Vintage Rolex Orchid Ladies' 18ct Gold Bracelet Watch | 1965

An exceptional vintage Rolex Orchid ladies’ watch, dating to 1965 and crafted in solid 18ct yellow gold with its beautifully textured integrated gold bracelet.

The Rolex Orchid represents a particularly elegant chapter in the brand’s history, when its smallest ladies’ watches were designed as pieces of fine jewellery as much as timepieces. This example captures that beautifully, with a petite round case flowing directly into a substantial, intricately textured gold bracelet.

The warm champagne dial is signed Rolex Orchid, with the applied Rolex coronet at 12, slender gold baton hour markers and matching gold-tone hands. Surrounding the dial is a beautifully faceted crystal, which catches the light around the edge and gives the tiny watch an almost jewel-like appearance.

Measuring approximately 15mm across the face, the proportions are wonderfully petite, but the integrated bracelet gives the watch considerably more presence on the wrist. Its richly textured construction creates an almost woven appearance, reflecting the light differently with every movement.

Crafted in solid 18ct yellow gold, the watch has an impressive overall gross weight of approximately 30.4 grams, making this a particularly substantial example of a vintage Rolex ladies’ jewellery watch.

The bracelet is suitable for a wrist of approximately 16–16.5cm and is additionally fitted with a safety chain, a lovely period detail which also provides an additional level of security when worn.

The watch has been fully serviced and is ready to wear.

Particularly special is the accompanying Rolex certificate of guarantee, recording a purchase date in 1965. Original documentation is increasingly uncommon with watches of this age and makes this a much more complete and appealing example for a collector.

Supplied with its original certificate of guarantee and a Rolex pouch.

A beautiful marriage of jewellery and traditional Swiss watchmaking, and a wonderfully preserved example of the tiny gold watches Rolex created for women during the 1960s.