Reference:5015: Difference between revisions

[checked revision]

Latest revision as of 04:17, 29 September 2026

The 5015 is a self-winding Oyster Perpetual documented in a 14k solid-yellow-gold watch with an engine-turned bezel and champagne dial, and in an 18k yellow-gold-and-steel watch with a simpler dial. The dates disagree. Robert Maron dates the 14k example to about 1948–1950; a separate eBay listing identifies a 10k example as 1948. Antiquorum dates its 18k-and-steel lot to about 1961. These are source-specific dates, not a settled production range.

Core facts

detail	value
reference	5015
family	Oyster Perpetual (Bubbleback)
common name	"Bubbleback"
production	disputed — two dealer sources give circa 1948–1950; one Antiquorum auction lot gives circa 1961
case	documented in 14k solid yellow gold (engine-turned bezel, ~30.8mm) and 18k yellow gold with stainless steel (32mm)
movement	self-winding; one example specifies caliber sized 9¾ lignes, another an 18-jewel COSC-certified automatic caliber
dial (documented)	champagne with applied gold Arabic numerals, gold leaf hands, blued seconds hand (14k example); unspecified signed dial (18k/steel example)
documented examples	Antiquorum lot 47 (case no. 647355, movement no. 81376, 18k gold and steel, unsold/passed); a 14k solid gold example with engine-turned bezel, sold "mint+"

Where it sits in the line

“Bubbleback” is a collector nickname, not an official Rolex designation, for early Oyster Perpetual watches with a domed caseback around the automatic rotor. General histories place the family mainly from the 1930s into the mid-1950s. That makes the 1948–1950 dates consistent with the usual chronology; the 1961 Antiquorum date falls later and remains unresolved by the sources checked here.

The 14k example has an engine-turned bezel. A similar treatment is documented on the 3725, but the checked sources do not establish how often Rolex offered it across the family.

Production outline

The 14k Robert Maron listing gives circa 1948–1950, while a separate eBay listing identifies a 10k 5015 from 1948. These are dealer and marketplace records, not production documents. Antiquorum’s formal catalogue gives circa 1961 for its 18k gold-and-steel lot. The checked sources do not resolve the discrepancy.

Movement notes

The Antiquorum lot specifies a self-winding movement sized 9¾ lignes and identifies movement no. 81376. A separately documented 14k gold example specifies an 18-jewel automatic caliber with COSC chronometer certification. Both are self-winding, consistent with the Bubbleback family's defining mechanical feature; neither source gives a numbered caliber designation.

Rolex 5015 movement, self-winding rotor signed Rolex Perpetual Chronometer, movement no. 81376 — Self-winding rotor, movement no. 81376, case no. 647355

Dial map

The 14k gold example carries a champagne dial with applied gold Arabic numerals, embossed gold dot minute and second markers, gold leaf-style hands, and a blued steel seconds hand — a dressier configuration than the plainer signed dial documented on the 18k gold and steel Antiquorum example.

Case, bezel, crystal, and crown

Two case treatments are documented: solid 14k yellow gold with an engine-turned bezel, measuring approximately 30.8mm diameter and 38.5mm lug-to-lug; and 18k yellow gold paired with stainless steel at 32mm, bezel style unspecified in the auction catalogue. The 14k example's crystal is bombé acrylic, a period-correct domed plastic crystal rather than sapphire or flat mineral glass.

Rolex 5015 caseback, engraved Rolex coronet, Geneve Suisse, Rolex Brevete, 5015 — Caseback, case no. 647355

Related references

Bubbleback 3130 (same self-winding family, solid-gold construction documented)
Bubbleback 3725 (same era, also documented with an engine-turned bezel)

Auction record

Sale	Lot	Case no.	Configuration	Estimate	Result
Antiquorum, Hong Kong, 31 May 2026	47	647355	18k yellow gold and stainless steel, self-winding, circa 1961 (per lot catalogue)	HKD 30,000–60,000	Unsold

The Antiquorum lot was unsold. The 14k gold engine-turned-bezel example appears in a dealer archive without a disclosed sale price.

Gold 5015 Bubbleback example
Movement no. 81376, Antiquorum lot 47
Caseback, case no. 647355

Sources

@@ Line 11: / Line 11: @@
 }}
-<small>[[Reference:oyster-perpetual|Oyster Perpetual]] -&gt; '''5015'''</small>
+<small>[[Reference:bubbleback|Bubbleback]] › '''5015'''</small>
-The 5015 is a self-winding Oyster Perpetual Bubbleback documented in at least two gold configurations: 14k solid yellow gold with an engine-turned bezel and a champagne dial, and 18k yellow gold paired with stainless steel on a simpler dial. Dating is where the documented examples disagree. Two independent dealer listings place the reference circa 1948 to 1950. An Antiquorum auction lot — the most formally catalogued example located — dates its watch circa 1961, a decade or more after the Bubbleback family is generally considered to have wound down. Both readings are recorded here rather than one overriding the other.
+<div class="rp-lead">
+[[File:Ref 5015 hero.webp|thumb|center|640px|alt=Rolex 5015 Bubbleback, gold case|Rolex 5015 Bubbleback, gold case]]
+</div>
-A separate listing under the same "5015" name describes a hand-wound, 25-jewel steel watch with a black dial — mechanically incompatible with the self-winding, automatic construction that defines a genuine Bubbleback. That listing is very likely describing a different, unrelated Rolex reference mislabeled under the 5015 number, a mix-up already documented elsewhere across Bubbleback-adjacent reference lists on less careful sources; it is flagged here rather than folded into the reference's real production story.
+The 5015 is a self-winding Oyster Perpetual documented in a 14k solid-yellow-gold watch with an engine-turned bezel and champagne dial, and in an 18k yellow-gold-and-steel watch with a simpler dial. The dates disagree. Robert Maron dates the 14k example to about 1948–1950; a separate eBay listing identifies a 10k example as 1948. Antiquorum dates its 18k-and-steel lot to about 1961. These are source-specific dates, not a settled production range.
 <span id="core-facts"></span>
-[[File:Ref 5015 hero.webp|thumb|right|250px|alt=Rolex 5015 Bubbleback, gold case|Rolex 5015 Bubbleback, gold case]]
+==Core facts==
-== Core facts ==
+{| class="wikitable rp-facts"
-{| class="wikitable"
 |-
 ! detail
@@ Line 54: / Line 54: @@
 <span id="where-it-sits-in-the-line"></span>
-== Where it sits in the line ==
+==Where it sits in the line==
-"Bubbleback" is a collector nickname, never an official Rolex designation, for the family of Oyster Perpetual references built around the domed caseback needed to clear the early automatic winding rotor. Most sources place the Bubbleback family's production window from 1933 through the mid-1950s, so a circa-1948 dating for the 5015 sits comfortably inside that range, while a circa-1961 dating — the year given on the Antiquorum lot — would place a self-winding, movement-generation-consistent Bubbleback watch a decade past when the family is generally understood to have wound down. Rolex did keep some older case and movement architectures in limited late production after officially moving the catalogue forward, so a late-production 5015 is not impossible; it is simply not corroborated by any other documented example located here.
+“Bubbleback” is a collector nickname, not an official Rolex designation, for early Oyster Perpetual watches with a domed caseback around the automatic rotor. General histories place the family mainly from the 1930s into the mid-1950s. That makes the 1948–1950 dates consistent with the usual chronology; the 1961 Antiquorum date falls later and remains unresolved by the sources checked here.
-The engine-turned bezel documented on the 14k example is the same decorative option documented on a 3725 from the same generation — a genuine, if uncommon, bezel treatment across the wider Bubbleback range, offered as an alternative to the plain domed bezel most examples carry.
+The 14k example has an engine-turned bezel. A similar treatment is documented on the [[Reference:3725|3725]], but the checked sources do not establish how often Rolex offered it across the family.
 <span id="production-outline"></span>
-== Production outline ==
+==Production outline==
-Two independent listings — an eBay listing and a dealer catalogue entry — place a solid-gold 5015 circa 1948 to 1950. The Antiquorum lot, the only example with a full formal auction catalogue entry located here, dates its 18k gold and steel example to circa 1961. No source located here resolves the discrepancy, and both readings are presented rather than treated as settled.
+The 14k Robert Maron listing gives circa 1948–1950, while a separate eBay listing identifies a 10k 5015 from 1948. These are dealer and marketplace records, not production documents. Antiquorum’s formal catalogue gives circa 1961 for its 18k gold-and-steel lot. The checked sources do not resolve the discrepancy.
 <span id="movement-notes"></span>
-== Movement notes ==
+==Movement notes==
-The Antiquorum lot specifies a self-winding movement sized 9¾ lignes. A separately documented 14k gold example specifies an 18-jewel automatic caliber with COSC chronometer certification. Both are self-winding, consistent with the Bubbleback family's defining mechanical feature; neither source gives a specific numbered caliber.
+The Antiquorum lot specifies a self-winding movement sized 9¾ lignes and identifies movement no. 81376. A separately documented 14k gold example specifies an 18-jewel automatic caliber with COSC chronometer certification. Both are self-winding, consistent with the Bubbleback family's defining mechanical feature; neither source gives a numbered caliber designation.
+[[File:Ref 5015 movement.webp|thumb|right|220px|alt=Rolex 5015 movement, self-winding rotor signed Rolex Perpetual Chronometer, movement no. 81376|Self-winding rotor, movement no. 81376, case no. 647355]]
 <span id="dial-map"></span>
-== Dial map ==
+==Dial map==
 The 14k gold example carries a champagne dial with applied gold Arabic numerals, embossed gold dot minute and second markers, gold leaf-style hands, and a blued steel seconds hand — a dressier configuration than the plainer signed dial documented on the 18k gold and steel Antiquorum example.
 <span id="case-bezel-crystal-and-crown-notes"></span>
-== Case, bezel, crystal, and crown ==
+==Case, bezel, crystal, and crown==
 Two case treatments are documented: solid 14k yellow gold with an engine-turned bezel, measuring approximately 30.8mm diameter and 38.5mm lug-to-lug; and 18k yellow gold paired with stainless steel at 32mm, bezel style unspecified in the auction catalogue. The 14k example's crystal is bombé acrylic, a period-correct domed plastic crystal rather than sapphire or flat mineral glass.
-== Related references ==
+[[File:Ref 5015 caseback.webp|thumb|right|220px|alt=Rolex 5015 caseback, engraved Rolex coronet, Geneve Suisse, Rolex Brevete, 5015|Caseback, case no. 647355]]
-* [[Reference:3130|Bubbleback 3130]] — same self-winding family, solid gold construction documented
+==Related references==
-* [[Reference:3725|Bubbleback 3725]] — same era, also documented with an engine-turned bezel
+* [[Reference:3130|Bubbleback 3130]] (same self-winding family, solid-gold construction documented)
+* [[Reference:3725|Bubbleback 3725]] (same era, also documented with an engine-turned bezel)
 See also the [[Reference:oyster-perpetual|Oyster Perpetual family index]], [[Reference:Movements|movement reference]], [[Reference:Bracelets|bracelet & clasp guide]], and [[Reference:Serial-numbers|serial numbers by year]].
 <span id="auction-record"></span>
-== Auction record ==
+==Auction record==
 {| class="wikitable"
@@ Line 97: / Line 101: @@
 |}
-The Antiquorum lot did not meet reserve. The 14k gold engine-turned-bezel example is documented as sold through a dealer listing without a disclosed price.
+The Antiquorum lot was unsold. The 14k gold engine-turned-bezel example appears in a dealer archive without a disclosed sale price.
+<gallery mode="packed" heights="180">
+File:Ref 5015 hero.webp|Gold 5015 Bubbleback example
+File:Ref 5015 movement.webp|Movement no. 81376, Antiquorum lot 47
+File:Ref 5015 caseback.webp|Caseback, case no. 647355
+</gallery>
 == Sources ==
@@ Line 107: / Line 117: @@
 * [https://robbreport.com/style/watch-collector/lists/rolex-bubbleback-watches-collector-guide-1931-1950s-1235893131/ Oren Hartov, "Rolex Bubbleback Watches: A Collector's Guide, From 1931 to the 1950s", Robb Report, 2024]
-[[Category:Oyster Perpetual]]
+[[Category:Bubbleback]]