Rolex Veriflat Oyster Precision | 6512 | yellow gold

The Rolex Veriflat was created in 1954, complementing the ‘Oyster’ line by offering a sports-type dress watch with distinguishable elegance and sophistication. Rolex having only explored ‘ultra-slim’ territory for a short period, the Veriflat ref. 6512 is highly-coveted amongst collectors, thanks to its style and rarity. 

The watch’s scarcity results from its brief production history, limited to the years between 1955 and 1962. The Oyster ‘sports’ case means that the 6512 is more reliable and robust than its rivals, like a classic Piaget or Jaeger-LeCoultre from the same period. To this, you add its undeniable, classic charm, with refined proportions, and you have arguably the most attractive Rolex dress watch ever-made. 

The "Veriflat" trademark was registered in 1954, after a hiatus in the supply of sports-type dress watches, with the benefit of water-resistance. However, production always remained limited, partly due to its high price point, and inflated by its exclusivity in precious metal. 

It is in fact the thinnest Oyster case Rolex ever released, at a mere 9 mm. To achieve this, this was ingeniously engineered and fitted with a water-resistant, knurled and recessed case-back, resulting in a completely flat surface. That way, the watch would retain the screw-down crown, as well as the ‘Oyster’s’ enhanced robustness, the latter being a rare feature amongst slim dress watches. 

Reliability was further increased by the use of the in-house, manual-winding calibre 1000, produced for only a single year in 1955. Derived from the earlier Cal. 1030, it was to include a subsidiary-seconds register at six o’clock, while the rotor-module was removed. This turned the Cal. 1000 into a manual-winding movement, in order to guarantee its slenderness at only 3.45 mm. 

The Cal. 1000 is a very high-grade Precision movement, rhodium-plated with "oeil-de-perdrix" decoration, and adjusted to temperature and 5 positions. It has 18 jewels, a straight-line lever escapement, self-compensating Breguet balance-spring and shock-absorbency, achieved through the monometallic balance. In short, the very finest of Rolex’s in-house offering.

This Rolex Veriflat 6512 was imported into Scotland in 1962, as the Glasgow import-mark confirms. With a 34 mm yellow-gold case and the sunburst-finish of the gold-tone dial, it feels classically proportioned. With elongated, applied, yellow-gold hour markers and ‘PRECISION’ subtly referenced above the concentric circular machining of the sub-seconds counter, this gives the watch a timeless look.

Rolex ceased production of the Verilfat in the 1960s, thus – together with the Verislim – it remained relatively unknown amongst the numerous Rolex references. And with production of similar models, abandoned with the growing popularity of automatic sports watches, the ref. 6512 remains not only the most-subtle Oyster watch, but also a particularly rare one. As the company once branded it as what "the elegant man chooses it for his evening dress", neither the Veriflat’s ageless elegance, nor its prestige or high value, has faded.

Viewings can be arranged in Central London by appointment.