famous tool watch collections in the intervening decades. In addition to marking the close of the bloodiest conflict in human history, 1945 also signified 40 years since the founding of Hans Wilsdorf’s famous watch company. To celebrate four decades of innovation and achievement, the brand released a special solid-gold Oyster Perpetual reference, the 36 mm 4467, with a date complication and a multi-link bracelet that it dubbed “Jubilee.” While it may be taken for granted now, this reference represented the world’s first automatic, waterproof chronometer wristwatch with a date function. Soon—and following..
