The Rolex Speedking: The Little Affordable Vintage Rolex
For almost three decades, the most basic men’s watch in the Rolex catalog was the Speedking. With a manual-wind movement and a modest 30mm size, the Speedking was offered as a no-frills workhorse from about 1941-1970. Speedkings have waterproof Oyster cases with screwdown crowns, and with very few exceptions, they’re stainless steel. And they were one of the first watches with Mercedes hands. Here’s a quick guide to the oft-overlooked Rolex Speedking.
What Led Up to the Rolex Speedking?
You’ll often hear that the Rolex Speedking debuted sometime around 1935, which is when Rolex ambassador Malcolm Campbell broke the land speed record and became the first person to reach 300mph in a car. He did it while wearing a Rolex Oyster, and Rolex did name a model after him–the Rolex-Precision Campbell. There was also a little-known “Speed” model released in the 1930’s, but Rolex’s Campbell-themed advertising always mentioned, simply, the “Rolex Oyster.” I can’t find any proof that the Speedking is directly tied to Campbell, nor can I find reliable evidence that Speedkings were around before 1941.
Old vintage watch dials often get used in whatever case fits them, so you might see a Speedking dial in a random reference or two from the 1930s, and it’s definitely possible a few Speedking models were trickling out then. But at the very least, we can be confident that any serious amount of Speedking production began in the 1940s with the 2280 and 4220 models.
When the Rolex Oyster first debuted in 1926, that was its whole name. Rolex Oyster. When the Oyster Perpetual added an auto-winding rotor five years later, that was the new top dog. The plain old “Rolex Oyster” moniker lived on as the cheaper manual-wind option, and by the late 1930’s Rolex was toying with “Rolex Oyster Royal” as an entry-level model name, along with Royalite and a handful of others. Canadian-market Rolex watches got particularly crazy with the amount of short-lived redundant model names.
Early on, Speedkings and Royals were both 30mm, but by the late 1940s the manual-wind entry-level Rolex lineup began to crystallize a bit: the Royal became 32mm, the Speedking stayed 30mm, and random obscure names like Firefly, Drake and Ellsworth were abandoned. Cushion-case models like the Army, Clive and Viceroy, along with the straight-lug Athlete, also faded away by the late 1940s. This left the Speedking alone as the smallest men’s Rolex in the catalog (although 30mm is generally considered a woman’s size today).
Early Speedkings (Mercedes Hands, California Dials)
Sometime around 1941, which is the year Rolex submitted a patent application for what we now call the “California Dial” (a half-Roman numeral dial officially known as the “Error-Proof Dial”), lots of Mercedes hands began to appear on Rolex watches like the Oyster, Oyster Perpetual, Athlete, and especially Speedking. Mercedes hands had first appeared in 1937 on the 3346 Centregraph/Zerographe but they weren’t firmly established in the Rolex lineup yet. Early Mercedes hands are blued, with a tapered minute hand with a fully lumed triangular tip. All California dials (or at least the vast majority) have these blued Mercedes hands, although not all blued Mercedes hands came on California dials.
If you like the look of a generously lumed dial with Mercedes hands, stick to 1940s Speedkings–but be aware that the radiation might not be negligible. Radium is no joke. Fortunately, the radium lume on many hands has already been removed or replaced, but the dials largely remain in circulation.
Evolution of the Speedking
While most early Speedkings had Mercedes hands or pencil hands, alpha hands would become the standard by 1950, around the same time California dials were discontinued. As WW2 faded into the past, well-lumed hour numerals were replaced with modest stick markers.
Overall, the Speedking didn’t change much during its three-decade run, but there were some tweaks, like the debut of the famous Oyster bracelet in 1948. Originally, all Speedkings came on leather straps, and leather remained a factory option for years.
Rolex Speedking Bracelet and Strap Guide
| Bracelet/Strap | Years | Endlinks | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leather Strap | 1941–1966 | N/A | Factory-issued leather straps (calfskin, lizard) |
| 6636 | 1948–1961 | 62 | Stretchy rivet Oyster (spring-loaded, expandable links) |
| 7205 | 1959–1967 | 62 | Fixed rivet Oyster (non-expandable, sturdier design) |
| 7834 | 1967–1970 | 261 | Folded-link Oyster (flat, lightweight design) |
There were three movement updates during the Speedking’s run, including an increase in beat rate from 5 beats per second to 6 beats per second when the Caliber 1220 debuted around 1964. Also, the optional center seconds hand (that was originally a paid upgrade over a seconds subdial) became standard around 1950.
Visual Changes
An engine-turned bezel option appeared in the mid-1950s with ref. 6421 (and later 6431). Then in about 1962, Rolex started using tritium-based lume instead of radium-based lume. Alpha hands were replaced by the now-familiar stick/baton hands in the mid-1960s, and ultimately the Speedking was gone by 1970.
The vast majority of Speedking dials are silver, but some are black or champagne. Rolex used multiple dial suppliers back then so there are innumerable minor variations. Despite spending over a quarter-century as a cornerstone of the Rolex catalog, the Speedking never appeared in a single print advertisement to my knowledge.
Chart of Rolex Speedking References
| Reference | Caliber | Approximate Years of Production | Bezel Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2280 | Hunter 10 1/2”’ | 1941-1944 | Smooth |
| 4220 | Caliber 710 or 700 (small seconds) | 1941-1947 | Smooth |
| 5020 | Caliber 710 or 700 (small seconds) | 1947-1950 | Smooth (available in two-tone) |
| 5056 | Caliber 710 or 700 (small seconds) | 1947-1950 | Smooth |
| 6056 | Caliber 710 | 1950-1953 | Smooth |
| 6020 | Caliber 710 | 1950–1953 | Smooth |
| 6220 | Caliber 710 or 740 | 1953-1955 | Smooth |
| 6420 | Caliber 1210 | 1955–1962 | Smooth |
| 6418 | Caliber 1210 | 1955–1962 | Smooth (Gold-plated) |
| 6421 | Caliber 1210 | 1955–1962 | Engine-turned |
| 6430 | Caliber 1210 or 1220 | 1962–1970 | Smooth |
| 6431 | Caliber 1210 or 1220 | 1962–1970 | Engine-turned |
| 4365 (Speedking Elegant) | Hunter 10 1/2”’ | 1946 | Smooth |
Size
Rolex Speedking models are all 30mm wide (give or take–you might see some listed as 29mm or 31mm), measuring about 10mm thick and 36mm lug to lug. Lug width is 17mm. That excludes the rare Speedking Elegant (ref. 4365), which is 33mm in diameter and has a 19mm lug width.
Gold Rolex Speedking Models
Almost every single Rolex Speedking is stainless steel, but rare solid gold models can be found occasionally, both in 14k and 18k gold, like this 6420 from the 1950’s:
Also, ref. 6418 is a gold-plated Rolex Speedking reference. Some people are under the impression that Rolex never made gold-plated watches, but they most certainly did–just never sports models.
Rolex Speedking Price
The Rolex Speedking is an old and small entry-level Rolex, so it’s about as cheap as Rolexes get. When people ask if you can get a Rolex under $1,000, well, you can probably find a Speedking that comes close. $1,300-$2,500 is the approximate price you can expect to pay for a typical Rolex Speedking. Expect to pay more for a California dial, a gold case, or a legendary Kew A-certified movement. Although 30mm watches aren’t typically worn by men today, a Rolex Speedking can be a fun part of anyone’s vintage watch collection.
Leave a Reply