Admin: Publish reviewed reference 3346 with source-grounded article and attributed images

2026-10-20T13:04:40Z

Publish reviewed reference 3346 with source-grounded article and attributed images

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{{DISPLAYTITLE:Rolex Zerographe ref. 3346}}

{{#seo:
|title=Rolex Zerographe ref. 3346 | Rolexopedia
|description=Auction records and collector literature for Rolex’s early single-pusher ref. 3346, its continuous seconds hand, 60-minute bezel and surviving dial examples.
|image=Ref_3346_hero.webp
|type=article
}}

<small>[[Reference:pre-daytona-chronographs|Pre-Daytona chronographs]] → '''3346'''</small>

<div class="rp-lead">
[[File:Ref 3346 hero.webp|thumb|center|640px|alt=Rolex ref. 3346 Zerographe on a steel bracelet|Rolex ref. 3346, case 146262, catalogued by Antiquorum in 2021.]]
</div>

Rolex ref. 3346 is a single-pusher chronograph with a central seconds hand and a bezel marked to 60. Auction catalogues use Zerographe, Centregraph and Centregraph Observatory for examples of the reference, without a consistent naming split. Individual watches have been dated from about 1937 to 1942; the factory production span remains unknown.

==Core facts==

{| class="wikitable rp-facts"
|-
! detail
! value
|-
| reference
| 3346
|-
| line
| Oyster-cased, single-pusher chronograph; grouped with the pre-Daytona chronographs
|-
| documented dates
| Auction estimates for individual watches range from circa 1937 to circa 1942
|-
| case
| Stainless steel; usually listed as 32 mm; Antiquorum’s 1992 lot gives 31 mm for case 146275
|-
| movement
| Manual, 10 or 10½ lignes in published descriptions; 17 or 18 jewels; no numbered caliber established
|-
| chronograph action
| The central hand runs continuously; two auction descriptions say the pusher holds it at zero until released
|-
| bezel
| Rotating bezel graduated to 60 units in auction descriptions
|-
| documented dials
| Two-tone silvered Observatory, silvered Zerographe, and black lacquer with Roman and Arabic numerals
|}

==Where it sits in the line==

The 3346 belongs among Rolex’s pre-war monopusher chronographs. Colin White’s *The Vintage Rolex Field Manual* groups it with ref. 3462 as an early Oyster-cased chronograph and describes the two watches as sharing the Zerograph and Centregraph names at launch. The same book later assigns Zerographe to 3346 and Centregraph to 3462. Auction catalogues also use Centregraph for 3346, so the later naming distinction does not hold across the surviving records.

The 3346 differs from the two-pusher, two-register ref. 3525. Both belong in accounts of Rolex’s early Oyster chronographs; a direct design link from the 3346 to later sports models remains unshown in the records reviewed here.

==Production outline==

Christie’s and Antiquorum date cases 146276 and 146262 to circa 1937. Christie’s dates its 2002 example to circa 1938; Sotheby’s later identifies that watch as case 142587. Monaco Legend dates case 142589 to circa 1941, and Sotheby’s dates case 146269 to circa 1942. The 142xxx and 146xxx case groups produce no consistent date sequence in these catalogues. These are lot-level estimates, not a factory production timeline.

The reviewed sale entries identify seven numbered cases: 142587, 142589, 146262, 146269, 146271, 146275 and 146276. Christie’s 2013 essay also mentions 146270 in its survey of surviving watches, but gives no separate lot record for it. Sotheby’s 2024 survey lists three earlier lots without recorded case numbers: Christie’s 2001 lot 211, Antiquorum 2004 lot 100 and Sotheby’s 2005 lot 30. Sotheby’s groups the numbered examples into two possible batches; the available records leave that interpretation unconfirmed. The number of watches made remains unknown.

==Movement notes==

The auction descriptions identify a manual movement but disagree on its size and jewel count. Colin White’s *The Vintage Rolex Field Manual* calls it a 10-ligne Hunter movement. Phillips 2016 describes case 146275 and Christie’s 2013 describes case 146276 as 10½ lignes and 17 jewels. Antiquorum 2006 gives 10½ lignes and 18 jewels for case 146271; Christie’s 2002 reports 18 jewels without a movement size. No numbered caliber is confirmed by the records reviewed here. The 10 versus 10½ ligne and 17 versus 18 jewel descriptions should remain attached to their sources.

The pusher action also needs careful wording. Christie’s 2013 and Sotheby’s 2024 describe the central hand running continuously, moving to zero while the pusher is held, then resuming when it is released. Phillips’ 2016 essay describes a reset followed by an immediate restart on one press. The catalogues give two accounts: the more detailed hold-and-release action appears in two separate sale records, while Phillips describes an immediate restart. “Flyback” is common catalogue shorthand, but it can suggest a conventional start-stop-reset chronograph that the described control does not provide.

==Dial map==

Auction records show several dial layouts. Christie’s 2002 describes a two-tone silvered dial with luminous Arabic numerals and batons, an inner 24-hour ring, and the wording “Centregraph Observatory.” Christie’s 2013 and Phillips 2016 describe a black lacquer dial with Roman numerals above and Arabic numerals below, commonly called a California dial. Antiquorum catalogues case 146262 with a silvered dial signed “Rolex Oyster Zerographe”; the photographs show heavy oxidation, and the condition report notes reapplied luminous material on the hands. The records give no production counts by layout, and dial originality remains specific to each catalogued watch.

[[File:Ref 3346 dial.webp|thumb|right|240px|alt=Silvered Rolex Oyster Zerographe dial with Arabic numerals and a 60-minute scale|Dial of Antiquorum’s case 146262, photographed in 2021.]]

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

Christie’s, Antiquorum and Sotheby’s describe the cited 3346 watches as steel. Most list a 32 mm diameter; Antiquorum’s 1992 listing gives 31 mm for case 146275, which Phillips later lists at 32 mm. Christie’s 2013 also records a screw-down crown and back. Christie’s, Antiquorum and Sotheby’s describe the 60-unit bezel as rotating, allowing elapsed minutes to be read against the watch’s minute hand. The cited descriptions frame it as an elapsed-time scale, not a dive bezel.

The Vintage Rolex Field Manual calls the case a Bubbleback case, while auction catalogues use Oyster or Oyster-cased. The case profile in surviving lot photographs is consistent with a deep early Oyster case. Here, “Bubbleback” is a collector grouping; the records reviewed do not show it as a separate factory designation. Crystal material varies or goes unreported in the records reviewed.

==Bracelets, end links, clasps, and packaging notes==

Christie’s 2013 describes a riveted steel Oyster bracelet and folding deployant clasp on case 146276; Phillips records the same type of bracelet and clasp on case 146275 and gives a maximum length of 200 mm. These are sale configurations. Original delivery and reference-wide bracelet and end-link fit remain unverified. Christie’s also describes an original fitted red felt presentation box with case 146276, a lot-specific pairing. The reviewed records do not document papers matched to the reference.

==Special branches==

The reviewed records document dial and movement variations. They contain no evidence of a retailer, military or regional branch.

==Historical market and auction record==

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Venue and date !! Lot / case !! Record
|-
| [https://catalog.antiquorum.swiss/en/lots/rolex-lot-146-41 Antiquorum, 18 January 1992] || 41 / 146275 || Circa 1938; black dial; 10½-ligne, 17-jewel movement; 31 mm listed. Phillips 2016 is the same case.
|-
| [https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-2070687 Christie’s, 14 May 2002] || 48 / 142587* || Centregraph Observatory; circa 1938; two-tone silvered dial; 18 jewels reported
|-
| [https://catalog.antiquorum.swiss/en/lots/rolex-lot-144-365 Antiquorum, 12 November 2006] || 365 / 146271 || 10½-ligne, 18-jewel Hunter movement; Superbalance and swan-neck regulator described
|-
| [https://www.christies.com/lot/lot-5674673 Christie’s, 13 May 2013] || 179 / 146276 || Black lacquer dial; 10½ lignes, 17 jewels; steel bracelet and deployant clasp; fitted red felt box described
|-
| [https://www.phillips.com/detail/rolex/CH080016/36 Phillips, 14 May 2016] || 36 / 146275 || Black lacquer dial; 10½ lignes, 17 jewels; circa 1937 (Antiquorum 1992 dates the same case to 1938); sold for CHF 389,000.
|-
| [https://catalog.antiquorum.swiss/en/lots/rolex-ref-3346-zerographe-lot-339-292 Antiquorum, 9 May 2021] || 292 / 146262 || Silvered Zerographe dial; circa 1937; condition report notes oxidation and reapplied hand lume
|-
| [https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2024/important-watches/reference-3346-zerograph-an-extremely-rare-and?locale=en Sotheby’s, 5 June 2024] || 128 / 146269 || Circa 1942; manual 10½-ligne, 17-jewel movement; Sotheby’s discusses a possible two-batch grouping
|-
| [https://www.monacolegendauctions.com/auction/exclusive-timepieces-33/lot-199 Monaco Legend, 21 April 2024] || 199 / 142589 || Centregraph; circa 1941; Sotheby’s later includes the same case number in its survey
|}
Case-number note: Sotheby’s 2024 survey identifies the Christie’s 2002 watch as case 142587. Sale dates and case numbers identify catalogue records; they do not form a production census. Repeated appearances of the same case count once.

==Gallery==

<gallery mode="packed" heights="180">
File:Ref 3346 hero.webp|alt=Rolex ref. 3346 Zerographe, case 146262|Front view of Antiquorum’s case 146262
File:Ref 3346 three-quarter.webp|alt=Three-quarter view of the Rolex ref. 3346 Zerographe|Three-quarter view of the same watch
File:Ref 3346 dial.webp|alt=Dial close-up of the Rolex ref. 3346 Zerographe|Silvered dial, signed Rolex Oyster Zerographe
File:Ref 3346 case-side.webp|alt=Reference engraving on the case side of Rolex ref. 3346|Reference engraving on the case
File:Ref 3346 caseback.webp|alt=Serial number on the exterior caseback of Rolex ref. 3346|Case number 146262
File:Ref 3346 clasp.webp|alt=Folding clasp on the steel bracelet shown with Rolex ref. 3346|Bracelet clasp
</gallery>

== Sources ==

* [https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-2070687 Christie’s, ref. 3346 Centregraph Observatory, 14 May 2002, lot 48]
* [https://www.christies.com/lot/lot-5674673 Christie’s, ref. 3346 Zerographe, 13 May 2013, lot 179]
* [https://catalog.antiquorum.swiss/en/lots/rolex-lot-146-41 Antiquorum, ref. 3346, 1992, lot 41, case 146275]
* [https://catalog.antiquorum.swiss/en/lots/rolex-lot-144-365 Antiquorum, ref. 3346, Geneva, 12 November 2006, lot 365, case 146271]
* [https://www.phillips.com/detail/rolex/CH080016/36 Phillips, ref. 3346 Zerographe, 14 May 2016, lot 36]
* [https://catalog.antiquorum.swiss/en/lots/rolex-ref-3346-zerographe-lot-339-292 Antiquorum, ref. 3346 Zerographe, 9 May 2021, lot 292]
* [https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2024/important-watches/reference-3346-zerograph-an-extremely-rare-and?locale=en Sotheby’s, ref. 3346 Zerograph, 5 June 2024, lot 128]
* [https://www.monacolegendauctions.com/auction/exclusive-timepieces-33/lot-199 Monaco Legend Auctions, ref. 3346 Centregraph, 21 April 2024, lot 199]
* Colin A. White, *The Vintage Rolex Field Manual*, “Centergraph & Zerograph Chronographs,” p. 71.
* [https://moonphase.fr/chronographe-mono-poussoir-zerographe-ref-3346-pourquoi-cette-montre-est-si-importante-dans-lhistoire-de-rolex/ Moonphase, “Chronographe mono-poussoir Zerographe réf. 3346,” 1 February 2017]. Specialist secondary account; its production-count and “first” claims are not used as facts here.

[[Category:Chronograph]]

Reference:3346 - Revision history

Admin: Publish reviewed reference 3346 with source-grounded article and attributed images