Rolex unicorn

[Butchh]

Howdy! I only recently became aware of the Rolex Commando. A 34mm hand winder that was only sold at Abercrombie and Fitch and some military px’s. There appears to be some debate about when they were manufactured; some say the late sixties, and others say up until 1972. Does anyone here own one, or has owned one? Thanks...

[MILGAUSS88]

Do not own one, but my understanding was that it was made in 1971-72 only. And just one run. Had not heard of any from the sixties.

[Fire bloke]

https://www.fratellowatches.com/role...orth-the-risk/

[othertbone]

Oy this sounds like a dangerous mistake my friend! If it does exist and is in-fact very rare, then legitimate pieces might appear in a Sotheby's auction, not on eBay from an Italian or Lithuanian seller. (No offense to those countries at all, but you know what I mean)

[padi56]

Originally Posted by Butchh

Howdy! I only recently became aware of the Rolex Commando. A 34mm hand winder that was only sold at Abercrombie and Fitch and some military px’s. There appears to be some debate about when they were manufactured; some say the late sixties, and others say up until 1972. Does anyone here own one, or has owned one? Thanks...

The Rolex Unicorn was made in two versions 15 Jewel and 17 jewel many other names were on Rolex watches back in the 1930 into late 1940s when most all were discontinued except for the Airking.There was the Air Lion,Air Tiger,Air-giant,SpaceDweller,SkyRocket,Speedking,Falcon, Orchid,Observatory, Tridor,Athlete,Commando,Turtle Timer,Canadian,Empire, Oyster Lipton, Rolex Scientific,Rolex Everest,Tudor Advisor,Oyster Junior Sport, Oyster Raleigh, Oyster Commander, Oyster Recorda, Oyster Edison, Oyster Grenfell, Oyster Shipmate and Oyster Standard,and there are a quite a few more that I cannot remember now.In the very early days of Rolex trying to get into the USA market they came across the firm of Abercrombie and Fitch,this was then a store specialising in sportsman's' equipment; whether you wanted to go elephant shooting in Africa, fishing for salmon or trout in Scotland, Abercrombie and Fitch was the place you went for all your equipment. Everything from fishing rods to double barrelled shotguns could be found under their roof. As the sportsman's store they seemed the ideal place to sell the very first oyster watches, which were already building a reputation as the sportsman's watch. It may have seemed the ideal place but it did not work out that way, firstly because Rolex sold the cheaper down-market version of their watches in a high end store, and also because Abercrombie & Fitch did not advertise the watch sufficiently. These Abercrombie & Fitch watches are probably the rarest of all the cushion oysters, in all my life I have only ever seen one; it was signed "Abercrombie and Fitch (Seafarer) on the dial and the case and movement were signed Oyster Watch Company.The case was quite badly pitted because then they were made from a base metal, a chromed zinc material that did not last very long,a bit like the relationship between Rolex and Abercrombie & Fitch.Now Abercrombie & Fitch went on to become the USA distributor for The Swiss Heuer watches, probably more of a sportsman's watch to speak of, being mainly chronograph watches at that time.

[Johny]

Very interesting Peter. Thank you for posting.

[brandrea]

Originally Posted by padi56

The Rolex Unicorn was made in two versions 15 Jewel and 17 jewel many other names were on Rolex watches back in the 1930 into late 1940s when most all were discontinued except for the Airking.There was the Air Lion,Air Tiger,Air-giant,SpaceDweller,SkyRocket,Speedking,Falcon, Orchid,Observatory, Tridor,Athlete,Commando,Turtle Timer,Canadian,Empire, Oyster Lipton, Rolex Scientific,Rolex Everest,Tudor Advisor,Oyster Junior Sport, Oyster Raleigh, Oyster Commander, Oyster Recorda, Oyster Edison, Oyster Grenfell, Oyster Shipmate and Oyster Standard,and there are a quite a few more that I cannot remember now.In the very early days of Rolex trying to get into the USA market they came across the firm of Abercrombie and Fitch,this was then a store specialising in sportsman's' equipment; whether you wanted to go elephant shooting in Africa, fishing for salmon or trout in Scotland, Abercrombie and Fitch was the place you went for all your equipment. Everything from fishing rods to double barrelled shotguns could be found under their roof. As the sportsman's store they seemed the ideal place to sell the very first oyster watches, which were already building a reputation as the sportsman's watch. It may have seemed the ideal place but it did not work out that way, firstly because Rolex sold the cheaper down-market version of their watches in a high end store, and also because Abercrombie & Fitch did not advertise the watch sufficiently. These Abercrombie & Fitch watches are probably the rarest of all the cushion oysters, in all my life I have only ever seen one; it was signed "Abercrombie and Fitch (Seafarer) on the dial and the case and movement were signed Oyster Watch Company.The case was quite badly pitted because then they were made from a base metal, a chromed zinc material that did not last very long,a bit like the relationship between Rolex and Abercrombie & Fitch.Now Abercrombie & Fitch went on to become the USA distributor for The Swiss Heuer watches, probably more of a sportsman's watch to speak of, being mainly chronograph watches at that time.

Thank you Peter, great information

[Futuristic]

Thanks for posting

[Butchh]

Originally Posted by padi56

The Rolex Unicorn was made in two versions 15 Jewel and 17 jewel many other names were on Rolex watches back in the 1930 into late 1940s when most all were discontinued except for the Airking.There was the Air Lion,Air Tiger,Air-giant,SpaceDweller,SkyRocket,Speedking,Falcon, Orchid,Observatory, Tridor,Athlete,Commando,Turtle Timer,Canadian,Empire, Oyster Lipton, Rolex Scientific,Rolex Everest,Tudor Advisor,Oyster Junior Sport, Oyster Raleigh, Oyster Commander, Oyster Recorda, Oyster Edison, Oyster Grenfell, Oyster Shipmate and Oyster Standard,and there are a quite a few more that I cannot remember now.In the very early days of Rolex trying to get into the USA market they came across the firm of Abercrombie and Fitch,this was then a store specialising in sportsman's' equipment; whether you wanted to go elephant shooting in Africa, fishing for salmon or trout in Scotland, Abercrombie and Fitch was the place you went for all your equipment. Everything from fishing rods to double barrelled shotguns could be found under their roof. As the sportsman's store they seemed the ideal place to sell the very first oyster watches, which were already building a reputation as the sportsman's watch. It may have seemed the ideal place but it did not work out that way, firstly because Rolex sold the cheaper down-market version of their watches in a high end store, and also because Abercrombie & Fitch did not advertise the watch sufficiently. These Abercrombie & Fitch watches are probably the rarest of all the cushion oysters, in all my life I have only ever seen one; it was signed "Abercrombie and Fitch (Seafarer) on the dial and the case and movement were signed Oyster Watch Company.The case was quite badly pitted because then they were made from a base metal, a chromed zinc material that did not last very long,a bit like the relationship between Rolex and Abercrombie & Fitch.Now Abercrombie & Fitch went on to become the USA distributor for The Swiss Heuer watches, probably more of a sportsman's watch to speak of, being mainly chronograph watches at that time.

Thank you Peter! Very good information!!!

[Scatpackace]

Originally Posted by Butchh

Howdy! I only recently became aware of the Rolex Commando. A 34mm hand winder that was only sold at Abercrombie and Fitch and some military px’s. There appears to be some debate about when they were manufactured; some say the late sixties, and others say up until 1972. Does anyone here own one, or has owned one? Thanks...

[fskywalker]

Originally Posted by padi56

The Rolex Unicorn was made in two versions 15 Jewel and 17 jewel many other names were on Rolex watches back in the 1930 into late 1940s when most all were discontinued except for the Airking.There was the Air Lion,Air Tiger,Air-giant,SpaceDweller,SkyRocket,Speedking,Falcon, Orchid,Observatory, Tridor,Athlete,Commando,Turtle Timer,Canadian,Empire, Oyster Lipton, Rolex Scientific,Rolex Everest,Tudor Advisor,Oyster Junior Sport, Oyster Raleigh, Oyster Commander, Oyster Recorda, Oyster Edison, Oyster Grenfell, Oyster Shipmate and Oyster Standard,and there are a quite a few more that I cannot remember now.In the very early days of Rolex trying to get into the USA market they came across the firm of Abercrombie and Fitch,this was then a store specialising in sportsman's' equipment; whether you wanted to go elephant shooting in Africa, fishing for salmon or trout in Scotland, Abercrombie and Fitch was the place you went for all your equipment. Everything from fishing rods to double barrelled shotguns could be found under their roof. As the sportsman's store they seemed the ideal place to sell the very first oyster watches, which were already building a reputation as the sportsman's watch. It may have seemed the ideal place but it did not work out that way, firstly because Rolex sold the cheaper down-market version of their watches in a high end store, and also because Abercrombie & Fitch did not advertise the watch sufficiently. These Abercrombie & Fitch watches are probably the rarest of all the cushion oysters, in all my life I have only ever seen one; it was signed "Abercrombie and Fitch (Seafarer) on the dial and the case and movement were signed Oyster Watch Company.The case was quite badly pitted because then they were made from a base metal, a chromed zinc material that did not last very long,a bit like the relationship between Rolex and Abercrombie & Fitch.Now Abercrombie & Fitch went on to become the USA distributor for The Swiss Heuer watches, probably more of a sportsman's watch to speak of, being mainly chronograph watches at that time.

Thanks for sharing Peter !


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[Avs Fan]

Originally Posted by Scatpackace

Looks like a president bracelet which would make it even more of a unicorn.