The term "barn find", just like "New Old Stock" or "mint", can often be overused in the world of vintage watches. In the case of the present watch, we indeed have a true "barn find", or rather, a Goodwill find. Discovered in a bag of assorted watches in a Goodwill store in July 2018, this reference 3668 survived almost eighty years of existence to end up being discovered by an astute connoisseur. Luckily, this watch was recognized for its outstanding quality and is now being offered publicly for the first time.

Documented in literature, but rarely seen on the open market, the reference 3668 is amongst Rolex’s earliest Oyster chronographs – alongside the well-known and highly coveted reference 3525. The 3668 differs from the 3525 with its unusual precious metal bezel, thus far documented only in pink or yellow gold. The first Oyster chronographs were released in the late 1930s, when the Second World War was ramping up in Europe, and they never attained much popularity with the public. In fact, only about thirty examples of the 3668 are believed to have been produced, making this an incredibly rare and fascinating reference. Pucci Papaleo, in his monolith publication I Cronografi Rolex – La Leggenda, comments that this specific type of reeded bezel, with circular and rectangular hour markers, is usually seen on the "Ovetto" or "Bubbleback" type watches, such as the reference 3372.

The dial is much more familiar, closely resembling that of the reference 3525, and combining both a tachymeter and telemeter scale. The dial itself is a lovely rose color, almost matching in hue to the pink gold bezel. The boldly printed inner dial and numerals, coupled with the sharp blued steel handset, make the dial both immensely charming and highly legible.

Only a handful of reference 3668s have surfaced publicly in recent history, and very few in as stunning original condition as the present example. And to the best of our knowledge, none have been discovered at a local thrift shop. The present watch offers the unique opportunity to own a truly fresh-to-the-market timepiece that adds a small link in the DNA chain of early Rolex Oyster chronograph history.