Admin: Create researched reference article with attributed, inspected Antiquorum images

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Create researched reference article with attributed, inspected Antiquorum images

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{{DISPLAYTITLE:Rolex Oyster 1573}}
{{#seo:
|title=Rolex Oyster 1573 — Manual-Wind Oyster Examples | Rolexopedia
|description=Auction records for the manual-wind Rolex Oyster 1573, with documented steel, gold-bezel and 9ct gold cases, dial variants and movement descriptions.
|keywords=Rolex, Oyster, reference 1573, manual-wind Oyster, Beyer, Dobbies
|image=Ref 1573 hero.webp
|image_alt=Steel Rolex Oyster 1573 with a black BEYER-signed dial and subsidiary seconds
|type=Article
|og_type=article
|robots=index,follow,max-image-preview:large
}}
<small>[[Reference:bubbleback|Pre-Perpetual Oyster]] → '''1573'''</small>

<div class="rp-lead">
[[File:Ref 1573 hero.webp|thumb|center|640px|alt=Steel tonneau-case Rolex Oyster 1573 with black BEYER-signed dial and subsidiary seconds|Antiquorum's Oyster 1573, catalogued in the 1930s. Photo: Antiquorum, lot 42.]]
</div>

The Rolex 1573 is a manually wound Oyster with a tonneau-shaped case and subsidiary seconds. Auction catalogues describe examples from around 1930 through the 1940s, in steel, steel with a gold bezel, and 9ct gold. Bellmans calls one an Oyster Imperial; Private Eyes uses Viceroy for another.

==Core facts==

{| class="wikitable rp-facts"
|-
! Detail
! Value
|-
| Reference
| 1573
|-
| Family
| Manual-wind Oyster
|-
| Documented period
| Around 1930 and the 1930s–1940s; production boundaries unknown
|-
| Display
| Hours, minutes and subsidiary seconds
|-
| Case
| Tonneau or tortue; approximately 28–29 mm wide and 38–39 mm long in catalogues
|-
| Materials
| Steel, steel with gold bezel, 9ct gold
|-
| Movement descriptions
| Extra Prima, Observatory and unnamed 15-jewel movements on separate examples
|}

==Where it sits in the line==

The 1573 pairs a screw-down Oyster case with a hand-wound movement. Bellmans and Private Eyes use the names Imperial and Viceroy for separate 1573 sale examples. The auction record leaves it unclear whether either name marked a distinct production run. [https://app.bellmans.co.uk/en/auction/nov-jewellery-2025-20-november-fine-jewellery-watches?page=12&view=list Bellmans, lot 1566] [https://www.watchnet.co.jp/en/item/view/6446 Private Eyes, A-7174]

==Production outline==

Sotheby's dates its Dobbies example to around 1930. Antiquorum assigns case 57,605 to the 1930s, and Christie's dates a steel watch with movement 9485 to the 1940s. The examples span those years; the reference's first and last production years remain uncertain. [https://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2007/fine-silver-watches-and-jewellery-am1033/lot.176.html Sotheby's, lot 176] [https://catalog.antiquorum.swiss/en/lots/rolex-ref-1573-oyster-lot-361-42 Antiquorum, lot 42] [https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-4403900 Christie's, steel example]

==Movement notes==

Christie's describes the gold watch's Extra Prima movement as having 17 jewels and adjustment to six positions. Sotheby's gives the same jewel count and adjustment for its Dobbies watch. Christie's steel example instead carries an Observatory description and wording that it was officially tested in eight ways. These descriptions belong to separate movements; the catalogues give no common caliber number. [https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-2974060 Christie's, gold example] [https://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2007/fine-silver-watches-and-jewellery-am1033/lot.176.html Sotheby's] [https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-4403900 Christie's, steel example]

Antiquorum lists 15 jewels for its black-dial watch. The photographed movement is marked “15 JEWELS / SWISS MADE”; no caliber number is legible. Private Eyes gives a 9¾ movement for another steel example, a size designation whose relationship to the auction movements remains uncertain. [https://catalog.antiquorum.swiss/en/lots/rolex-ref-1573-oyster-lot-361-42 Antiquorum] [https://www.watchnet.co.jp/en/item/view/6446 Private Eyes]

[[File:Ref 1573 movement.webp|thumb|right|240px|alt=Manual-wind movement marked 15 JEWELS / SWISS MADE|Antiquorum's movement photograph. The plate is marked 15 JEWELS / SWISS MADE. Photo: Antiquorum, lot 42.]]

==Dial map==

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Description
! Documented example
! Qualification
|-
| Matt silvered, Arabic numerals, subsidiary seconds
| Christie's gold case 36,797
| Catalogue description
|-
| Two-tone silvered, Arabic quarter-hour numerals, blued hands
| Christie's steel watch, movement 9485
| Catalogue description
|-
| Glossy black, subsidiary seconds, BEYER signature
| Antiquorum steel case 57,605
| Catalogue description; signature also visible in the lot photograph
|-
| Matte white, luminous Arabic numerals and railway minute track
| Private Eyes A-7174, serial 96,***
| Dealer description; originality is the seller's assessment
|}

The catalogues document these dial variants; their dates give no production sequence. Private Eyes calls the luminous material on A-7174 original, based on its seller assessment. [https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-2974060 Gold example] [https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-4403900 Two-tone dial] [https://catalog.antiquorum.swiss/en/lots/rolex-ref-1573-oyster-lot-361-42 Black dial] [https://www.watchnet.co.jp/en/item/view/6446 White dial]

==Case, bezel, crystal, and crown==

Christie's gives the gold watch's case as 39 × 28 mm and its steel example as 38 × 29 mm. Bellmans records a steel case with gold bezel. Christie's describes screw-down crowns and backs; Sotheby's says the crown on the Dobbies watch may be later. [https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-2974060 Christie's gold watch] [https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-4403900 Christie's steel watch] [https://app.bellmans.co.uk/en/auction/nov-jewellery-2025-20-november-fine-jewellery-watches?page=12&view=list Bellmans] [https://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2007/fine-silver-watches-and-jewellery-am1033/lot.176.html Sotheby's condition report]

Watch CTI describes a separate movement housing inside the case and a screwed bezel and back. Its heading calls the construction three-piece, while its body calls it four-piece. The two counts appear within the same dealer entry. [https://cticorp.jp/?p=44916 Watch CTI, R623]

Antiquorum's case photographs show case number 57,605 on the outside back and the Rolex patent text inside. The inner back also carries a crowned “SAR” stamp. Vintage Watch Straps notes that this mark appears on some Rolex casebacks, but its significance for this watch is not established here. [https://catalog.antiquorum.swiss/en/lots/rolex-ref-1573-oyster-lot-361-42 Antiquorum] [https://www.vintagewatchstraps.com/myrolexpage.php Vintage Watch Straps]

The Time Curator lists mineral glass on its Imperial and interprets its Rolesium material description as steel and platinum. That platinum attribution remains unverified by an assay or a reference-specific factory specification. The listing also leaves the crystal's replacement history unspecified. [https://thetimecurator.com/products/1930s-rolex-oyster-imperial-rare-rolesium-ref-1573-original-rolex-bracelet The Time Curator]

<gallery mode="packed" heights="180">
File:Ref 1573 caseback.webp|Outside back engraved JOHN TAYLOR and case number 57605. Antiquorum, lot 42.
File:Ref 1573 case-inner.webp|Inside back with Rolex patent text and crowned SAR stamp. Antiquorum, lot 42.
</gallery>

==Bracelets, clasps, and packaging==

The surviving fittings have different evidential status. Christie's explicitly calls its steel bracelet associated. Private Eyes labels the Gay Frères bamboo bracelet on A-7174 nonoriginal and gives a 16 mm fixed-lug fitting. A Bonhams description preserved by EveryWatch calls its expandable bracelet later fitted. These are sale-time combinations. [https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-4403900 Christie's] [https://www.watchnet.co.jp/en/item/view/6446 Private Eyes] [https://everywatch.com/rolex/day-date/1573/watch-9147659 Bonhams catalogue text]

Bellmans' Imperial came with a replacement plated Rolex clasp, a nonoriginal box and no papers. The catalogue records the accessories present at sale; it says nothing about the watch's original packaging. [https://www.the-saleroom.com/fr-fr/auction-catalogues/bellmans-auctioneers-and-valuers/catalogue-id-srbe10391/pdfexport Bellmans catalogue, lot 1566]

==Special branches==

Sotheby's attributes its steel example to Dobbies Ltd of Nairobi. The lot documents one retailer-signed 1573; a production total for Dobbies-signed watches is unknown. [https://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2007/fine-silver-watches-and-jewellery-am1033/lot.176.html Sotheby's, lot 176]

==Auction record==

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Sale
! Watch
! Recorded result
|-
| Antiquorum, Hong Kong, 13 June 2023, lot 42
| Steel case 57,605, black dial, back engraved JOHN TAYLOR
| HKD 22,500; premium basis unspecified on the lot page
|-
| Sotheby's, Amsterdam, 2007, lot 176
| Steel Dobbies example
| Result requires sign-in
|-
| Bellmans, 20 November 2025, lot 1566
| Steel and gold-bezel Imperial
| No hammer amount displayed
|}

[https://catalog.antiquorum.swiss/en/lots/rolex-ref-1573-oyster-lot-361-42 Antiquorum] [https://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2007/fine-silver-watches-and-jewellery-am1033/lot.176.html Sotheby's] [https://app.bellmans.co.uk/en/auction/nov-jewellery-2025-20-november-fine-jewellery-watches?page=12&view=list Bellmans]

<gallery mode="packed" heights="180">
File:Ref 1573 hero.webp|Dial signed ROLEX OYSTER and BEYER; subsidiary seconds. Antiquorum, lot 42.
File:Ref 1573 caseback.webp|Outside caseback and case number. Antiquorum, lot 42.
File:Ref 1573 movement.webp|Manual movement marked 15 JEWELS / SWISS MADE. Antiquorum, lot 42.
File:Ref 1573 case-inner.webp|Inner caseback markings. Antiquorum, lot 42.
</gallery>

== Sources ==

* [https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-2974060 "Christie's — 9ct gold Oyster 1573, case 36797", Christie's]
* [https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-4403900 "Christie's — steel Oyster 1573, movement 9485", Christie's]
* [https://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2007/fine-silver-watches-and-jewellery-am1033/lot.176.html "Sotheby's Amsterdam 2007, lot 176 — Dobbies Oyster 1573", Sotheby's]
* [https://catalog.antiquorum.swiss/en/lots/rolex-ref-1573-oyster-lot-361-42 "Antiquorum Hong Kong 13 June 2023, lot 42 — Oyster 1573", Antiquorum]
* [https://app.bellmans.co.uk/en/auction/nov-jewellery-2025-20-november-fine-jewellery-watches?page=12&view=list "Bellmans 20 November 2025, lot 1566 — Oyster Imperial 1573", Bellmans]
* [https://www.watchnet.co.jp/en/item/view/6446 "Private Eyes / Watchnet — Oyster Viceroy 1573, A-7174", Private Eyes]
* [https://thetimecurator.com/products/1930s-rolex-oyster-imperial-rare-rolesium-ref-1573-original-rolex-bracelet "The Time Curator — Oyster Imperial 1573", The Time Curator]
* [https://cticorp.jp/?p=44916 "Watch CTI — Oyster 1573, R623", Watch CTI]
* [https://everywatch.com/rolex/day-date/1573/watch-9147659 "Bonhams lot 121 — 1573, catalogue mirrored by EveryWatch", Bonhams / EveryWatch]
* [https://www.the-saleroom.com/fr-fr/auction-catalogues/bellmans-auctioneers-and-valuers/catalogue-id-srbe10391/pdfexport "Bellmans November 2025 catalogue export", Bellmans]
* [https://www.vintagewatchstraps.com/myrolexpage.php "Vintage Watch Straps — Rolex marks and SAR stamp", Vintage Watch Straps]

[[Category:Oyster]]

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Reference:1573 - Revision history

Admin: Create researched reference article with attributed, inspected Antiquorum images