1950 Rolex Gobbi Metropolitan

Item Description

Rolex 1950 Metropolitan Gobbi 18-carat pink gold gent's chronometer wristwatch, manual wind, timed 6 positions, 18 jewel, 35mm dial, cream dial with black and gold paint indices, blued leaf hands, subsidiary seconds dial. Later, a black leather strap with a gold-plated clasp. 

In 2024, RWB Auctions sold an impressive 1950 Rolex Metropolitan, which went under the hammer as lot 57 in an extensive Antiques and Interiors sale. The premium 18-carat timepiece, featuring a dial signed by the esteemed watch retailer Gobbi of Milano (Gobbi 1842), was a highlight, securing an above-estimate hammer price of £2,800. 

Double-signed watches are a popular and exclusive area of interest for collectors and enthusiasts, so it is important to know what signed watches are and how to judge their value when selling one. Read on if your watch's dial features an additional signature, or if double-signed watches - especially Gobbi editions - interest you as a collector.

What Are Double-Signed Watches?

Fundamentally speaking, double-signed watches feature the names of both the manufacturer and the retailer on the dial. And, crucially, only respected, authorised dealers are permitted to 'double-sign' their name on these collectable pieces, such as Gobbi 1842, signing watches for Rolex and, notably, Patek Philippe. Tiffany & Co is another major name in the  practice of signing, which has signed watches for prestigious makers such as IWC

Of course, it is not only Gobbi 1842 and Tiffany and Co. which have delved into the practice of double-signing. The likes of Asprey and Beyer place these historic retailers in fine company. Our timepiece experts can help you learn more about the maker and retailer present on the dial of your double-sided watch.

Gobbi 1842: A Brief History

Gobbi 1842, over 60 years before Rolex was founded, began life in the Italian city of Modena. Here, Raimondo Gobbi established the retailer as a well-known luxury watch and jewellery dealer, building the business until his death. In 1896, his son Giuseppe moved the Gobbi business to Milan, where it cemented its place as a watch seller of wide renown.

The Second World War, though, was almost ruinous for the Gobbi family as the shop was levelled by bombing. Following this, in 1949, the Gobbi name returned to Milan, opening a stunning location on the Corso Vittorio Emanuele II shopping street. The 1950 Rolex Metropolitan, complete with the Gobbi signature, is therefore an example of Gobbi 1842's post-war offering, signed and released in the year after its iconic headquarters opened.

In its heyday, close relationships with Rolex and Patek Philippe spoke to Gobbi's prestige and favoured status among the world's top houses of horology. In the case of Rolex, spared from the bombing due to its base in Geneva and emerging from a period of military watch production, alignment with retailers such as Gobbi helped it reframe its brand for peacetime through effectively marketing new releases.

After the war and its triumphant reopening, Gobbi 1842 continued to trade for decades - celebrating its 175-year anniversary in 2017. However, by 2020, the Gobbi brand ceased operations. Still, its name is associated with fine watches, not least because it is inscribed on the dials of many historic timepieces.

Historic Importance Of Watch Retailers

An understanding of the prestigious history of Gobbi allows us to explore the expanded role of watch retailers in the period leading up to the advent of the double-sided watch.

The 1950 Rolex sold at RWB Auctions is a fine example of the iconic Metropolitan chronometer. With a clean, businesslike dial and 18-carat rose gold case, this 35mm gentleman's watch is impressive in its own right. Today, the name Rolex is naturally synonymous with luxury, history, and Swiss watchmaking excellence. However, back in the early to mid 1900s, there was a player in the timepiece industry of equal or greater importance than the manufacturer: the retailer. Milan's Gobbi 1842 is a fantastic example of one such luxury watch retailer.

To understand the emergence of double-signed watches, we need to get inside the head of a watch buyer in the early 1900s. In this period, a third-party retailer such as Gobbi had to be trusted and reputable, and the decision about where to purchase a valuable timepiece was simply a central one.

So, in a time before manufacturers such as Rolex opened their self-run shops, the relationship between a watchmaker and watchseller was key. The best retailers rose to the top by earning clients' trust, which led to their logos becoming associated with excellence and prestige. This drove high-value customers to their doors; people wanted their watch to come from a particular outfit and talk about it, too. Here we arrive at the beginning - the inevitability, even, of the double-sided watch.

The Birth Of Double-Signed Watches

Given their elevated position in the watch industry, the natural next step for watch dealers was to 'sign' the dials of watches they sold as a symbol of their close relationship with the manufacturer, and to set their wares apart from other retailers. This is where the double-signed watch originated: by adding value to the timepiece through signing it with a prestigious name, granting the watch physical provenance by enriching the dial itself. 

Watchmakers were pleased with this arrangement, as double-signed pieces aligned their (perhaps obscure) Swiss brand with that of the sophisticated watch buyer's favoured retailer. The advent of double-sided watches, then, sums up the close relationship between distributors and manufacturers in this period. And when double-signed pieces arrive at auction today, they continue to prove that the dual-inscribed dial remains a strong driver of value and collectability. 

Famous Double-Signed Watches

Maybe the greatest recent example of this sustained value is a piece signed by Gobbi in 1953, just three years after the Milan-based retailer signed the dial of RWB Auctions' Rolex Metropolitan. As highlighted earlier, Christie's sold a breathtaking, Gobbi-signed, Patek Philippe 2523 for $9 million. With this incredible example, sold in 2019, double-signing clearly still sets a watch, however magnificent by itself, apart from the rest. It remains a sign of quality and provenance, and a key indicator of scarcity and value.

Patek Philippe double-signed watches are generally among the most sought-after. While the above edition was signed by Gobbi, Tiffany & Co. is most associated with double-signed Pateks. Indeed, the pair are something of a trendsetter in the business of double-signed watches; examples that come up for auction are sure to draw buyers' attention.

What Are Double-Signed Watches Worth?

The value of a double-signed watch can be significantly higher than a standard, unsigned example of the same watch. Navigating a potential sale of a historic timepiece like a Gobbi Rolex Metropolitan can be difficult, as reaching potential buyers with a special interest in double-signed pieces is a challenge. 

However, there are more factors which drive watch valuations than the presence (or not) of a retailer's signature. These include:

- The value of precious metal in the composition (for example, a gold or silver case)

- The quality of the mechanical movement (also known as 'complication')

- Your watch's history of ownership and provenance

- Maker prestige and model rarity

- Changing dynamics and demand in the global watch market

At RWB Auctions, our team is knowledgeable on both sides of the historic watch world: manufacturers and retailers. As covered above, when the two meet on the face of a dial, that could spell significant profit for a seller! Our team understands the watch market and will work to determine your watch's value based on the above factors (and more) before a potential trip to the auction block.

Sell A Double-Signed Watch With A Trusted UK Auction House

If you are looking for advice or a valuation regarding a luxury watch, double-signed or not, give our team a call on 01793840777. Alternatively, email RWB Auctions here: office@rwbauctions.com with more information regarding your timepiece.