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{{DISPLAYTITLE:Rolex 6031 Bubbleback}}
{{DISPLAYTITLE:Rolex 6031 Bubbleback}}
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{{#seo:
|title=Rolex Bubbleback 6031 (1949) — Production & Dial Guide | BezelBase
|title=Rolex Oyster Perpetual Date 6031 — Rolexopedia
|description=The 6031 is a one-year 1949 reference and the pink-gold twin of ref 6030. It is one of the four references Le Monde Edmond names under the narrow "true…
|description=Automatic Oyster Perpetual with date. Auction catalogues document yellow- and pink-gold examples, 35–36 mm cases, and conflicting caliber attributions.
|keywords=Rolex, 6031, Bubbleback, specifications, reference guide
|keywords=Rolex, 6031, Bubbleback, specifications, reference guide
|image=Ref 6031 hero.jpg
|image=Ref 6031 hero.webp
|image_alt=Rolex 6031 Ovettone pink gold
|image_alt=Rolex Oyster Perpetual Date 6031
|type=Article
|type=Article
|og_type=article
|og_type=article
|published_time=2026-04-17T22:36:53Z
|published_time=2026-04-17T22:36:53Z
|modified_time=2026-06-04T04:41:21Z
|modified_time=2026-09-23T02:25:00Z
|robots=index,follow,max-image-preview:large
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<small>[[Reference:bubbleback|Bubbleback]] -> '''6031'''</small>
<small>[[Reference:bubbleback|Bubbleback]] › '''6031'''</small>


The 6031 is a one-year 1949 reference and the pink-gold twin of ref 6030. Under the narrow dealer reading of "true Ovettone" it sits alongside the [[Reference:4467|4467]], 6074, and [[Reference:6075|6075]] as the only pink-gold entry in that four-reference cluster. Architecturally it returns to the 4467 idiom after the experimental 5030/5031 pair. The curved case flanks are back, the fine milled bezel is back, and the movement is still Cal. A.295. What is new is the slightly larger crown and the settling of the Ovettone form into the shape it holds for the rest of the pre-Datejust-text era.
<div class="rp-lead">
[[File:Ref_6031_hero.webp|thumb|center|640px|alt=Rolex Oyster Perpetual Date 6031|Rolex Oyster Perpetual Date 6031]]
</div>


[[File:Ref 6031 hero.jpg|thumb|right|250px|alt=Rolex 6031 Ovettone pink gold|Rolex 6031 Ovettone pink gold]]
Auction catalogues identify the 6031 as an automatic Oyster Perpetual with a date. The examples reviewed here include 18K yellow- and pink-gold cases, measure 35–36 mm, and carry dates from circa 1949 through the 1950s. Those records do not establish a factory production span or a single caliber.


<span id="core-facts"></span>
==Core facts==
== Core facts ==


{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable rp-facts"
|-
|-
! detail
! detail
! value
! value
|-
|-
| reference
| Reference
| 6031
| 6031
|-
|-
| family
| Model
| Datejust / Big Bubbleback / Ovettone
| Oyster Perpetual with date, as catalogued
|-
|-
| production
| Dating
| about 1949
| Auction dates range from circa 1949 to the 1950s; not a confirmed production span
|-
|-
| case diameter
| Case size
| 36mm (tonneau Oyster, Ovettone profile)
| 35–36 mm in the cited auction catalogues
|-
|-
| case construction
| Documented case metals
| three-piece, screw-down caseback and crown
| 18K yellow gold and 18K pink gold
|-
|-
| case materials
| Bezel
| 18K pink/rose gold
| Reeded or ridged on several examples
|-
|-
| bezel
| Movement
| fine milled/reeded pink gold (return to the 4467 idiom)
| Automatic in auction descriptions; caliber unresolved
|-
|-
| crystal
| Movement details
| acrylic, domed
| Antiquorum gives 10½ lignes and 19 jewels on two left-hand examples; Phillips and Sotheby’s list movement numbers G3569 and G9307
|-
|-
| crown
| Date
| screw-down Brevet (larger than the 50xx small crown)
| Date aperture documented; red/black roulette wheels appear in multiple catalogues
|-
|-
| movement
| Left-hand configuration
| Cal. A.295 (listed as Cal. 740 / Cal. 745 in parts catalogues)
| Antiquorum describes watches with the crown at 9; one of its two listings uses the combined reference “6031-6074”
|-
|-
| date complication
| Nickname
| yes — date at 3 o'clock, gradual creep at midnight
| “Ovettone” is a collector and auction-house term
|-
| Cyclops
| no (introduced on ref 6305 in 1954)
|-
| "Datejust" text on dial
| no (first consistent appearance on ref 6105 in 1953)
|-
| yellow-gold twin
| ref 6030
|-
| scholarly status
| "true Ovettone" under both narrow (Le Monde Edmond) and broad readings
|}
|}


<span id="what-the-6031-is"></span>
==Place in the line==
== What the 6031 is ==
 
Le Monde Edmond includes the 6031 in its narrow use of “true Ovettone,” alongside refs. 4467, 6074 and 6075. Other auction and dealer usage applies “Ovettone” more broadly to 36 mm Bubblebacks. It is a collector label, not a Rolex model name.
 
The 6031 appears in the same postwar group as the 6030 and is usually dated around 1949 or 1950. Auction houses also date individual watches to the 1950s. The catalogue records do not establish how long the reference remained in production or whether its runs overlapped with adjacent references.
 
==Case and materials==
 
The cited catalogues describe both yellow-gold and pink-gold 6031s. Phillips identifies case 683837 as 18K yellow gold and dates it to circa 1949. Sotheby’s describes case 693873 as 18K pink gold, circa 1950. Antiquorum’s 2001 catalogue records a 35 mm yellow-gold left-hand watch; its 2002 listing describes a pink-gold watch under the combined attribution 6031-6074. These are sale-house identifications. They do not prove a complete material range for every 6031.


The 6031 is a pink-gold 36mm Big Bubbleback Datejust made for about one year in 1949. It comes after the transitional 5030/5031 pair and before the 1950 platinum 6074 and the 1950–1953 yellow-gold 6075. Within the Ovettone line it occupies the position where the architecture settles. The 4467's curvier case flanks return, the bezel is the fine milled gold the 4467 used, and the crown is the larger Brevet that carries through the rest of the pre-6105 era. Cal. A.295 is unchanged from the 5030/5031 and the 4467.
Auction dimensions vary from 35 to 36 mm. Antiquorum’s two left-hand listings describe two-body cases with screw-down backs and crowns; one places the crown at 9. Other catalogues report screw-down backs but omit construction details. The evidence here does not support calling every case three-piece or specifying one crown size.


What makes the 6031 notable is that every serious reading of Ovettone includes it. However narrowly or broadly the term is used, the 6031 stays inside the short list.
Several lots describe reeded or ridged bezels. Phillips notes a reeded bezel on the yellow-gold case 683837. Antiquorum calls the bezels ridged on its two left-hand watches. The International Art Sale catalogue records a yellow-gold watch with a roulette date and riveted bracelet. These features belong to the individual listings.


<span id="placing-the-6031-in-the-ovettone-sequence"></span>
[[File:Ref 6031 caseback.webp|thumb|right|250px|alt=Caseback of a Rolex ref. 6031|Caseback of a Rolex ref. 6031]]
== Placing the 6031 in the Ovettone sequence ==


The full Ovettone arc runs: 4467 (1945) → 5028 / 5030 / 5031 (1947–48) → 6030 / 6031 (1949) → 6074 / 6075 (1950) → 6105 (1953, first "Datejust" text) → 6305 (1954, first Cyclops) → 6604 / 6605 (1956–57, first instantaneous date via Cal. 1065). The 6031 is the pink-gold entry in the 1949 pair, twin to the yellow-gold 6030.
==Movement and date==


The 6031 is the first pink-gold Ovettone made after Rolex treated the form as settled. The 5031 preceded it as the 1948 experimental pink-gold; the 6031 is where Rolex commits. After the 6031, pink-gold Ovettones continue through the 6075 era before the arrival of the 6105 and the dial-signed Datejust era. In that window the 6031 is the pink-gold reference a serious Ovettone collector wants.
The cited sale catalogues call the 6031 automatic, but none of those lots names a caliber. Phillips lists movement number G3569; Sotheby’s lists G9307. Antiquorum gives 10½ lignes and 19 jewels for two left-hand watches, without a caliber name.


<span id="the-36mm-big-bubbleback-case-back-to-the-4467-form"></span>
Colin A. White’s ''The Vintage Rolex Field Manual'' maps ref. 6031 to Cal. 710 in its reference table. The manual’s movement section describes Cal. 710 as hand-wound and without a date. That conflicts with the automatic, date-equipped watches in the auction catalogues. The caliber assignment remains unresolved; the movement numbers should not be treated as caliber numbers.
== The 36mm Big Bubbleback case — back to the 4467 form ==


Case architecture on the 6031 returns to the 4467's form after the 5030/5031 straight-flank deviation. Three-piece Oyster construction, 36mm diameter, the domed caseback that houses the rotor, and the fine milled or reeded bezel in matching pink gold. The case flanks between the lugs are curved rather than straight — the signature that distinguishes the 6031 visually from the 5031 and indicates that Rolex has committed to the form that carries forward into the 6074, 6075, and 6105.
The date aperture appears in the cited descriptions, and Phillips and International Art Sale both mention a red/black roulette wheel. The catalogues do not describe how quickly the date changes. “Instantaneous” or “slow change” should not be inferred from the reference alone.


The crown on the 6031 is larger than the 50xx small Brevet. The newer crown sits more naturally on a 36mm case and is the standard across the 60xx Ovettone generation. Cross-center marking, "Rolex + Oyster" brevet designation.
==Dial and bracelet==


<span id="pink-gold-and-configuration"></span>
The catalogues describe silver, black and gilt dials. Antiquorum’s 2001 yellow-gold example has a matte silver dial with applied dart indexes; its 2002 combined-reference watch has a black dial with pink-gold dart indexes. Sotheby’s describes a gilt dial on case 693873. Phillips records a roulette date on the yellow-gold case 683837. These are documented examples, not a complete dial map.
== Pink gold and configuration ==


The 6031 is pink-gold only; the yellow-gold twin carries ref 6030. Dial configurations follow the broader Ovettone conventions with pink-gold matching: silvered or eggshell dials with applied pink gold dagger markers, pink gold alpha hands with radium inserts on lumed configurations, plain polished pink gold hands on dress configurations. Bubbleback coronet variants, including the "cut-off" truncated form, are documented alongside the full coronet. Chronometer and Certified Chronometer text above six on chronometer-grade examples.
Bracelets and straps also vary. Antiquorum’s 2001 lot came with a yellow-gold Jubilee bracelet. International Art Sale describes a gold elastic riveted bracelet. Sotheby’s lists an associated alligator strap with a steel buckle; other lots include leather straps. Sale listings show what accompanied the watches at auction, not necessarily their original delivery fitments.


Date wheels on 6031 examples are typically black on white. Roulette wheels (alternating red/black) appear sporadically in the broader Ovettone window and are documented on some 60xx peer examples. Period-correct bracelets are the 18K pink gold Jubilee or a leather strap with pink gold buckle.
==Auction record==


No steel, two-tone, or yellow-gold 6031 configurations are documented.
This is a selected record. Auction descriptions and dates remain attached to each lot. Antiquorum’s 2002 lot uses a combined reference attribution, so it is not counted as a confirmed standalone 6031 example.


<span id="movement-cal.-a.295"></span>
{| class="wikitable"
== Movement: Cal. A.295 ==
|-
! Sale
! Catalogue description
! Result
|-
| Antiquorum Geneva, 13 October 2001, lot 555
| Ref. 6031; 18K yellow gold; left-hand crown at 9; 35 mm; silver dial; 10½-ligne, 19-jewel movement; Jubilee bracelet
| Sold CHF 10,350
|-
| Antiquorum New York, 13 March 2002, lot 143
| Ref. 6031-6074; 18K pink gold; left-hand crown at 9; 35 mm; black dial; 10½-ligne, 19-jewel movement
| Sold USD 9,775
|-
| International Art Sale, 3 December 2024, lot 86
| Ref. 6031; 18K yellow gold; circa 1950; 35.5 mm; red/black roulette date; riveted bracelet
| Marked sold; price not displayed
|-
| Phillips Geneva, lot 179, 2025
| Case 683837; 18K yellow gold; circa 1949; movement G3569; 35.5 mm; red/black roulette date
| Sold CHF 35,280
|-
| Sotheby’s, 1 October 2025, lot 396
| Case 693873; 18K pink gold; circa 1950; movement G9307; 36 mm; gilt dial
| Estimate EUR 7,000–12,000; result not displayed
|}


Cal. A.295, unchanged from the 5031 and the 4467. 29.5mm diameter. Parts-catalogue cross-listings are Cal. 740 (base) and Cal. 745 (Chronometer-grade). Self-winding Perpetual rotor, 18 jewels, Rolex Superbalance, Breguet overcoil hairspring, center seconds, date. No shock protection. No quickset. Slow creep at midnight rather than instantaneous snap-change. Dial feet positions are specific to the A.295 and differ from the A.296 that carries the 6105 and later references.
==Related references==


The A.295 → A.296 transition matters for authentication on adjacent references (a 6031 dial on a 6105 movement is not period-correct) but does not affect the 6031 itself, which sits firmly inside the A.295 generation.
* [[Reference:4467|4467]] — included in Le Monde Edmond’s narrow Ovettone group
* 6030 — adjacent reference commonly paired with 6031
* [[Reference:6074|6074]]
* [[Reference:6075|6075]]
* [[Reference:6105|6105]]


<span id="authentication-priorities"></span>
See also the [[Reference:bubbleback|Bubbleback family guide]], [[Reference:Movements|movement guide]], and [[Reference:Serial-numbers|serial-number guide]].
== Authentication priorities ==


Movement should be A.295, with the rest of the watch matching the pink-gold 6031 profile rather than the yellow-gold 6030 or the transitional 5031. That is the fast authenticity read.
<gallery mode="packed" heights="180">
File:Ref_6031_hero.webp|Rolex ref. 6031
File:Ref 6031 caseback.webp|Caseback of a Rolex ref. 6031
</gallery>


== Sources ==
== Sources ==
* ''The Vintage Rolex Field Manual'' — Colin A. White, Morning Tundra
* ''The Vintage Rolex Field Manual'' — Colin A. White, Morning Tundra
* [https://le-monde-edmond.com/datejust-a-closer-look-at-a-rolex-icon-2/ Le Monde Edmond — Datejust: A Closer Look at a Rolex Icon] — Le Monde Edmond
* [https://catalog.antiquorum.swiss/en/lots/rolex-lot-17-555 "Antiquorum Geneva, lot 555 — Rolex ref. 6031 left-hand watch", Antiquorum, 2001-10-13]
* [https://monochrome-watches.com/rolex-datejust-complete-history/ Monochrome Watches — The Evergreens: Complete History of the Rolex Datejust] — Monochrome
* [https://catalog.antiquorum.swiss/en/lots/rolex-lot-25-143 "Antiquorum New York, lot 143 — ref. 6031-6074 left-hand watch", Antiquorum, 2002-03-13]
* [https://robbreport.com/style/watch-collector/lists/rolex-bubbleback-watches-collector-guide-1931-1950s-1235893131/ Robb Report — A Collector's Guide to Rolex Bubbleback Watches 1931-1950s] — Robb Report
* [https://www.phillips.com/detail/rolex/160689 "Phillips Geneva, lot 179 — Rolex ref. 6031, case 683837", Phillips, 2025]
* [https://www.pandolfini.it/ Pandolfini Casa d'Aste catalog usage — 'Ovetto' for 32mm Bubblebacks, 'Ovettone' for 36mm Big Bubblebacks] — Pandolfini Casa d'Aste, Pandolfini
* [https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2025/fine-watches-pf2570/oyster-perpetual-reference-6031-montre-bracelet-en?locale=en "Sotheby's, Fine Watches, lot 396 — Rolex ref. 6031, case 693873", Sotheby's, 2025-10-01]
* [https://www.astebolaffi.it/ Aste Bolaffi catalog usage of 'Ovetto' for standard 32mm Bubblebacks] — Aste Bolaffi
* [https://www.internationalartsale.it/uk/auction-0079/rolex-rolex-wristwatch-20677 "International Art Sale, lot 86 — Rolex ref. 6031", International Art Sale, 2024-12-03]


[[Category:Bubbleback]]
[[Category:Bubbleback]]
[[Category:Drafted]]
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