The Most Important Rolex Just Sold for $1.73 Million

Nearly a century after Mercedes Gleitze wore a gold Rolex Oyster into the freezing English Channel, the watch has entered a new chapter. Gleitze’s famous Oyster from her 1927 “Vindication Swim” sold for $1.73 million to an Asian private collector, according to Robb Report. That price exceeded expectations, but the real surprise (for me) was who didn’t win it.

Rolex — a company that has spent the last several years quietly reclaiming its most historically significant watches — passed on Gleitze’s Oyster.

Why This Watch Matters

The Gleitze Oyster validated Rolex’s most important technical breakthrough: the Oyster case introduced in 1926. At the time, a truly “waterproof” wristwatch bordered on unbelievable. Hans Wilsdorf needed a dramatic proof of concept, and Gleitze provided it.

During her October 1927 attempt to re-swim the English Channel for “vindication,” she wore this exact 27 mm gold Oyster on a necklace. The conditions were brutal. After ten hours in near-freezing water, she abandoned the swim, but the watch hadn’t missed a beat. Wilsdorf immediately turned the moment into full-page advertisements, declaring that a Rolex “kept perfect time after ten hours in the Channel.” Gleitze became Rolex’s first “testimonee,” decades before the modern ambassador playbook existed.

That single event pushed Rolex from clever engineering to public credibility. The Submariner, Explorer, GMT-Master — every modern Oyster-cased Rolex — traces its DNA back to this moment. The caseback inscription on this watch records that moment directly. It is one of the earliest surviving pieces of documentation from Rolex’s transition into a company defined by engineering reliability and public proof.

How Sotheby’s Positioned the Auction

Sotheby’s promoted the watch as a “brand-defining item,” and the estimate reflected that approach: more than £900,000, or about $1.3 million. That range fits the way Sotheby’s often handles historically significant pieces. Compared to Phillips, which frequently sets lower estimates to encourage bidding momentum, Sotheby’s tends to use higher estimates to establish cultural weight, relevance, and hype. For this sale, the message was clear. The Gleitze Oyster represents the origin point of Rolex’s identity, and Sotheby’s framed it accordingly.

What Happened in the Room

Image Source: Hodinkee

When the Gleitze watch last appeared publicly in 2000, it sold for just over £17,000. After that, it went quiet. It did not surface in museum exhibitions or Rolex publications, and no collector publicly claimed ownership. The watch returned to view only when Sotheby’s secured it again for this sale, complete with Gleitze’s 1927 letter confirming authenticity.

Bidding quickly passed the estimate. Sotheby’s does not name underbidders, but given Rolex’s recent acquisition pattern, it is reasonable to assume they participated. The company has recently bought other historically important watches, including Pan Am pilot Clarence Warren Jr.’s GMT-Master 6542 and an early Milgauss 6541. Those pieces are significant in their own right but represent later chapters in the brand’s story. The Gleitze Oyster sits at the very beginning.

What This Means for the Vintage Rolex Market

The result does not affect the broader vintage Rolex landscape. Watches produced in large numbers — classic Datejusts, early five-digit sports models, and other well-known references — follow their own supply-and-demand cycle.

The Gleitze Oyster belongs to a smaller category: historically significant vintage tied directly to Rolex’s development as a company. These watches operate in a different price environment, one shaped by provenance, documentation, and cultural influence more than reference numbers or rarity alone.

Ninety-Eight Years Later, the Story Still Matters

Mercedes Gleitze entered the Channel in 1927 with an experimental waterproof watch designed to prove an idea. Nearly a century later, that same watch crossed a Sotheby’s stage and reached $1.73 million, supported by the original letter that confirmed its role.

Rolex did not add it to its archive, but the significance of the watch remains unchanged. The Gleitze Oyster shaped the brand’s identity in real time, and the market now values that history at a level that reflects its place in the Rolex story.

Images Source: Sotheby's (unless otherwise stated)