Rolex 1040

The Rolex Caliber 1040 was a pioneering movement from the 1950s, representing Rolex’s successful effort to engineer its advanced automatic winding technology into a smaller form factor for its ladies’ watch collections. As a member of the 10xx family, it incorporated the same highly efficient, bi-directional “Perpetual” winding mechanism with red anodized reversing wheels that was introduced in the larger men’s calibers like the 1030. The 1040 was a time-only movement, focusing on precision and reliability, and many examples were submitted for and received chronometer certification. This caliber allowed Rolex to offer women’s Oyster Perpetual models with the same self-winding convenience and reputation for accuracy as the men’s versions, a significant step in establishing the brand’s comprehensive market presence. It was produced for approximately a decade before being succeeded by the 11xx series of ladies’ movements in the mid-1960s.