Admin: Add researched Oyster Perpetual ref. 5026 article

2026-10-17T15:25:39Z

Add researched Oyster Perpetual ref. 5026 article

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{{DISPLAYTITLE:Rolex Oyster Perpetual 5026}}
{{#seo:
|title=Rolex Oyster Perpetual 5026 — documented examples
|description=Auction and collector records for the 36 mm automatic Rolex Oyster Perpetual ref. 5026, including its small-seconds layout, movement attribution, and documented variants.
|keywords=Rolex, 5026, Oyster Perpetual, Ovettone, Bubbleback, Cal. 720
|image=Ref_5026_hero.webp
|image_alt=Steel Rolex Oyster Perpetual ref. 5026 with subsidiary seconds, Sterling Vault lot 35
|type=Article
|og_type=article
|robots=index,follow,max-image-preview:large
}}

<small>[[Reference:bubbleback|Pre-Perpetual Oyster]] → '''5026'''</small>

<div class="rp-lead">
[[File:Ref 5026 hero.webp|thumb|center|640px|alt=Steel Oyster Perpetual ref. 5026 with subsidiary seconds|Sterling Vault Auctioneers, lot 35.]]
</div>

Auction catalogues document ref. 5026 as a 36 mm steel automatic Oyster Perpetual; the examples reviewed usually have subsidiary seconds. Individual watches carry estimates from about 1946 to 1958, but the reference's production limits remain undated. Christie’s describes a white enamel dial; other catalogues show silvered or cream dials. These records document several examples, not a complete dial sequence.

==Core facts==

{| class="wikitable"
! Detail !! Documented record
|-
| Reference || 5026
|-
| Model || Steel automatic Oyster Perpetual; “Ovettone” and “Big Bubble” are later collector or catalogue terms
|-
| Example dates || Circa 1946 (Christie’s); circa 1950 (Antiquorum and Sterling Vault); circa 1958 (Aste Bolaffi). These are dates assigned to individual lots.
|-
| Case size || 36 mm in the catalogues reviewed
|-
| Case material || Stainless steel in the examples reviewed
|-
| Seconds layout || Subsidiary seconds at six in the photographed and described examples
|-
| Movement || Aste Bolaffi identifies Cal. 720, 18 jewels, in case 443371. No movement photograph confirms that number.
|-
| Dial records || White enamel, silvered, and cream descriptions; no complete dial sequence is established
|}

==Where it sits in the line==

Ref. 5026 is part of the large-case automatic Oyster Perpetual group. Christie's comparison with ref. 5028 gives the usual seconds layout as subsidiary seconds for 5026 and centre seconds for 5028. Collectors use “Ovettone” and “Big Bubble” for the group; Rolex did not use them as family names. The comparison describes typical examples, not every watch. [https://www.christies.com/PDF/catalog/2026/NYC23587_SaleCat.pdf Christie's, Important Watches New York, 12 June 2026]

==Production outline==

Christie's dates its example to about 1946; Antiquorum dates case 443409 to about 1950; Aste Bolaffi dates case 443371 to about 1958. Sterling Vault also gives about 1950 for its example. These catalogue estimates place individual watches across that period; Rolex's production dates for the reference remain unsettled. [https://onlineonly.christies.com/s/christies-watches-online-time-travel/rolex-steel-bubble-back-enamel-dial-ref-5026-123/71687 Christie's, lot 123]; [https://catalog.antiquorum.swiss/en/lots/rolex-ref-5026-lot-297-239 Antiquorum, lot 239]; [https://www.astebolaffi.it/en/lot/257/4/detail Aste Bolaffi, lot 4]; [https://www.easyliveauction.com/catalogue/lot/55860e877094fba599e15ae62497acb4/luxury-watches-jewellery/ Sterling Vault, lot 35]

==Movement notes==

Aste Bolaffi names an automatic Cal. 720 with 18 jewels in case 443371. The catalogue does not show a readable caliber marking, so keep this as its description of one watch. Other exact-reference records reviewed do not name a caliber. [https://www.astebolaffi.it/en/lot/257/4/detail Aste Bolaffi, lot 4]

An early Relojes Especiales discussion also connects 5026 with Cal. 720 or A.295, but it gives no movement photograph or cited specimen. Treat that as a collector lead. Manual Kew A reports that use the name “720” describe a different source-specific movement context; keep those reports separate from the automatic auction attribution. [https://relojes-especiales.com/threads/rolex-bubbleback-un-breve-informe.186137/ Relojes Especiales forum discussion]; [[Reference:Movements|Movement index]]

==Dial map==

The catalogued examples include a white enamel dial (Christie’s), a silvered dial with subsidiary seconds (Aste Bolaffi), and a cream dial with Arabic numerals and subsidiary seconds (Sterling Vault). Aste Boetto describes another silvered dial with gold-tone hands and indexes. Each description belongs to a separate watch; the catalogues do not order these layouts or verify that every dial is original to its case. [https://onlineonly.christies.com/s/christies-watches-online-time-travel/rolex-steel-bubble-back-enamel-dial-ref-5026-123/71687 Christie's, lot 123]; [https://www.astebolaffi.it/en/lot/257/4/detail Aste Bolaffi, lot 4]; [https://www.easyliveauction.com/catalogue/lot/55860e877094fba599e15ae62497acb4/0af8d24542e81eb9357e7ef448a6646f/luxury-watches-jewellery/ Sterling Vault, lot 35]; [https://www.asteboetto.com/pdf/2511A.pdf Aste Boetto, lot 2827]

The seconds hand sits in a register at six on the Antiquorum photograph and the other catalogue images. Antiquorum’s text calls its lot centre-seconds, a description at odds with the photograph. Christie's 2026 catalogue also gives subsidiary seconds as the usual 5026 layout. The records located show no confirmed centre-seconds 5026. [https://catalog.antiquorum.swiss/en/lots/rolex-ref-5026-lot-297-239 Antiquorum, lot 239]; [https://www.christies.com/PDF/catalog/2026/NYC23587_SaleCat.pdf Christie's, 2026 catalogue]

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

The exact-reference catalogues reviewed describe 36 mm stainless-steel cases. Christie's calls the crown on its circa-1946 example original. Bezel and crystal details are sparse and inconsistent across the catalogues; the available evidence does not establish a reference-wide specification. [https://onlineonly.christies.com/s/christies-watches-online-time-travel/rolex-steel-bubble-back-enamel-dial-ref-5026-123/71687 Christie's, lot 123]

<gallery mode="packed" heights="180">
File:Ref 5026 crown.webp|Angled front and crown-side view, Sterling Vault lot 35.
File:Ref 5026 caseback.webp|Exterior caseback, Sterling Vault lot 35. The inner reference stamp is not visible here.
</gallery>

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

The lots show different fitted bracelets. Christie's says its Jubilee bracelet is later than the watch and records end links stamped 55 and a bracelet stamp 3, 65. Aste Bolaffi lists a 7205 bracelet with 57 end links and a clasp code 2.69; that later clasp dates the bracelet component, not the watch head. Sterling Vault calls its bracelet unbranded. Aste Boetto describes a rice-grain bracelet as original to its lot, a claim not independently verified here. These records do not establish standard delivery fitment. No reference-specific box or papers are documented in the sources reviewed. [https://onlineonly.christies.com/s/christies-watches-online-time-travel/rolex-steel-bubble-back-enamel-dial-ref-5026-123/71687 Christie's, lot 123]; [https://www.astebolaffi.it/en/lot/257/4/detail Aste Bolaffi, lot 4]; [https://www.easyliveauction.com/catalogue/lot/55860e877094fba599e15ae62497acb4/0af8d24542e81eb9357e7ef448a6646f/luxury-watches-jewellery/ Sterling Vault, lot 35]; [https://www.asteboetto.com/pdf/2511A.pdf Aste Boetto, lot 2827]

[[File:Ref 5026 clasp.webp|thumb|right|230px|Clasp and bracelet on the watch catalogued by Sterling Vault, lot 35.]]

==Special branches==

Two isolated records differ from the examples described above. Anderson & Garland catalogued one watch with 5028 struck through and 5026 added on the caseback. That corrected marking does not establish a standard dual-reference case. An archived dealer listing calls a 30 mm manual SpeedKing “5026,” though its photograph shows neither the claimed caseback stamp nor the movement. Neither record establishes a recurring 5026 variant. [https://www.andersonandgarland.com/lot/194009 Rolex ref. 5026/5028, lot 16]; [https://everywatch.com/rolex/5026/watch-2995257 EveryWatch archived listing]

==Historical market and auction record==

{| class="wikitable"
! Sale record !! Example
|-
| [https://onlineonly.christies.com/s/christies-watches-online-time-travel/rolex-steel-bubble-back-enamel-dial-ref-5026-123/71687 Christie's, lot 123] || Steel, 36 mm, automatic, white enamel dial; circa 1946. Condition report says the inside caseback is stamped 5026 and the Jubilee bracelet is later.
|-
| [https://catalog.antiquorum.swiss/en/lots/rolex-ref-5026-lot-297-239 Antiquorum Hong Kong, 2016, lot 239] || Case 443409, steel, 36 mm, circa 1950. The image shows subsidiary seconds despite the catalogue's centre-seconds wording.
|-
| [https://www.easyliveauction.com/catalogue/lot/55860e877094fba599e15ae62497acb4/0af8d24542e81eb9357e7ef448a6646f/luxury-watches-jewellery/ Sterling Vault, 2024, lot 35] || Steel, 36 mm, automatic, subsidiary seconds; circa 1950. Four views show the dial, case, caseback exterior, and clasp.
|-
| [https://www.astebolaffi.it/en/lot/257/4/detail Aste Bolaffi, lot 4] || Case 443371, steel, 36 mm, circa 1958; catalogue identifies automatic Cal. 720/18 jewels.
|-
| [https://www.asteboetto.com/pdf/2511A.pdf Aste Boetto, lot 2827] || Steel, 36 mm, automatic, silvered dial and rice-grain bracelet; the auctioneer describes the bracelet as original.
|}

==Gallery==

<gallery mode="packed" heights="180">
File:Ref 5026 hero.webp|Whole watch, Sterling Vault Auctioneers, lot 35.
File:Ref 5026 crown.webp|Angled front and crown-side view, same watch.
File:Ref 5026 caseback.webp|Exterior caseback, same watch.
File:Ref 5026 clasp.webp|Clasp and bracelet, same watch.
</gallery>

== Sources ==

* [https://onlineonly.christies.com/s/christies-watches-online-time-travel/rolex-steel-bubble-back-enamel-dial-ref-5026-123/71687 "Rolex steel Bubble Back ref. 5026, Christie's online sale, lot 123", Christie's]
* [https://www.astebolaffi.it/en/lot/257/4/detail "Rolex Ovettone ref. 5026, Aste Bolaffi, lot 4", Aste Bolaffi, 2019]
* [https://catalog.antiquorum.swiss/en/lots/rolex-ref-5026-lot-297-239 "Rolex ref. 5026 Big Bubble, Antiquorum Hong Kong 2016, lot 239", Antiquorum, 2016-03-19]
* [https://www.andersonandgarland.com/auction/lot/lot-16---rare-rolex-oyster-perpetual-ovettone-bubble-back-wristwatch/?lot=275133&sd=1 "Rolex Oyster Perpetual Ovettone with crossed reference marks, Anderson & Garland, lot 16", Anderson & Garland]
* [https://relojes-especiales.com/threads/rolex-bubbleback-un-breve-informe.186137/ "Relojes Especiales, “Rolex Bubbleback – un breve informe”", Relojes Especiales, 2011-07-16]
* [https://everywatch.com/rolex/5026/watch-2995257 "EveryWatch archive of a dealer listing titled ref. 5026 SpeedKing", EveryWatch (archived dealer listing)]
* [https://www.easyliveauction.com/catalogue/lot/55860e877094fba599e15ae62497acb4/0af8d24542e81eb9357e7ef448a6646f/luxury-watches-jewellery/ "Rolex Oyster Perpetual ref. 5026, Sterling Vault Auctioneers lot 35", Sterling Vault Auctioneers / Easy Live Auction, 2024-01-30]
* [https://www.asteboetto.com/pdf/2511A.pdf "Rolex ref. 5026, Aste Boetto, lot 2827", Aste Boetto, 2025-12-12]
* [https://www.christies.com/PDF/catalog/2026/NYC23587_SaleCat.pdf "Christie's, Important Watches New York, 12 June 2026, ref. 5028 lot essay", Christie's, 2026-06-12]

[[Category:Bubbleback]]

Reference:5026 - Revision history

Admin: Add researched Oyster Perpetual ref. 5026 article