Rolex Geneve Ref.3514

If a Submariner is Rolex in workwear, this is Rolex in a dinner jacket.

Dating to circa 1962, this Ref. 3514 shows a side of the Crown that is easy to forget exists. The dial is very simple with no date, no seconds and no model name. For Rolex, that amount of empty space feels almost rebellious.

The case does the rest. Its soft round case gives a very elegant early-sixties presence. White gold makes the whole thing even more discreet; from across the room there is very little to suggest you are looking at a precious-metal Rolex.

Inside sits Rolex’s hand-wound calibre 650, an 18-jewel manual movement documented in Ref. 3514 examples from the period. It is a wonderfully different proposition from the self-winding Oyster watches that were already making Rolex famous at the time.

That is really why the 3514 is so charming. By the early sixties Rolex was already synonymous with Explorers, Submariners and GMT-Masters, yet it was still making strange little white-gold dress watches like this on the side.

A 1960s Rolex for someone who does not necessarily want their Rolex to look like one. White gold, calibre 650 and just two hands doing all the work. Available at Reestraat 3, Amsterdam.