Rolex Oyster Rivet Made in England bracelet

[alwayshere]

Recently picked this up locally - its a WAB special Made in England stretch rivet bracelet. Its made its way to Australia over its life.

I have found a little bit of background to these WAB bracelets but they are seldom seen. Stretch still works well. I'll need to find another endlink (one of these have been replaced).

Hopefully this helps others who have found a potential "fake" Rolex bracelet but luckily didn't throw them out. The WAB ones are genuine.

[CTech]

The WAB bracelets are a fascinating part of Rolex history but unfortunately there is little information about them and so few of them about that it is difficult to track all the variations of these bracelets.

The stamps on the clasp blades come in several different versions and designs but they all have some permutation of Rolex, Made in England and WAB. Some have both the Rolex stamp and a WAB stamp and others have only one of those two.

This one has no Rolex stamp on the blade although it has a Rolex outer clasp, and that combination is often thought to indicate the bracelet was not originally designed to be sold attached to a watch but rather sold as a later accessory for a Rolex.

Others that have the Rolex stamp but no WAB stamp are thought to have been sold attached to a watch as Rolex did not want to show a maker's mark but were happy to have it marked as Rolex Made in England.

I don't think anybody knows for certain why there are these differences, but it is believed that Rolex UK, probably in Bexley, assembled the watch head and bracelet for watches to be sold in the UK, military outlets and some overseas territories so it is possible that they had bracelets specifically marked for this purpose, and that those bracelets had stamps that were different from the bracelets sent to jewelers as replacements or aftermarket fitments.

With respect to this particular bracelet, I've never seen a WAB stretch rivet Oyster bracelet with original curved end pieces. That's not to say they don't exist, but the only ones I have ever seen had the older straight end links, basically just a straight tube. There are many WAB bracelets around that originally had straight end links that have been modified so that the more modern curved end pieces could be fitted, but you can usually identify these where the end link tubes have been cut to reduce the width to fit inside an end piece.

The original WAB curved end pieces are generally marked with either REG and a long number or R.D. and a long number. This is the Registered Design number allocated to WAB and if this is not present on the underside of the end pieces then it is another indication that the bracelet might have been modified so that Rolex or aftermarket curved end pieces could be used.

[alwayshere]

Originally Posted by CTech

The WAB bracelets are a fascinating part of Rolex history but unfortunately there is little information about them and so few of them about that it is difficult to track all the variations of these bracelets.

The stamps on the clasp blades come in several different versions and designs but they all have some permutation of Rolex, Made in England and WAB. Some have both the Rolex stamp and a WAB stamp and others have only one of those two.

This one has no Rolex stamp on the blade although it has a Rolex outer clasp, and that combination is often thought to indicate the bracelet was not originally designed to be sold attached to a watch but rather sold as a later accessory for a Rolex.

Others that have the Rolex stamp but no WAB stamp are thought to have been sold attached to a watch as Rolex did not want to show a maker's mark but were happy to have it marked as Rolex Made in England.

I don't think anybody knows for certain why there are these differences, but it is believed that Rolex UK, probably in Bexley, assembled the watch head and bracelet for watches to be sold in the UK, military outlets and some overseas territories so it is possible that they had bracelets specifically marked for this purpose, and that those bracelets had stamps that were different from the bracelets sent to jewelers as replacements or aftermarket fitments.

With respect to this particular bracelet, I've never seen a WAB stretch rivet Oyster bracelet with original curved end pieces. That's not to say they don't exist, but the only ones I have ever seen had the older straight end links, basically just a straight tube. There are many WAB bracelets around that originally had straight end links that have been modified so that the more modern curved end pieces could be fitted, but you can usually identify these where the end link tubes have been cut to reduce the width to fit inside an end piece.

The original WAB curved end pieces are generally marked with either REG and a long number or R.D. and a long number. This is the Registered Design number allocated to WAB and if this is not present on the underside of the end pieces then it is another indication that the bracelet might have been modified so that Rolex or aftermarket curved end pieces could be used.

Thanks for the input C.

I have seen the straight end links you describe before and I agree, these definitely have been modified. One of them has 61 on the end but in any case both have been modified to fit.

I wasn't aware of the blade combinations (other than the fact that the engravings have variation) re: rolex and no rolex. Thats interesting.

Again, thanks for this. Very helpful.

[TuRo]

Originally Posted by alwayshere

Thanks for the input C.

I have seen the straight end links you describe before and I agree, these definitely have been modified. One of them has 61 on the end but in any case both have been modified to fit.

I wasn't aware of the blade combinations (other than the fact that the engravings have variation) re: rolex and no rolex. Thats interesting.

Again, thanks for this. Very helpful.

Stampings look good. You’ve probably got some other stuff as well as CTech, but this might be of use.

Wilsdorfs pal from his days when in UK - Oscar Winters UK outfit WATCH ACCESSORIES of BIRMINGHAM.

Mike wood link here https://www.rolexforums.com/archive/.../t-414186.html

[Snowballs]

Fascinating information. Thanks for sharing!