Admin: Reffuter pass: fix bezel mischaracterization (Bonhams says rounded, not graduated), drop an invented dial-signature claim, fix imprecise date-span rounding, tighten negation-pivot phrasing

2026-09-15T22:56:48Z

Reffuter pass: fix bezel mischaracterization (Bonhams says rounded, not graduated), drop an invented dial-signature claim, fix imprecise date-span rounding, tighten negation-pivot phrasing

← Older revision		Revision as of 22:56, 15 September 2026
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	\|-		\|-
	\| bezel		\| bezel
	\| ~~smooth/~~graduated per Antiquorum ~~and~~ Bonhams; fluted ("lunetta godronata") per Christie's on the 18K "Ovetto" watch		\| graduated per Antiquorum's four watches; rounded per Bonhams's 9ct gold watch; fluted ("lunetta godronata") per Christie's on the 18K "Ovetto" watch
	\|-		\|-
	\| crystal		\| crystal
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	Chronomètre without further qualification covers two more, in 18K yellow gold and 14K pink gold.		Chronomètre without further qualification covers two more, in 18K yellow gold and 14K pink gold.
	One steel watch is catalogued as Oyster Royal, and one 9ct gold watch as an unqualified Oyster.		One steel watch is catalogued as Oyster Royal, and one 9ct gold watch as an unqualified Oyster.
	Christie's paired its Imperial watch with "Ovetto" in the lot title~~. That is an Italian collector~~		Christie's also paired its Imperial watch with the Italian collector nickname "Ovetto" in the
	~~term;~~ the ~~cited~~ catalogue ~~describes the dial itself as reading no further than the standard Rolex~~		lot title, layered on top of the Imperial branding, not a sixth catalogue name in its own right.
	~~signature~~.

	==Production outline==		==Production outline==
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	documented, not settled into one figure.		documented, not settled into one figure.

	Bezel description ~~also~~ varies. Antiquorum ~~and~~ Bonhams ~~both describe~~ a ~~smooth~~, ~~graduated~~ bezel in		Bezel description varies by house. Antiquorum's four catalogues all call it a graduated bezel.
	~~English-language catalogue text~~. Christie's Italian-language catalogue calls the 18K gold		Bonhams describes its 9ct gold watch's bezel as rounded, a different term from Antiquorum's, and
	"Ovetto" watch's bezel "godronata," fluted or reeded. Whether that reflects a genuine execution		gives no bezel description at all for its other two watches. Christie's Italian-language
	~~difference on~~ the ~~gold case~~ or simply a different cataloguing ~~convention~~ between houses is not		catalogue calls the 18K gold "Ovetto" watch's bezel "godronata," fluted or reeded. Whether that
	established by the sources at hand.		spread reflects genuine execution differences across the seven cases or simply different
			cataloguing conventions between three houses is not established by the sources at hand.

	Crystal material is not given in any of the seven catalogues. All seven watches have a		Crystal material is not given in any of the seven catalogues. All seven watches have a
Line 305:		Line 305:
	\|}		\|}

	Eight auction appearances document seven distinct watches across three houses ~~and twenty-eight~~		Eight auction appearances document seven distinct watches across three houses, from April 1998
	~~years~~. Currencies, estimates and condition vary too widely across that span, Italian lira in		to February 2026. Currencies, estimates and condition vary too widely across that span, Italian
	1998, Hong Kong dollars in 2002, Swiss francs and pounds sterling elsewhere, to read as a price		lira in 1998, Hong Kong dollars in 2002, Swiss francs and pounds sterling elsewhere, to read as a
	series. The steel watch sold in February 2026 is engraved on its screw-down back "C.McKENZIE		price series. The steel watch sold in February 2026 is engraved on its screw-down back "C.McKENZIE
	1250453 R.A.F.," a named owner's service number and branch. The cited listing does not identify		1250453 R.A.F.," a named owner's service number and branch. The cited listing does not identify
	the watch as part of a numbered military contract or issue mark.		the watch as part of a numbered military contract or issue mark.

Admin: New reference article: 2595 Oyster Imperial (manual-wind, centre seconds, seven documented auction watches 1998-2026)

2026-09-15T22:20:58Z

New reference article: 2595 Oyster Imperial (manual-wind, centre seconds, seven documented auction watches 1998-2026)

New page

{{DISPLAYTITLE:Rolex 2595 Oyster Imperial}}

{{#seo:
|title=Rolex Oyster Imperial 2595 — Dial Names, Centre Seconds & Auction Record | Rolexopedia
|description=Rolex reference 2595: a manual-wind Oyster tonneau catalogued under five names, with centre seconds and seven documented auction watches from 1998 to 2026.
|image=Ref 2595 hero.webp
|type=article
}}

<small>Oyster → '''2595'''</small>

<div class="rp-lead">
[[File:Ref 2595 hero.webp|thumb|center|640px|alt=Rolex Oyster Royal 2595 in stainless steel, case 81442, engraved to a named RAF serviceman|Rolex Oyster Royal 2595, case 81442, engraved "C.McKENZIE 1250453 R.A.F.", Bonhams London Watches, February 2026]]
</div>

The 2595 is a manual-wind Oyster tonneau documented across seven auctioned watches in steel, 9ct
gold, 14K pink gold and 18K yellow gold, made from the second half of the 1930s into the mid-1940s.
Every catalogued example that specifies its seconds treatment carries a sweeping centre-seconds
hand. Small seconds registers, more common on hand-wound Oysters of the period, do not appear
anywhere in this record.

Auction houses have catalogued the reference under five names: Oyster Royal, an unqualified
Oyster, Oyster Chronometer or Chronomètre, Oyster Imperial, and the combined Oyster Impérial
Chronomètre, once alongside the Italian collector nickname "Ovetto" at a 1998 Christie's sale.
None of the seven documented watches shows a self-winding rotor in its catalogue description, so
despite surfacing on some Bubbleback candidate lists, the 2595 sits with the manual branch Rolex
kept building alongside the Perpetual line.

==Core facts==

{| class="wikitable rp-facts"
|-
! detail
! value
|-
| reference
| 2595
|-
| family
| Oyster (manual-wind)
|-
| production
| no confirmed range; documented examples run from a case Bonhams dates to 1935 through a Christie's-catalogued watch dated 1945, with three Antiquorum watches and one Bonhams watch clustering around circa 1938-1939
|-
| case diameter
| 29mm across four Antiquorum examples; 30mm and 34mm on two Bonhams examples
|-
| case shape
| tonneau, two-piece construction
|-
| caseback
| screw-down; one Antiquorum example explicitly described as flat and small
|-
| bezel
| smooth/graduated per Antiquorum and Bonhams; fluted ("lunetta godronata") per Christie's on the 18K "Ovetto" watch
|-
| crystal
| material not established by the cited catalogues
|-
| crown
| screw-down
|-
| winding
| manual
|-
| seconds
| centre seconds on every watch whose catalogue specifies seconds treatment
|-
| movement
| 10-ligne manual, straight-line lever escapement, self-compensating Breguet balance-spring, 17 or 18 jewels; catalogued as "Superbalance" balance (Antiquorum) or an outright Ultra Prima grade (Bonhams, Christie's); no caliber number published
|-
| case materials
| stainless steel; 9ct gold; 14K pink gold; 18K yellow gold
|-
| dial designations
| Oyster Royal; Oyster (unqualified); Oyster Chronometer/Chronomètre; Oyster Imperial; Oyster Impérial Chronomètre ("Ovetto")
|-
| documented case numbers
| 81442; 71015; 43243
|}

==Where it sits in the line==

Rolex kept building hand-wound Oysters after the Perpetual rotor arrived in 1931. Hodinkee's
Bubbleback collecting guide calls these parallel manual-wind watches "flatbacks." All seven
documented 2595 watches carry manual movements, and none of the seven catalogues describes a
rotor, so despite the era overlap with the Bubbleback boom it belongs with the manual branch.

The five catalogue names split unevenly across the seven watches. Imperial branding, alone or
combined with Chronomètre, covers three watches: a Bonhams Oxford example, an Antiquorum steel
watch offered twice in Geneva in 2003, and the Christie's Milan gold watch. Chronometer or
Chronomètre without further qualification covers two more, in 18K yellow gold and 14K pink gold.
One steel watch is catalogued as Oyster Royal, and one 9ct gold watch as an unqualified Oyster.
Christie's paired its Imperial watch with "Ovetto" in the lot title. That is an Italian collector
term; the cited catalogue describes the dial itself as reading no further than the standard Rolex
signature.

==Production outline==

The earliest and latest documented dates sit nine years apart. Bonhams titled its 9ct gold watch
by a case marking to 1935, though the cited listing does not detail which hallmark supports that
date. Christie's catalogued its 18K gold "Ovetto" watch to 1945. Between those two, Antiquorum
dated three watches and Bonhams one to "circa 1938" or "circa 1939." No source states a start or
end year for the reference as a whole, and the case numbers on record, 81442, 71015 and 43243, do
not span a wide enough or well-anchored enough range to define one.

Antiquorum's two Geneva appearances for a steel, Beyer-retailed watch, in June and October 2003,
share an identical case, dial and movement description and identical condition grading on both
lot pages. That reads as one watch failing to sell in June at an estimate of CHF 1,200-1,600 and
returning four months later at a reduced CHF 800-1,500, again without finding a buyer, not two
different watches.

Counting that repeat appearance once, the documented population runs to three steel watches, one
9ct gold, one 14K pink gold and two 18K yellow gold, one of them the "Ovetto." No two-tone
example has surfaced, and no source publishes a production total.

==Movement notes==

Antiquorum's four catalogue entries give the fullest technical picture: a 10-ligne movement,
rhodium-plated, with a straight-line lever escapement and a self-compensating Breguet
balance-spring, on watches dated 1998, 2002 and twice in 2003 (the same steel watch). Antiquorum
names the balance itself "Superbalance" on all four and reports 17 jewels with seven adjustment
positions on the 1998 pink gold watch, and 18 jewels with six positions on the 2002 yellow gold
watch and the 2003 steel watch.

Bonhams and Christie's instead grade two other watches' movements as an outright Ultra Prima,
without using the Superbalance term. Bonhams calls its 9ct gold watch's movement a 17-jewel Ultra
Prima timed to six positions; Christie's calls its 18K gold "Ovetto" watch's movement an Ultra
Prima with 18 jewels and a monometallic balance regulated in six positions. David Boettcher's
blog post "Prima, Extra Prima and Ultra Prima," published on vintagewatchstraps.com, traces the
grade hierarchy: Rolex used "Prima" from 1923, and Hans Wilsdorf registered "Ultra Prima" in his
own name on 9 December 1930. Boettcher's account covers the grade name; it says nothing about
Superbalance, which appears here only as Antiquorum's term for the balance component itself.
Bonhams gives no jewel count or grade for the steel RAF-engraved watch beyond "jewelled manual
wind," and the Oxford steel watch's catalogue gives no movement detail at all.

None of the seven catalogues stamps or names a caliber number. The specification that does
survive across all of them, a roughly 10-ligne manual movement with a straight-line lever,
Superbalance balance and self-compensating Breguet spring, matches the Cal. 10½ Hunter (700/710)
family on [[Reference:Movements|Movements]], already treated there as a plausible, not confirmed,
home for the manual movements on siblings [[Reference:2765|2765]] and [[Reference:3009|3009]]. No
stamped example has surfaced for the 2595 either, so the assignment stays open here too.

==Dial map==

Seven watches carry seven different dial treatments.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Catalogue name
! Case material
! Dial
! Source
|-
| Oyster Royal
| Stainless steel
| Silvered, luminous Arabic numeral hour markers, black outer minute track with Arabic 5-minute markers, blued steel pointed baton hands
| Bonhams, 2026
|-
| Oyster (unqualified)
| 9ct gold
| Arabic gilt dial with outside minute track, blued hands
| Bonhams, 2003
|-
| Oyster Imperial
| Stainless steel
| Cream-coloured, gilt Arabic numerals, outer minute scale 0-60
| Bonhams, 2012
|-
| Oyster Chronomètre
| 18K yellow gold
| Yellow, radium-coated Arabic and Roman numerals and bâton indexes, "Skeleton" radium-coated hands
| Antiquorum, 2002
|-
| Oyster Impérial Chronomètre
| Stainless steel
| Black enamel, inlaid yellow gold bâton indexes, "Feuille" yellow gold hands
| Antiquorum, 2003
|-
| Oyster Chronometer
| 14K pink gold
| Two-tone pink, radiumed Arabic numerals and indexes, "Skeleton" radiumed hands
| Antiquorum, 1998
|-
| Oyster Imperial "Ovetto"
| 18K yellow gold
| Black, raised indices and numbers
| Christie's, 1998
|}

Christie's is the only house to attach a nickname to a 2595 dial, and it appears only in the lot
title. The catalogue's own dial description reads no further than "black dial with raised indices
and numbers." "Ovetto" is Italian for a small egg, presumably describing the tonneau case. The
cited listing gives no indication that Rolex itself ever used the term, on this dial or otherwise.

Radium and radium-coated markings appear on both gold examples from the earliest years of the
record, 1998 and 2002; the two steel watches and the two remaining gold watches do not mention
radium in their catalogue text. Centre seconds is the one constant every catalogue that addresses
seconds treatment agrees on.

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

All seven documented watches have tonneau, two-piece cases. Antiquorum's four catalogues measure
their watches at a consistent 29mm; Bonhams measures its steel RAF-engraved watch at 30mm and its
9ct gold watch at 34mm. The cited catalogues do not reconcile that spread, so it stands here as
documented, not settled into one figure.

Bezel description also varies. Antiquorum and Bonhams both describe a smooth, graduated bezel in
English-language catalogue text. Christie's Italian-language catalogue calls the 18K gold
"Ovetto" watch's bezel "godronata," fluted or reeded. Whether that reflects a genuine execution
difference on the gold case or simply a different cataloguing convention between houses is not
established by the sources at hand.

Crystal material is not given in any of the seven catalogues. All seven watches have a
screw-down crown, and Antiquorum's 1998 pink gold watch is the only one explicitly described as
"flat and small," the same flat-back framing already documented on sibling
[[Reference:1873|1873]]. Whether every 2595 shares that back profile is not established.

==Bracelets, end links, and clasps==

Bracelet and strap evidence is thin and inconsistent across the record. The steel RAF-engraved
watch carries a brushed riveted expandable Oyster-link bracelet with a signed folding clasp. The
9ct gold watch carries an integral bark-finish bracelet, also with a folding clasp. The Antiquorum
steel watch offered twice in 2003 carries a stainless steel link bracelet of roughly 150mm overall.
The Bonhams Oxford steel watch came to auction on a later, unassociated strap. The two 18K gold
watches and the 14K pink gold watch carry no bracelet or strap description at all in the cited
catalogues. No end-link or clasp reference number is documented for the 2595 anywhere in the
published record.

==Auction record==

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Venue
! Date
! Lot
! Case No
! Material / dial
! Movement
! Result
|-
| Antiquorum, Geneva (Hôtel Des Bergues)
| 1998-04-18
| 371
| —
| 14K pink gold, two-tone pink dial
| 17j, Superbalance, 7 positions
| CHF 5,980 (est. CHF 4,000-5,000)
|-
| Christie's, Milan
| 1998-05-20
| 248
| 43243
| 18K gold "Ovetto," black dial
| Ultra Prima, 18j, 6 positions
| ITL 9,200,000 (est. ITL 5,000,000-6,000,000)
|-
| Antiquorum, Hong Kong
| 2002-06-08
| 297
| —
| 18K yellow gold, yellow radium dial
| 18j, Superbalance, 6 positions
| HKD 20,700 (est. HKD 16,500-20,000)
|-
| Bonhams, London Knightsbridge
| 2003-06-03
| 179
| —
| 9ct gold, Arabic gilt dial
| 17j, Ultra Prima, 6 positions
| GBP 528.75 incl. premium (est. GBP 300-400)
|-
| Antiquorum, Geneva
| 2003-06-15
| 467
| —
| Stainless steel, black enamel dial, retailed by Beyer Zurich
| 18j, Superbalance, 6 positions
| Est. CHF 1,200-1,600; unsold
|-
| Antiquorum, Geneva
| 2003-10-13
| 635
| —
| Same watch as lot 467, re-offered
| 18j, Superbalance, 6 positions
| Est. CHF 800-1,500; unsold
|-
| Bonhams, Oxford
| 2012-05-17
| 268
| 71015
| Stainless steel, cream dial
| Not specified
| GBP 312.50 incl. premium (est. GBP 400-500)
|-
| Bonhams, London Knightsbridge
| 2026-02-25
| 20
| 81442
| Stainless steel, silvered dial, RAF-engraved
| Jewelled manual wind
| GBP 1,920 incl. premium (est. GBP 500-700)
|}

Eight auction appearances document seven distinct watches across three houses and twenty-eight
years. Currencies, estimates and condition vary too widely across that span, Italian lira in
1998, Hong Kong dollars in 2002, Swiss francs and pounds sterling elsewhere, to read as a price
series. The steel watch sold in February 2026 is engraved on its screw-down back "C.McKENZIE
1250453 R.A.F.," a named owner's service number and branch. The cited listing does not identify
the watch as part of a numbered military contract or issue mark.

== Related references ==

* [[Reference:1873|Oyster Royal 1873]] — manual-wind contemporary catalogued under the Oyster Royal name
* [[Reference:2765|Oyster Chronometer 2765]] — manual-wind contemporary catalogued under several model names
* [[Reference:2784|Oyster Junior Sport 2784]] — manual-wind contemporary with its own catalogue-name spread
* [[Reference:3009|Oyster Chronometre Scientific 3009]] — manual-wind contemporary, also documented with centre seconds

See also the [[Reference:bubbleback|Bubbleback family index]], [[Reference:Movements|movement reference]], [[Reference:Bracelets|bracelet & clasp guide]], and [[Reference:Serial-numbers|serial numbers by year]].

== Sources ==

* [https://www.bonhams.com/auction/31977/lot/20/rolex-a-stainless-steel-manual-wind-bracelet-watch-oyster-royal-ref-2595-circa-1939/ "Rolex. A stainless steel manual wind bracelet watch, Oyster Royal, Ref: 2595, Circa 1939", Bonhams, 2026-02-25]
* [https://www.bonhams.com/auction/10223/lot/179/rolex-a-9ct-gold-centre-seconds-wristwatch-oyster-ref-2595-case-marked-for-1935-34mm/ "Rolex. A 9ct gold centre seconds wristwatch, Oyster, Ref: 2595, case marked for 1935, 34mm", Bonhams, 2003-06-03]
* [https://www.bonhams.com/auction/19836/lot/268/rolex-a-gentlemans-oyster-imperial-wristwatch/ "Rolex: A gentleman's Oyster Imperial wristwatch", Bonhams, 2012-05-17]
* [https://catalog.antiquorum.swiss/en/lots/rolex-lot-29-297 "Rolex Oyster Chronomètre, Ref. 2595", Antiquorum, 2002-06-08]
* [https://catalog.antiquorum.swiss/en/lots/rolex-lot-41-467 "Rolex Oyster 'Impérial Chronomètre', Ref. 2595, retailed by Beyer Zurich", Antiquorum, 2003-06-15]
* [https://catalog.antiquorum.swiss/en/lots/rolex-lot-45-635 "Rolex Oyster 'Imperial Chronometre', Ref. 2595, retailed by Beyer Zurich", Antiquorum, 2003-10-13]
* [https://catalog.antiquorum.swiss/en/lots/rolex-lot-90-371 "Rolex Oyster Chronometer, Ref. 2595", Antiquorum, 1998-04-18]
* [https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-861579 "Rolex Oyster Imperial 'Ovetto', Ref. 2595", Christie's, Milan, 1998-05-20]
* [https://www.vintagewatchstraps.com/blogprima.php David Boettcher, "Prima, Extra Prima and Ultra Prima", vintagewatchstraps.com]
* [https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/the-rolex-bubbleback-and-why-it-still-matters "Buying, Selling, & Collecting: The Rolex Bubbleback And Why It Still Matters", Hodinkee]

[[Category:Oyster]]

Reference:2595 - Revision history

Admin: Reffuter pass: fix bezel mischaracterization (Bonhams says rounded, not graduated), drop an invented dial-signature claim, fix imprecise date-span rounding, tighten negation-pivot phrasing

Admin: New reference article: 2595 Oyster Imperial (manual-wind, centre seconds, seven documented auction watches 1998-2026)