197 Rolex A remarkable Rolex Metropolitan Super Precision, reference 5500 in stainless steel with wonderful cream patina dial

Estimate: €10,000 –⁠ 20,000

Model: Metropolitan
Material: stainess steel
Reference N°: 5500
Year: 1957
Case N°: 285889
Caliber: 1530
Movement N°: 95059
Bracelet: leather strap
Dimensions: 34 mm

Commonly a single nickname is provided to the watches that make their recognizability easier and immediate, but once again Rolex has managed to amaze having created an example on whose dials different names have been inscribed. I’m speaking about the reference 5500, whose production began in 1957, and on which we can alternatively find the name Air King, Explorer, Everest or, like the present lot, Metropolitan. This last wording is already, in itself, one of the rarest to find, even more if we consider the perfect condition in which it was preserved and the attractive patina that has been created over time. A further rarity is the unusual applied indexes with an elongated hexagonal shape with still visible original rhodium. Furthermore, it is not difficult to find dials with special customizations dedicated to important brands such as Coca Cola or Domino’s (please see lot N 9 in this catalogue), but nothing is comparable with the purity and perfection of a clean quadrangle like the one present.