

PROPERTY OF THE ORIGINAL FAMILY
Another important detail to note on this particular watch is the sigma dial, denoted by the Greek letters at 6. The introduction of these was at this time when the production of quartz movements was becoming increasingly concerning to watch brands. Consequently, several manufacturers worked together to form, l’Association pour la Promotion Industrielle de l’Or. These manufacturers fought hard to promote the importance of gold parts alongside watchmaking techniques and to therefore flag a standard of superior quality. At that time, it didn’t really have the impact on the market that they desired sadly, but it did produce an interesting subtle collectible variant of this reference.
The present lot is offered on behalf of the original family. It was bought by R. Eade who successfully completed an engineering apprenticeship in east London before joining the army in August 1972. He was a member of REME - the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers - and served in both the UK and overseas. Ray was attached to the Army Air Corp for much of his time and worked with helicopters. He was posted to Belize, Central America in February 1975 and, as a 25th birthday present to himself, bought a Rolex watch on 1st April, 1975. This was a particularly happy time in R. Eade's life; he was living and working in a tropical climate while fishing for barracuda in the Carribean at the weekends! R. left the army with an "Exemplary" discharge in April 1978. He was always very proud of his time in the army and was particularly pleased to have such a fantastic watch as a momento of that time. The original Guarantee accompanying the watch testifies how important his military career was to him as it bears, "British forces" next to his name.