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
• Year 1957
• Reference 5500
• Case Material stainess steel
• Case Number 285889
• Bracelet Material leather strap
• Movement 1530
• Movement Number 95059
• Dimension 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.