RARE ROLEX MADE FOR THE JAPANESE MARKET TO BE SOLD AT NOONANS

A rare stainless steel Rolex wristwatch made for the Japanese market in 1965 will be offered at Noonans Mayfair in a sale of Jewellery, Watches, Silver, and Objects of Vertu on Tuesday, November 28, 2023. It is being sold with its original receipt from the Asian retailer, service guarantee, spare link and presentation case by a private UK collector and expected to fetch £20,000-30,000 [lot 415].

As Joanne Lewis, Watch specialist at Noonans said: “Luminescence has long been a standard feature of watch faces for viewing in the dark, but the chronograph in this sale was designed for the Japanese market with no lume to the dial or hands.”

She continues: “The makers thought that having any radioactive material on a watch would put off buyers in Japan after the atomic bombings – hence the lack of lume on watches produced for that market.”

She ends: “This is a fantastic opportunity for a collector to obtain a rare example of the stunning and sought-after reference 6238 ‘Pre-Daytona’, produced between 1962 and 1968, and it is believed that approximately 2000 to 2500 pieces were manufactured (in all metals and dial variations). It was the predecessor of the reference 6239 Cosmograph Daytona model - as such, it is an important model in Rolex’s history, marking a turning point in the development of the chronograph and how it is known today.”

The auction also includes a fascinating group of items relating to architect, goldsmith, silversmith, and medallist Louis Osman (1914-96), best known for designing the crown for the investiture of H. R. H. Charles, The Prince of Wales, at Caernarvon in 1969.

As Frances Noble, Associate Director, and Head of Jewellery Department at Noonans commented: “In 2018, Noonans were privileged to sell the Personal Archive of Louis Osman, so we are delighted to be offering a small collection of jewellery, silver and artworks by Osman, all with highly personal connections, and with a combined high estimate of more than £14,000.”

The collection includes a silver and gold ruby set necklace dating from 1974-5, commissioned by Osman’s close friend Branton Streeton, the vendor’s grandfather, as a gift for his wife Gertrude on their ruby wedding anniversary. The necklace is accompanied by a handwritten letter from Osman, written shortly before Christmas 1974, with an added ‘PS’ (postscript) which reads: “I made it (the necklace) make directions towards the cleavage but if Gert wants to wear it shorter, she will find a little gold hook two down from the centre back…” The letter referenced the cost of the necklace as being ‘£250’. Two further letters to ‘Brant’ from Osman, the first typed and dated 1 July 1975, the second undated, referred to the payments and alterations considered for the necklace chain. It is estimated at £5,000-6,000 [lot 343].

A gold and diamond ring created by Osman in 1970 for his daughter Marie-Louise, is also included in the sale. The ring, bequeathed to the current vendor, was styled as a broad concave planished band applied with a square mounting and suspending a stylised tassel of three graduating bars, each with a cube terminal inset with a faceted diamond. The ring is offered for sale with the original pen and watercolour drawing annotated by Louis Osman. The ring was included in the OSMAN Exhibition held in May 1974 at Canons Ashby, Northamptonshire and estimated at £2,000-3,000 [lot 342].

Elsewhere in the sale is a rare late 16th century small German silver and ‘lemon’ parcel-gilt beaker, known as ‘monatsbecher’ (‘month beakers’) by Hans Erne of Strasbourg, circa 1580 and engraved with an inscription that translates as ‘The month of May brings magnificent flowers and makes fresh blooms young and old.’

As Frances Noble explains: “These were made in sets of a dozen with one beaker for each month of the year, and used almost exclusively in German-speaking countries. They were fashionable between the early 16th and mid 17th centuries. This example will have been the fifth in a set of twelve. The month of May was associated with courtship and merrymaking and can be seen here in the numerous engraved scenes, including the depiction of figures playing backgammon and drinking in a boat and a courting couple bathing together.” [lot 479].