Description
This is a very rare watch to find. These Rolex Observatory military watches were sold to soldiers at the PX store before they went overseas to fight. This watch has a very rare and exotic two-tone original dial. The gold-filled contract case looks extremely fine in person. These military Rolex watches are an interesting bunch as Rolex would often mix and switch movements since they were installed here in Canada. Rolex had their movements shipped over to Canada to be installed in contract cases made here so they could save on import duty. This original dial is stunning with its curved print, red 24-hour scale, sub-seconds register, and Arabic lume numerals. Despite what the dial says, this watch houses the regular WW2-era 17-jewel Rolex movement. I have seen this watch many times before where the dial does not match the movement on these “adjusted to 6 position” dials. We had the Rolex movement fully serviced and it is accurate. The main value is really the dial on this rare military Rolex. I really love the military inscription from 1942 and the McArthur crest along with “LT. COL. A.S. MCARTHUR.” These are smaller-sized watches, but this one does look larger due to the all-dial appearance. This Rolex measures 31mm, which was the size of the Patek Philippe Calatrava during this era. We purchased this watch from the family of the owner who found it in a shoe box after his passing.
