37 Rolex A highly collectible, rare and important, Metropolitan, automatic wristwatch in steel, with deadbeat seconds, reference 6556.

Estimate: € 20.000 –⁠ 40.000

Launched in 1954, the Rolex reference 6556 stands as one of the brand’s most fascinating and rare mechanical innovations. Known primarily as the “Tru-Beat,” it was designed with healthcare professionals in mind—featuring a dead-beat seconds mechanism that allowed the central seconds hand to tick in exact one-second intervals, making it easier to measure a patient’s pulse. While the Tru-Beat was already produced in small numbers due to limited demand, even fewer examples were fitted with the “Metropolitan” dial—a rare variant believed to have been made exclusively for the U.S. market. These Metropolitan pieces shared the same 35mm Oyster case and caliber 1040 movement as the Tru-Beat but are significantly rarer. The present example is one of those elusive “Metropolitan” variants. Its silver sunburst dial has aged beautifully, showing a warm patina and featuring applied pink gold markers, alpha hands, and the signature red-tipped dead-beat seconds hand. Most importantly, the movement retains its original dead-beat complication—a rarity among surviving examples. Preserved in very good condition, this watch represents a highly collectible piece of Rolex history. Often overlooked, the Metropolitan is now rightly gaining attention as a technical and aesthetic anomaly within the Rolex canon—one that blends innovation, scarcity, and vintage charm.