Admin: Clarify Cal. 1600 jewel count and beat-rate sources

2026-10-09T02:47:36Z

Clarify Cal. 1600 jewel count and beat-rate sources

← Older revision		Revision as of 02:47, 9 October 2026
Line 16:		Line 16:
	<div class="rp-lead">[[File:Ref_3735_hero.webp\|thumb\|center\|640px\|alt=White-gold Rolex 3735 with blue dial, applied markers and Cellini script\|Fortuna, lot 113; auction catalogue dates this watch to circa 1968.]]</div>		<div class="rp-lead">[[File:Ref_3735_hero.webp\|thumb\|center\|640px\|alt=White-gold Rolex 3735 with blue dial, applied markers and Cellini script\|Fortuna, lot 113; auction catalogue dates this watch to circa 1968.]]</div>

	Reference 3735 appears in late-1960s records for a small, manually wound Rolex dress watch with a rounded-square case. Auction examples document two dial treatments and Cal. 1600; other sale records add a champagne dial and a yellow-gold case. The catalogue dates ~~apply to~~ individual watches, not the ~~start or end of~~ production.		Reference 3735 appears in late-1960s records for a small, manually wound Rolex dress watch with a rounded-square case. Auction examples document two dial treatments and Cal. 1600; other sale records add a champagne dial and a yellow-gold case. The catalogue dates describe individual watches and do not define the reference’s production span.

	==Core facts==		==Core facts==
Line 32:		Line 32:
	\|-		\|-
	\| Movement		\| Movement
	\| Manual-wind Cal. 1600; ~~catalogues give~~ 19 jewels ~~and~~ 19,800 beats per hour.		\| Manual-wind Cal. 1600; Farsetti lists 19 jewels. Rolex’s 1978 service booklet gives 19,800 beats per hour.
	\|-		\|-
	\| Case		\| Case

Admin: Create sourced Cellini reference 3735 article

2026-10-09T02:42:46Z

Create sourced Cellini reference 3735 article

New page

{{#seo:
|title=Rolex 3735 — Cellini Label, Cal. 1600 and Dial Records | Rolexopedia
|description=Auction records for Rolex 3735 document a late-1960s manual-wind dress watch, Cal. 1600, white- and yellow-gold examples, and conflicting early chronograph references.
|keywords=Rolex 3735, Cellini 3735, Rolex Calibre 1600, vintage Rolex Cellini, Rolex single-button chronograph
|image=Ref_3735_hero.webp
|image_alt=Rolex 3735 in white gold with a blue dial and Cellini script
|type=article
|og_type=article
|robots=index,follow,max-image-preview:large
}}

{{DISPLAYTITLE:Rolex 3735}}

<small>Cellini → '''3735'''</small>

<div class="rp-lead">[[File:Ref_3735_hero.webp|thumb|center|640px|alt=White-gold Rolex 3735 with blue dial, applied markers and Cellini script|Fortuna, lot 113; auction catalogue dates this watch to circa 1968.]]</div>

Reference 3735 appears in late-1960s records for a small, manually wound Rolex dress watch with a rounded-square case. Auction examples document two dial treatments and Cal. 1600; other sale records add a champagne dial and a yellow-gold case. The catalogue dates apply to individual watches, not the start or end of production.

==Core facts==

{| class="wikitable rp-facts"
|-
! Detail
! Documented record
|-
| Model
| Later catalogues identify 3735 as a Cellini; Rolex dates the Cellini collection to 1968.
|-
| Display
| Hours and minutes only.
|-
| Movement
| Manual-wind Cal. 1600; catalogues give 19 jewels and 19,800 beats per hour.
|-
| Case
| Rounded-square or cushion form. One auction record gives 30 × 30 mm; another gives 31 mm wide and 36 mm lug-to-lug.
|-
| Materials
| Auction records document 18 ct white gold. A separate 1969 sale listing records yellow gold.
|-
| Dials
| Blue with Cellini script and diamond markers at 3, 6 and 9; black with applied markers, described by the auction house as repainted.
|-
| Date evidence
| Catalogue records date examples to 1967, circa 1968 and 1969; these are dates assigned to individual watches.
|-
| Strap
| Sale-time examples appear on leather straps; original delivery strap and buckle remain undocumented.
|}

==Where it sits in the line==

Rolex’s published history dates the Cellini collection to 1968 and says it brought together classic watches that had sat outside the Oyster Perpetual line. Recent auction catalogues identify 3735 as Cellini. Farsetti dates one example to 1967, a year before Rolex’s stated collection date; the catalogue may be applying the Cellini name retrospectively.

Two early chronograph records use 3735 differently: Antiquorum’s 1993 catalogue calls a circa-1915 single-button watch “Ref. 3735,” while Christie’s describes a 1920s single-button watch as “case no. 3735.” The ''Vintage Rolex Field Manual'' also lists a mono-pusher chronograph under 3735. The cited records do not connect either watch to the later Cellini examples.

==Production outline==

Farsetti dates a white-gold example to 1967; Fortuna dates another, serial 1,809,871, to circa 1968. That number falls within the late-1960s numeric sequence in the serial-number guide. The available records date individual watches but do not define the reference’s full production span.

==Movement notes==

Farsetti and Fortuna both identify a manually wound Cal. 1600. Farsetti lists 19 jewels; Rolex’s 1978 technical and service booklet lists Cal. 1600 as a round 9¼-ligne movement running at 19,800 beats per hour. The auction attributions apply to those two catalogued examples.

==Dial map==

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Documented example
! Dial details
! Record and limit
|-
| Blue dial
| Cellini script, applied baton markers, diamonds at 3, 6 and 9
| Fortuna’s circa-1968 white-gold example. The sale catalogue describes the dial as in excellent condition.
|-
| Black dial
| Applied geometric markers and slim baton hands; signed Rolex Genève
| Farsetti’s 1967 white-gold example. Farsetti describes the dial as repainted; this lot records an altered example.
|-
| Champagne dial
| Applied baton markers and straight hands
| The item 411226 record describes a 1960s yellow-gold example and lists the dial as champagne.
|}

Fortuna describes the blue dial as being in excellent condition; the item 411226 record calls the other dial champagne. Neither catalogue verifies that the dial is original to its watch.

<gallery mode="packed" heights="180">
Ref_3735_dial-variant-black.webp|Farsetti, lot 107363: black dial on the 1967 example; catalogue notes that it was repainted
Ref_3735_dial-variant-champagne.webp|Yellow-gold Cellini listed as 3735J, [https://www.collectorsquare.com/en/watches/rolex/cellini/cellini/rolex-cellini-in-yellow-gold-ref-rolex-3735-circa-1960-411226.html item 411226]: champagne dial
</gallery>

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

The case is described as square, rounded-square or cushion-shaped. The two auction records differ in how they measure it: Farsetti gives 30 × 30 mm, while Fortuna gives 31 mm across and 36 mm lug-to-lug. Farsetti describes a snap-on white-gold back and a custom dust-resistant crown. The cited records leave crystal material and water-resistance rating unreported.

==Bracelets, clasps, and packaging==

The photographed auction examples are on leather straps. A 1969 Catawiki listing reproduced by Lot-Art describes a yellow-gold Milanese bracelet; that is one sale-time configuration. The available records give no original boxes, papers, clasp references or end-link fitment.

[[File:Ref_3735_strap-detail.webp|thumb|right|220px|Fortuna, lot 113: leather strap on the circa-1968 example.]]

==Special branches==

Item 411226 lists a yellow-gold watch as 3735J. The reviewed sources leave the suffix’s factory meaning uncertain.

==Historical market and auction record==

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Catalogue record
! Description
! Result or condition
|-
| Antiquorum, Milan, 29 March 1993, lot 258
| “Ref. 3735,” circa 1915; single-button chronograph in 18 ct gold
| Sold for ITL 12,650; a separate early chronograph record.
|-
| Christie’s, 30 September 1997, lot 355
| Single-button chronograph, 1920s; case no. 3735
| The catalogue describes 3735 as the case number.
|-
| Farsetti, 24 May–5 June 2025, lot 107363
| White-gold Cellini, dated 1967; Cal. 1600
| Dial described as repainted; estimate €1,400–1,700.
|-
| Fortuna, 7 March 2024, lot 113
| White-gold Cellini, dated circa 1968; serial 1,809,871; Cal. 1600
| Auction record describes blue dial and diamonds at 3, 6 and 9.
|-
| Catawiki, 30 December 2020, lot 43630625
| Yellow-gold 3735, dated 1969; Cal. 1600; Milanese bracelet
| Lot-Art preserves the sale listing, which documents this sale-time configuration.
|}

==Gallery==

<gallery mode="packed" heights="180">
Ref_3735_hero.webp|Fortuna, lot 113: blue Cellini dial and white-gold case, circa 1968
Ref_3735_strap-detail.webp|Fortuna, lot 113: the same white-gold watch on a leather strap
Ref_3735_dial-variant-black.webp|Farsetti, lot 107363: black dial on the 1967 example; catalogue notes that it was repainted
Ref_3735_dial-variant-champagne.webp|Yellow-gold Cellini listed as 3735J, [https://www.collectorsquare.com/en/watches/rolex/cellini/cellini/rolex-cellini-in-yellow-gold-ref-rolex-3735-circa-1960-411226.html item 411226]: champagne dial
</gallery>

== Sources ==

* [https://catalog.antiquorum.swiss/en/lots/rolex-lot-132-258 Antiquorum, "Antiquorum Milan, lot 258 — Rolex ref. 3735 single-button chronograph", Antiquorum, 1993-03-29]
* [https://www.christies.com/lot/an-early-gold-single-button-chronograph-wristwatch-204176/?intObjectID=204176&lid=1 Christie's, "Christie's, lot 355 — early single-button chronograph, case no. 3735", Christie's, 1997-09-30]
* [https://www.farsettiarte.it/uk/auction-0264-2/rolex-cellini-ref-3735-1967-107363 Farsettiarte, "Farsetti, lot 107363 — Rolex Cellini ref. 3735, dated 1967", Farsettiarte, 2025-06-05]
* [https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/rolex-cellini-blue-dial-in-18k-white-gold-113-c-d154d64b31 Fortuna, "Fortuna, lot 113 — Rolex Cellini blue dial in 18K white gold", Fortuna, 2024-03-07]
* [https://www.lot-art.com/auction-lots/Rolex-3735-Men-1960-1969/43630625-rolex_cellini_3735-30.12.20-catawiki Catawiki, "Catawiki, lot 43630625 — Rolex Cellini 3735 in yellow gold", Catawiki (archived by Lot-Art), 2020-12-30]
* [https://www.collectorsquare.com/en/watches/rolex/cellini/cellini/rolex-cellini-in-yellow-gold-ref-rolex-3735-circa-1960-411226.html Collector Square, "Collector Square, item 411226 — Rolex Cellini ref. 3735J", Collector Square]
* [https://newsroom-content.rolex.com/-/media/project/rolex/newsroom/rolex/rolex-newsroom-int/about-rolex/history-of-rolex/04_rolex_history_italian_2021.pdf Rolex, "Rolex History, 2021 Italian edition — Cellini collection", Rolex, 2021]
* [https://www.vrfm.io/Scans/TECHNICAL-SERVICE-INFO-3RD-EDITION-1978.pdf Rolex, "Rolex Technical and Service Information, third edition (1978) — Cal. 1600", Rolex Watch U.S.A., 1978]
* ''The Vintage Rolex Field Manual — ref. 3735 entries'' — Colin A. White, Morning Tundra, 2020

[[Category:Cellini]]

Reference:3735 - Revision history

Admin: Clarify Cal. 1600 jewel count and beat-rate sources

Admin: Create sourced Cellini reference 3735 article