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Create deeply sourced reference 3351 article

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{{#seo:
|title=Rolex Oyster 3351: surviving examples and variants
|description=Catalogue and dealer records for Rolex Oyster 3351, with case forms, dial labels and movement attributions tied to individual watches.
}}
{{DISPLAYTITLE:Rolex Oyster 3351}}

<small>[[Reference:bubbleback|Bubbleback and early Oyster]] → '''3351'''</small>

<div class="rp-lead">
[[File:Ref 3351 hero.webp|thumb|center|640px|alt=Gold-tone Rolex Oyster 3351 with a Seaforth and Observatory dial|3351 with Seaforth / Observatory dial. Photo: [https://www.ebay.com/itm/227412128120 eBay seller watchnj].]]
</div>

Surviving records place small, manual-wind Oyster watches marked 3351 from about 1935 into the 1940s. Catalogues call individual examples Standard, Regent, Lincoln and Extra Precision; a photographed Seaforth example also has “Observatory” on the dial. Wanna Buy A Watch reports “Rolex Oyster, Standard” on its Standard dial. The names appear on individual watches; the sources do not document a factory hierarchy.

==Core facts==

{| class="wikitable rp-facts"
|-
! detail
! value
|-
| reference
| 3351
|-
| family
| Oyster, manual wind
|-
| documented dates
| Catalogue dates run from circa 1935 into the 1940s; the production span is unknown.
|-
| movements
| Cal. 59 in several catalogued examples; Extra Prima in a Christie's example.
|-
| case
| Round, hooded-lug and cushion forms are documented; reported diameter is 28–29 mm.
|-
| materials
| Stainless steel, gilt or gold-filled cases, and a gold-and-steel example are recorded.
|-
| catalogue labels
| Standard, Regent, Lincoln and Extra Precision; one photographed listing has Seaforth and Observatory dial text.
|-
| bracelet
| Two photographed examples are on leather straps; reference-specific bracelet fitment remains undocumented.
|}

==Where it sits in the line==

The catalogues identify 3351 on small manual-wind Oysters. Christie's describes its 28 mm Standard with a screw-down crown and caseback; other 3351 records show circular hooded-lug and cushion cases. Wanna Buy A Watch calls its 29 mm Standard a “boy's size”; that is the dealer's label.

==Production outline==

Heritage Auctions dates one gold-filled Regent to circa 1935. Christie's places a Standard in a group dated circa 1940s, and Dawsons estimates a Lincoln at circa 1942. Christie's records a separate two-tone Extra Precision but gives no date. Together, the catalogues place documented examples from circa 1935 into the 1940s; they do not settle the production endpoints.

The cited records give case numbers 118141, 118404 and 118412; Dawsons lists serial 170648. Each number belongs to a separate watch. Heritage dates case 118141 to circa 1935, Dawsons gives serial 170648 circa 1942, and Christie's places case 118412 in a 1940s group. Its Extra Precision entry gives no date. The sample is too small to build a serial-year sequence.

==Movement notes==

The records pair Cal. 59 with a circa-1935 gold-filled Regent and a circa-1942 Lincoln. AntiWatchman's separate Regent image shows a movement marked 59. The evidence establishes Cal. 59 for those examples.

David Boettcher identifies an Oyster Watch Co. movement as FHF 30, 10½ ligne. In his account, Cal. 59 is Tudor's designation for that movement. Auction and dealer records use the name for individual 3351 watches. See the [[Reference:Movements#cal-59|Cal. 59 movement record]] for the broader evidence.

Christie's records a 3351 Extra Precision with a signed Extra Prima movement timed to six positions. Its catalogue entry does not connect that movement to Cal. 59.

<gallery mode="packed" heights="180">
File:Ref 3351 movement.webp|Seaforth example: Rolex-signed, 17-ruby movement. Photo: [https://www.ebay.com/itm/227412128120 eBay seller watchnj]
File:Ref 3351 movement 2.webp|Regent example: movement marked 59. Photo: [https://antiwatchman.com/products/detail.php?product_id=14533 AntiWatchman]
</gallery>

==Dial map==

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! catalogue label or observed dial text
! documented example
! what the record supports
|-
| Standard (dial text reported by one dealer; catalogue label in another record)
| Christie's case 118412; Wanna Buy A Watch's 118xxx stainless-steel example
| Christie's describes a silvered dial with luminous Arabic and baton numerals and an inner 24-hour ring, and calls the watch Standard. Wanna Buy A Watch describes its black dial as signed “Rolex Oyster, Standard”; it has luminous Arabic and baton markers and subsidiary seconds.
|-
| Regent (catalogue label)
| Heritage case 118141; AntiWatchman's photographed example
| Heritage describes a refinished silver dial with luminous Arabic numerals. AntiWatchman shows a separate cushion-case watch with full Arabic numerals, a red 24-hour scale and subsidiary seconds.
|-
| Lincoln (catalogue label)
| Dawsons serial 170648
| Dawsons describes an off-white dial with Arabic numerals and a red 24-hour sub-index.
|-
| Extra Precision (catalogue label)
| Christie's case 118404
| Silvered dial with Arabic quarter divisions and subsidiary seconds.
|-
| Seaforth / Observatory (observed dial text)
| Marketplace photographs show a 3351 caseback; a 2020 collector post also describes a 3351 Seaforth
| The eBay dial reads “Rolex Oyster Seaforth,” with “Observatory” above the subsidiary seconds. The seller dates it to 1924. A Reddit post credits its Seaforth 3351 photograph to Derek Dier and describes that pictured example as 28 mm, gold-plated steel and circa 1942. Neither date establishes when the eBay watch was made.
|}

The records show both center seconds and subsidiary seconds. Auction catalogues describe luminous numerals and hands, though the surviving dates do not place those layouts within the run.

<gallery mode="packed" heights="180">
File:Ref 3351 dial-detail.webp|Seaforth / Observatory dial. Photo: [https://www.ebay.com/itm/227412128120 eBay seller watchnj]
File:Ref 3351 dial-variant-regent.webp|Regent dial with Arabic numerals and a red 24-hour scale. Photo: [https://antiwatchman.com/products/detail.php?product_id=14533 AntiWatchman]
</gallery>

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

The records show circular hooded-lug and gilt cushion cases. Christie's Extra Precision has stepped hooded lugs; its Standard has a cushion case, steel screw back and screw-down crown. Heritage describes its Regent as gold-filled. Dawsons' catalogue photograph shows a gold-tone Lincoln, while its text leaves the metal unspecified. Reported diameters are 28–29 mm across separate examples, not a factory-wide specification.

One photographed watch has 3351 stamped outside and Oyster Watch Co. patent text inside the caseback. David Boettcher documents Rolex-branded Oyster watches in cases marked Oyster Watch Co., but does not identify a 3351 or settle how those cases were paired. The photographs record the markings on this watch; they do not establish when its case and movement were assembled together. ([https://www.ebay.com/itm/227412128120 eBay listing]; [https://www.vintagewatchstraps.com/blogoysterwatchco.php David Boettcher, “Oyster Watch Co.”])

Dawsons describes an acrylic crystal on its Lincoln. Christie's names a screw-down crown and back for the Standard; the Seaforth photographs show a screw back. Bezel measurements and crown revisions remain undescribed in the cited sources.

<gallery mode="packed" heights="180">
File:Ref 3351 case-flank.webp|Crown and cushion-case profile. Photo: [https://www.ebay.com/itm/227412128120 eBay seller watchnj].
File:Ref 3351 caseback.webp|Caseback stamped 3351. Photo: [https://www.ebay.com/itm/227412128120 eBay seller watchnj].
File:Ref 3351 case-detail.webp|Inside caseback with Oyster Watch Co. and patent markings. Photo: [https://www.ebay.com/itm/227412128120 eBay seller watchnj].
</gallery>

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

The documented watches are shown on leather straps: Wanna Buy A Watch and eBay show leather, while AntiWatchman identifies its Regent strap as aftermarket. The reviewed records do not tie a period bracelet, end link, clasp, box or papers to this reference.

==Dealer-recorded 3351-F examples==

Two dealer archives append an F to the number. Darlor writes 3351-F for a 29 mm rose gold-filled cushion Oyster, serial 118,489, and dates it to 1941 with a Cal. 59 movement. The date is Darlor's serial-based attribution. Trebor's Vintage writes 3351f for a 28 mm Oyster with sweep seconds, dated circa 1930; its text says the pictured watch instead has subsidiary seconds. These listings do not explain whether F is a factory suffix or how it relates to the different case and seconds descriptions. ([https://www.darlor-watch.com/rolex_watches_3.html Darlor]; [https://www.vintagewatch.ca/5629-antique-rolex-oyster-cushion-case-with-sweep-seconds-circa-1930/ Trebor's Vintage Watches])

==Historical market and auction record==

The auction record includes a circa-1935 Regent (Heritage Auctions, lot 56280), a circa-1940s Standard in a three-watch Christie's lot, a circa-1942 Lincoln (Dawsons, lot 387), and an Extra Precision in Christie's 1994 sale. Heritage describes its Regent dial as refinished. Dawsons' published catalogue gives an estimate only for the Lincoln.

==Gallery==

<gallery mode="packed" heights="180">
File:Ref 3351 hero.webp|Oyster 3351 with Seaforth / Observatory dial. Photo: [https://www.ebay.com/itm/227412128120 eBay seller watchnj]
File:Ref 3351 dial-detail.webp|Dial inscription and subsidiary seconds. Photo: [https://www.ebay.com/itm/227412128120 eBay seller watchnj].
File:Ref 3351 case-flank.webp|Case profile and crown. Photo: [https://www.ebay.com/itm/227412128120 eBay seller watchnj].
File:Ref 3351 caseback.webp|Caseback stamped 3351. Photo: [https://www.ebay.com/itm/227412128120 eBay seller watchnj].
File:Ref 3351 movement.webp|Rolex-signed, 17-ruby movement. Photo: [https://www.ebay.com/itm/227412128120 eBay seller watchnj].
File:Ref 3351 movement 2.webp|Regent movement marked 59. Photo: [https://antiwatchman.com/products/detail.php?product_id=14533 AntiWatchman]
File:Ref 3351 case-detail.webp|Inside caseback markings. Photo: [https://www.ebay.com/itm/227412128120 eBay seller watchnj].
File:Ref 3351 dial-variant-regent.webp|Oyster Regent dial. Photo: [https://antiwatchman.com/products/detail.php?product_id=14533 AntiWatchman]
</gallery>

== Sources ==

* [https://www.christies.com/lot/lot-3057585 "Rolex. A gold and steel Oyster Extra Precision wristwatch, ref. 3351, lot 67", Christie's, 1994-03-16]
* [https://www.vintagewatchstraps.com/blogoysterwatchco.php David Boettcher, "Oyster Watch Co. — vintagewatchstraps.com", vintagewatchstraps.com, 2026-03-31]
* [https://www.christies.com.cn/en/lot/lot-4785368 "Rolex, group of three stainless steel and gilt cushion wristwatches with center seconds, ref. 3351 Standard, case 118412", Christie's]
* [https://jewelry.ha.com/c/item.zx?ic16=ViewItem-Auction-Archive-JumpLot-PreviousLot-050318&lotNo=56280&saleNo=5242 "Rolex ref. 3351 Oyster Regent early wristwatch, lot 56280", Heritage Auctions, 2015-10-29]
* [https://dawsons.blob.core.windows.net/main/Full%20Catalogue%20-%20May%202022%20Jewellery.pdf "Jewellery, Silver & Watches, lot 387: Rolex Oyster 3351 Lincoln shockproof", Dawsons Auctioneers, 2022-05-19]
* [https://wannabuyawatch.com/product/rolex-oyster-standard-ref-3351-boys-size-circa-1941/ "Rolex Oyster Standard ref. 3351 Boy's Size circa 1941", Wanna Buy A Watch, 2019]
* [https://antiwatchman.com/products/detail.php?product_id=14533 "Oyster Watch Company Oyster Regent ref. 3351, RG-2986", AntiWatchman]
* [https://www.ebay.com/itm/227412128120 watchnj, "Rolex Oyster Seaforth / Observatory listing, item 227412128120", eBay, 2026]
* [https://www.reddit.com/r/rolex/comments/fj0jvy "Cool Rolex of the Day #876: 3351 Seaforth with military-style dial, marked Observatory", Reddit r/rolex, 2020-03-15]
* [https://www.darlor-watch.com/rolex_watches_3.html "Darlor Vintage Rolex Watches and Accessories, page 3: 3351-F, serial 118,489", Darlor Vintage Watches]
* [https://www.vintagewatch.ca/5629-antique-rolex-oyster-cushion-case-with-sweep-seconds-circa-1930/ "Antique Rolex Oyster cushion case with sweep seconds circa 1930, ref. 3351f", Trebor's Vintage Watches]

[[Category:Oyster]]

Reference:3351 - Revision history

Admin: Create deeply sourced reference 3351 article