Admin: Create researched reference 2416

2026-10-08T04:40:54Z

Create researched reference 2416

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{{DISPLAYTITLE:Rolex Oyster 2416}}
{{#seo:
|title=Rolex Oyster 2416 — Cushion-Case Manual Wind
|description=Auction records for Rolex Oyster reference 2416, including 9-carat and 18-carat gold examples, dated case marks, movement descriptions, and a Murdock's Cape Town dial.
|keywords=Rolex, Oyster, 2416, cushion case, manual wind, Murdock's Cape Town
|image=Ref_2416_hero.webp
|image_alt=18-carat gold Rolex Oyster reference 2416 with a Murdock's Cape Town dial
|type=Article
|og_type=article
|robots=index,follow,max-image-preview:large
}}

<small>[[Reference:bubbleback|Pre-Perpetual Oyster]] → '''2416'''</small>

<div class="rp-lead">
[[File:Ref_2416_hero.webp|thumb|center|640px|alt=Gold cushion-case Rolex Oyster with Arabic numerals, small seconds, and Murdock's Cape Town retailer signature|Schuler lot 2124, an 18-carat example with a Murdock's Cape Town dial.]]
</div>

Reference 2416 is a manual-wind Rolex Oyster with a cushion case, screw-down back, and screw-down crown. Auction catalogues most often describe 9-carat gold examples with Arabic numerals and subsidiary seconds. Schuler's 18-carat example carries a Murdock's Cape Town retailer signature. The surviving catalogues place individual examples in the 1930s, but do not give production endpoints.

==Core facts==

{| class="wikitable rp-facts"
|-
! Detail
! Documented record
|-
| Reference
| 2416, identified in auction catalogues and on photographed casebacks
|-
| Model
| Rolex Oyster; cushion-form case
|-
| Winding
| Manual
|-
| Production dates
| Catalogue dates and marks fall mainly in the mid-1930s to circa 1940; no reference-wide start or end is established
|-
| Case materials
| 9-carat gold in multiple British-market records; one 18-carat example with South African retailer signature
|-
| Case size
| 27–28 mm across in catalogue descriptions; one 18-carat case is given as 33 × 28 mm
|-
| Movement
| Manual, generally described as 15 jewels; no caliber is confirmed here
|-
| Dial
| Arabic numerals and subsidiary seconds appear repeatedly; details vary by individual watch
|-
| Lugs
| Fixed or wire lugs in the cited examples
|}

==Where it sits in the line==

Auction catalogues identify 2416 as a manual-wind Rolex Oyster.

==Production outline==

Christie's dates case 36789 to circa 1935. Glasgow import marks on two other 9-carat cases carry 1936 and 1938 dates, and Leonard Joel places case 42988 circa 1940. The marks date import or assay events; auction estimates apply to the individual watches.

Fortuna's 2018 catalogue assigns case 36751 a circa-1920s date. That estimate stands apart from the mid-1930s records and remains a catalogue outlier.

==Movement notes==

Lot descriptions report manual movements with 15 jewels; Bonhams calls case 37425's movement a patented Superbalance. The catalogues give no caliber number.

==Dial map==

Silvered dials with Arabic numerals and small seconds recur in the 9-carat examples. Christie’s describes a black outer minute track and blued hands on case 36789; Bonhams records a similar layout on case 37425. The descriptions vary by watch; no single dial layout is established for every 2416.

The Schuler lot, case 32342, is a separate 18-carat example with a dial signed for Murdock's of Cape Town. Its black Arabic numerals, two-tone minute track, blued hands, and seconds register are visible in the auction photographs. Hodinkee dates the watch to 1934 and reports that the case hallmarks identify the 18-carat gold.

[[File:Ref_2416_dial-detail.webp|thumb|right|230px|alt=Close view of the 18-carat 2416 dial with Arabic numerals, small seconds, blued hands, and Murdock's Cape Town signature|The retailer-signed dial in Schuler lot 2124.]]

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

Auction descriptions show cushion cases with screw-down backs and crowns. The 9-carat examples measure 27–28 mm across. Schuler gives 33 × 28 mm for the 18-carat case; Jones & Horan gives 28 × 33 mm to the lug tips, so the measurements use different reference points. Fixed wire lugs appear on several examples. Christie’s 1936 watch has a replacement screw-down crown. The catalogues describe no recurring bezel or crystal change.

David Boettcher reports at least three Rolex-branded 2416s with Aegler movements and Oyster Watch Co.-marked casebacks. The mark recurs, though its reason is unknown.

[[File:Ref_2416_crown.webp|thumb|right|230px|alt=Side profile of a gold 2416 showing the screw-down crown, cushion case, and fixed wire lugs|Case profile of the Schuler lot 2124 watch.]]

==Bracelet, clasp, and packaging==

The auction watches are shown or described on leather straps. No factory bracelet or clasp fitment is established for reference 2416; a strap or buckle on a later sale example does not show original delivery.

==Special branches==

Schuler lot 2124 documents one 18-carat Murdock's Cape Town watch. It does not show a wider South African delivery pattern.

Cheffins describes case 37396 as a 2416, but says the exterior caseback reads 37396 2415. The two reference markings conflict, so the lot does not clarify the 2416 profile.

==Auction record==

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Sale record
! Example and catalogue description
|-
| Christie's, lot 3881029
| Case 36789, circa 1935; 9-carat gold, 27 mm, silvered Arabic dial, subsidiary seconds, blued hands, 15-jewel manual movement.
|-
| Christie’s, lot 1289475
| 9-carat gold, 27 mm, Glasgow import marks dated 1936; the catalogue gives no case number and identifies the screw-down crown as a replacement.
|-
| Bonhams, 2014, lot 97R; The Watch Auction, 2020, lot 146
| Bonhams identifies case 43750 and Glasgow hallmarks for 1938. The later listing gives only 437xx, so it may be the same watch; the partial number does not prove that.
|-
| Bonhams, 2020, lot 93
| Case 37425, Glasgow import mark dated 1936, 9-carat gold, 28 mm, silvered Arabic dial, 15-jewel patented Superbalance, and a dated caseback inscription.
|-
| Schuler, 2025, lot 2124
| Case 32342, circa 1930s; 18-carat yellow gold, 33 × 28 mm, Murdock's Cape Town dial. Hodinkee's article covers this same watch and reports a circa-1934 date.
|-
| Jones & Horan, lot 2021-04-25
| Case 42923, catalogued circa 1937; 9-carat gold, 28 × 33 mm to the lugs, 15 jewels, silvered dial with applied gold Arabic numerals.
|-
| Leonard Joel, lot 45
| Case 42988, catalogued circa 1940; 9-carat gold, 28 mm, silvered dial with luminous Arabic numerals and subsidiary seconds.
|-
| Fortuna, 2018, lot 1-1GJ7AU
| Case 36751, 9-carat gold, 28 × 28 mm, manual 15-jewel movement; the catalogue's circa-1920s date is an outlier beside the dated 36,7xx records.
|-
| Cheffins, 2021, lot 254
| Case 37396 is described as reference 2416, but the catalogue says its exterior back is numbered 37396 2415. The catalogue's reference number and caseback marking conflict.
|}

==Gallery==

<gallery mode="packed" heights="180">
File:Ref_2416_hero.webp|Schuler lot 2124, front view
File:Ref_2416_dial-detail.webp|Murdock's Cape Town dial
File:Ref_2416_crown.webp|Case, crown, and fixed wire lugs
</gallery>

== Sources ==

* [https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-1289475 "Rolex Oyster ref. 2416, Christie’s lot 1289475", Christie's]
* [https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-3881029 "Rolex Oyster ref. 2416, case 36789", Christie's]
* [https://images1.bonhams.com/original?src=Images%2Flive%2F2014-04%2F30%2FS-21663-0-1.pdf "Rolex Oyster ref. 2416, case 43750", Bonhams, 2014-05-13]
* [https://images1.bonhams.com/original?src=Images%2Flive%2F2020-01%2F30%2FS-25954-0-1.pdf "Rolex Oyster ref. 2416, case 37425", Bonhams, 2020-02-18]
* [https://www.schulerauktionen.ch/en/items/176-2124-rolex-oyster-1930er-jahre?category=armband-und-taschenuhren "Rolex Oyster ref. 2416, case 32342", Schuler Auktionen, 2025]
* [https://www.hodinkee.jp/articles/bring-a-loupe-march-14-2025 Hodinkee, "Rolex Oyster case 32342, Bring a Loupe, March 2025", Hodinkee, 2025-03-14]
* [https://www.vintagewatchstraps.com/wilsdorfsotherbrands.php Vintage Watch Straps, "David Boettcher — Wilsdorf’s and Rolex’s Other Brands", Vintage Watch Straps, 2026-03-31]
* [https://www.auctions.jones-horan.com/210425/html/wristwatches_part_2.htm "Rolex Oyster ref. 2416, case 42923", Jones & Horan, 2021-04-25]
* [https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/rolex-oyster-ref-2416-a-9ct-gold-wrist-watch-circ-45-c-42a4921831 "Rolex Oyster ref. 2416, case 42988", Leonard Joel, 2025]
* [https://www.bidsquare.com/online-auctions/fortuna/rolex-oyster-ref-2416-cushion-shaped-wristwatch-in-9k-gold-1239453 "Rolex Oyster ref. 2416, case 36751", Fortuna, 2018]
* [https://fineart.cheffins.co.uk/auction/lot/lot-254---rolex---a-9ct-gold-oyster-wristwatch/?lot=205795&sd=1 "Rolex Oyster ref. 2416, caseback mismatch 37396/2415", Cheffins, 2021-12-02]
* [https://www.watch-auctions.co.uk/sale/11/146/Rolex-Oyster-9ct-cushion-cased-wristwatch-ref-2416-import-hallmarks-for-Glasgow-1938-serial-no-437xx-circular-dial-with-applied-Arabic-numerals-subsidiary-seconds-and-blued-steel-sword-hands-15-jewel-movement-cushion-case-with-screwdown-crown-and-back-with-presentation-inscription-modern-leather-strap-with-a-Rolex-gold-plated-buckle-28mm "Rolex Oyster ref. 2416, lot 146", The Watch Auction, 2020]

[[Category:Oyster]]

Reference:2416 - Revision history

Admin: Create researched reference 2416