Sonning Vintage Watches

Rolex introduced the Submariner in 1953 and it has become one of their most famous and desirable watches. In 2003 they created a 50th anniversary model with the maxi dial and green bezel insert. Whilst it’s strange to understand now, it wasn’t a great seller and only gained traction when they made a few subtle changes to the dial. This left a relatively limited number of Mark 1 dial watches and they became known as a ‘Flat 4’ and this relates the flatness of the ‘4’ in the ’40’ of the bezel insert (the ‘O’ in Rolex is also slightly flattened and the ‘Swiss Made’ goes over 5 minute markers as against 4). These have become highly sought after and, for what its worth, was my first Rolex sports watch.

Sold in Japan in May 2005, the solid steel case is in excellent condition and has been polished during a recent Rolex service but retains it’s ‘meatiness’ (the stickers on the case side are from Rolex and it hasn’t been worn since). The original Mark 1 dial is in excellent condition and the movement was serviced by Rolex in May 2023 giving it a 2 year Rolex guarantee through to May 2025. The lighter green and guaranteed genuine flat 4 bezel insert is in overall very good condition with only some minor signs of damage – I’ve highlighted the main areas and happy to send high resolution pictures if required). In terms of provenance we have:

• The original Rolex guarantee paperwork
• The Rolex Submariner brochure dated 2004
• The Rolex calendar
• Your Rolex Oyster brochure from 2004
• The red chronometer chip and Rolex anchor for the 300m depth rating
• The original Rolex swing-tag with the correct model and serial number.
• The outer box showing the 16610LV sticker and the inner boxes
• It was also serviced by Rolex in the UK in May 2022 and we have the associated paperwork

This is a stunning example of one of the most desirable and rare Rolex Submariners from the last 30 years with faultless provenance. Whilst we cannot guarantee future values if history is any judge it should provide an excellent investment and a fabulous watch to wear.

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Sonning Vintage Watches are one of the largest prestige brand vintage watch retailers on the Internet carrying stock of around £700,000; we’ve sold over 3,000 vintage watches across the world since our formation in 2009. We’re based in Berkshire and Nottingham and spend 1- 2 days a week in London. Whilst we’re an Internet business we do ‘show’ 90% of our watches prior to sale and travel across England to meet prospective buyers.

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We provide a lifetime guarantee on the authenticity and provenance of all our watches and come with a full printed Receipt of Sale and Insurance Valuation. Purchasing from SVW gives you the protection and reassurance of buying from an incorporated company with outstanding customer testimonials.

We provide a high quality box and use the Royal Mail Special Delivery for the UK and DHL for overseas sales. They are insured for the full purchase value.

See what our customers say – 100% positive feedback on all our sales sites and over 40% of our customers buy again or refer us!

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We use the Royal Mail’s Guaranteed next day service for UK sales and DHL for all overseas shipping. All our watches are fully serviced, but prior to couriering each one will undergo a 3 day pre-delivery check to ensure the watch is in perfect condition.

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This is a beautiful example of a watch from one of horology’s most famous names and will, if history is any judge, provide an excellent financial investment as well as a possession to treasure and enjoy. I will provide an insurance valuation in excess of my asking price. Please appreciate the difficulty of photographing this piece, it looks even better in real life. Subject to your location I’ll happily show the watch.

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