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Reference:2356: Difference between revisions

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Bound 2356 dial and naming claims to reviewed auction records
Import reference 2356 article
 
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{{DISPLAYTITLE:Rolex 2356 Prince}}
{{DISPLAYTITLE:Rolex Prince 2356}}
{{#seo:
{{#seo:
|title=Rolex Prince 2356 — 9ct Gold Auction Record | Rolexopedia
|title=Rolex Prince 2356 — Cases, Dials, and Auction Records | Rolexopedia
|description=Rolex reference 2356: a 1930s rectangular Prince in 9ct gold, documented across two Bonhams auction lots with fixed wire lugs and no case-shape nickname.
|description=Auction and dealer records document Rolex Prince 2356 watches in 9ct gold, with silvered and retailer-signed dials, several case forms, and an uncertain production span.
|image=Ref 2356 hero.webp
|type=article
|type=article
}}
}}
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<small>[[Reference:prince|Prince]] → '''2356'''</small>
<small>[[Reference:prince|Prince]] → '''2356'''</small>


The 2356 is a rectangular Rolex Prince documented in 9ct gold across two Bonhams lots, catalogued four and a half years apart. Both use Bonhams' structured "Reference: 2356" field, distinct from either watch's case number. Like sibling reference 2736 from the same era, the 2356 carries no Railway, Dauphin, Brancard, or Imperial-style nickname in the auction record — a plain Prince rather than one of the line's named Art Deco shapes.
<div class="rp-lead">
[[File:Ref 2356 hero.webp|thumb|center|640px|alt=Rectangular Rolex Prince 2356 in 9ct gold, Wilson55 case 197C5|Wilson55's 9ct-gold ref. 2356, case 197C5.]]
</div>
 
Reference 2356 is a rectangular, manually wound Rolex Prince with small seconds at six. Auction and dealer records identify several 9ct-gold examples. The cited dates belong to individual watches or import marks; ref. 2356's production span remains unknown.


==Core facts==
==Core facts==
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|-
|-
| family
| family
| Prince (manual-wind, rectangular)
| Prince; rectangular, manual wind
|-
| documented examples
| circa 1936 and circa 1938
|-
|-
| case shape
| documented cases
| rectangular
| 474**; 15182; 197C5; 33298; 33313; 26351
|-
|-
| case size
| serial number
| 20mm x 30mm (both documented examples)
| Gardiner Houlgate transcribes 4830x
|-
|-
| lugs
| case material in records
| fixed wire
| 9ct / 9K gold
|-
|-
| crown
| case form
| plain pull-out, not screw-down
| Rectangular; fixed or downturned lugs appear in the records
|-
|-
| movement
| movement
| 15-jewel manual wind; caliber not published in either catalogue
| Several listings describe 15-jewel manual movements; caliber attribution remains unresolved
|-
|-
| case material
| dial
| 9ct gold (both documented examples; no other material documented)
| Silvered Arabic and mixed baton/Arabic layouts; one numbered case has a gold-coloured Bucherer-signed dial
|}
|}
The case numbers above come from catalogues and dealer listings. Some can be read in the photographs; others are transcribed from listing text. Awad Watches also lists a black Bucherer-signed 2356. With no case or serial number published, its identity remains unverified.


==Where it sits in the line==
==Where it sits in the line==


Like ref. 2736, the 2356 is a plain, un-nicknamed rectangular Prince in the two Bonhams records reviewed here; no case-shape name attaches to those lots. The two references differ in construction: 2736's documented cases carry an integrated stepped, faceted profile, where both documented 2356 cases use fixed wire lugs, a simpler and more common rectangular-watch attachment of the period. Both documented 2356 examples are 9ct gold; unlike 2736, no steel example has surfaced for this reference.
The auction houses identify the watches as Rolex Prince, ref. 2356. Case 33313's dial reads “Rolex Prince Elegant” and “Bucherer’s.” Mister Wolf Time calls it “Brancard” in its listing title; the auction catalogues call their 2356s simply “Prince.” That makes “Brancard” a dealer label here, not an established reference designation.


==Production outline==
==Production outline==


Bonhams dates one example "circa 1938" (case 474**, the last two digits masked in the catalogue) and the other "circa 1936" (case 15182). The 1936 date has some independent support: Bonhams' own catalogue transcribes a caseback engraving on that watch reading "N.L.D. 11-6-36," a period-consistent detail rather than a manufacture date proven by the reference itself. Two data points two years apart do not establish a production window.
Watch-Wiki dates the Prince family to 1928–1940 but gives no reference-by-reference dates. For case 33313, Coronet gives 1928 and Mister Wolf Time gives 1934. Coronet's photograph shows the inside caseback stamped 33313 and 2356; Mister Wolf Time's listing shows the same watch by its gold Bucherer-signed dial and case details. Other sources date case 26351 to circa 1930, case 15182 to circa 1936, and case 474** to circa 1938. Il Ponte describes case 33298 as a 1930s watch. These dates anchor individual examples; the production endpoints remain unknown.
 
Two auction listings report Glasgow import marks: Wilson55 gives 1935 for case 197C5, and Gardiner Houlgate gives 1939 for its watch. Those dates belong to the cases' import histories; by themselves, they cannot date manufacture. Gardiner Houlgate transcribes the watch's serial as 4830x.


==Movement notes==
==Movement notes==


Both documented examples carry a 15-jewel manual-wind movement. Neither Bonhams catalogue names a caliber number, and no other source consulted supplies one. Both watches wind through a plain pull-out crown and run a small seconds register at 6.
Bonhams, Gardiner Houlgate, Coronet, and Mister Wolf Time describe 15-jewel manual movements. Wilson55 lists movement number 9156, with no caliber given. Mister Wolf Time attributes Cal. 360 to case 33313, but its movement photograph shows only “Rolex 15 Rubies / Swiss Made”; no caliber number is legible. For this watch, Cal. 360 remains a seller attribution.
 
[[File:Ref 2356 movement.webp|thumb|right|250px|alt=Rolex 15 Rubies Swiss Made manual movement shown in the dealer listing for case 33313|Movement photographed with case 33313; no caliber number is legible.]]


==Dial map==
==Dial map==


The two documented examples carry different dial layouts, though neither is confirmed by photography at a resolution this project can publish (see Case, bezel, crystal, and crown below). Case 474** (1938) has a silvered dial with applied gilt Arabic numerals, a black outer minute track with five-minute markers, and blued steel dagger hands. Case 15182 (1936) has a silvered dial with black baton hour markers and Arabic quarters at the quarter-hours, the same style of outer minute track, and blued steel spade hands.
Several dial treatments are documented. The available records are too few to define the factory's full range. Bonhams describes case 474** with a silvered dial, applied gilt Arabic numerals, a five-minute outer track, and dagger hands. Its case 15182 has baton markers with Arabic quarters and spade hands. Wilson55, Gardiner Houlgate, Il Ponte, and the 1stDibs listing for case 26351 also describe silvered dials with Arabic numerals and subsidiary seconds.


The two Bonhams examples are recorded here as documented dial variants. Catalogue text is the only description available for either dial, so this is not a complete factory or surviving-watch survey.
Case 33313 has a gold-coloured dial with raised Arabic numerals, subsidiary seconds, “Rolex Prince Elegant,” and “Bucherer’s.” Coronet and Mister Wolf Time show the same watch. Awad Watches pictures a black Bucherer-signed dial and calls it an original 2356 dial; the listing gives no case number or independent support for originality. It remains a dealer-listed lead pending case-level identification and authentication.
 
<gallery mode="packed" heights="180">
File:Ref 2356 dial-variant-silvered.webp|alt=Silvered Arabic dial on dealer-listed Rolex Prince 2356 case 26351|Silvered Arabic dial; case 26351, as identified by the dealer.
File:Ref 2356 dial-detail.webp|alt=Gold-coloured Rolex Prince Elegant Bucherer's dial on case 33313|Gold-coloured “Prince Elegant” dial signed Bucherer’s; case 33313.
File:Ref 2356 dial-variant-black.webp|alt=Black Bucherer-signed dial on an unnumbered watch listed as Rolex reference 2356|Black Bucherer-signed dial; dealer-listed as ref. 2356, case number unpublished.
</gallery>


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


Both documented cases are rectangular, 20mm x 30mm, with a polished finish, a snap-on back, and fixed wire lugs. Neither catalogue records crystal material. The crown on both is a plain pull-out type, consistent with the rest of the Prince line's non-waterproof construction.
The auction catalogues give different measurements: Bonhams lists 20 × 30 mm, Gardiner Houlgate 20 × 37 mm, and Il Ponte 30 × 21 mm. Coronet gives case 33313 as 20.5 mm wide by 38 mm lug-to-lug; Mister Wolf Time gives 20.5 × 37.5 mm. Keep each figure attached to its listing; the published measurements differ.


Bonhams' own auction photography exists for both lots but at 650x650px and 616-724px native resolution — below this project's 1200px minimum source width for a publishable image. No image accompanies this article as a result; a higher-resolution source would need to surface before one could be added.
Bonhams describes fixed wire lugs on its two watches. Coronet also describes fixed lugs on case 33313, while Mister Wolf Time calls them downturned. The auction records describe snap-on backs. Crystal material remains undocumented across the records reviewed. Coronet calls the crown and crystal on case 33313 replacements; Mister Wolf Time describes a gold-tone crown and plexiglass crystal as original. Those are conflicting seller claims about the same watch.
 
<gallery mode="packed" heights="180">
File:Ref 2356 caseback.webp|alt=Open Rolex Prince 2356 case 33313 showing movement and inside caseback stamps|Case 33313; Coronet’s photograph shows the movement and the stamps inside the caseback.
File:Ref 2356 case-profile.webp|alt=Side profile of Rolex Prince 2356 case 33313 and its crown|Side profile of case 33313, shown by Mister Wolf Time.
</gallery>


==Bracelets, end links, and clasps==
==Bracelets, end links, and clasps==


Case 474** is fitted with a brown leather strap and plated buckle, not claimed as original by the catalogue. Case 15182 was catalogued as a "watch head" — no strap, buckle, or bracelet at all.
The auction records show leather straps or a watch head without a bracelet. Mister Wolf Time photographs case 33313 on a 9ct Chamcraft brick bracelet and shows a clasp stamped “Chamcraft 9KT” and “Pat. 414392.” The dealer calls the bracelet original to the watch, but the listing gives no delivery record. The clasp stamp identifies the bracelet; watch-head dating needs separate evidence.
 
<gallery mode="packed" heights="180">
File:Ref 2356 bracelet.webp|alt=Rolex Prince 2356 case 33313 fitted to a Chamcraft brick bracelet|Case 33313 on the Chamcraft bracelet shown in the dealer listing.
File:Ref 2356 clasp.webp|alt=Chamcraft 9KT patent 414392 clasp stamp on bracelet listed with Rolex Prince 2356 case 33313|Clasp stamp: Chamcraft 9KT, patent 414392.
</gallery>


==Auction record==
==Auction record==
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! Date
! Date
! Lot
! Lot
! Case no.
! Case or serial
! Dial
! Estimate
! Estimate
! Result
! Result
|-
|-
| Bonhams, "Watches and Wristwatches," London Knightsbridge
| Bonhams, London Knightsbridge
| 2014-09-16
| 2014-09-16
| 78
| 78
| 474**
| Case 474**
| Silvered, gilt Arabic numerals, dagger hands
| GBP 600–800
| GBP 600–800
| GBP 687.50 inc. premium
| GBP 687.50 including premium
|-
|-
| Bonhams, "Watches and Wristwatches," London Knightsbridge
| Bonhams, London Knightsbridge
| 2015-02-24
| 2015-02-24
| 79
| 79
| 15182
| Case 15182
| Silvered, baton and Arabic markers, spade hands
| GBP 500–700
| GBP 500–700
| Not published; read as unsold
| No result shown in the catalogue
|-
| Il Ponte Casa d’Aste, sale 450
| 2019-05-15
| 495
| Case 33298
| EUR 450–550
| No result in the printed catalogue
|-
| Gardiner Houlgate, The Watch Auction
| 2021-05-26
| 49
| Serial 4830x
| GBP 700–1,000
| GBP 900
|-
| Wilson55
| 2024-11-28
| 235
| Case 197C5
| Not stated
| GBP 850
|}
|}


One result is on record. The second lot's live listing shows an estimate with no "Sold for" line, consistent with an unsold or bought-in outcome rather than a withheld result.
==Related references==


== Related references ==
* [[Reference:2736|Prince 2736]] — another rectangular Prince documented in early auction records.
 
* [[Reference:1527|Prince 1527 “Railway”]] — a retailer-named dial/case branch.
* [[Reference:2736|Prince 2736]] — plain Prince from the same discovery pass, in steel and gold with a stepped case
* [[Reference:1527|Prince 1527 "Railway"]] — stepped bi-color Prince with a documented case-shape nickname
* [[Reference:1490|Prince 1490]]
* [[Reference:1490|Prince 1490]]
* [[Reference:1491|Prince 1491 Jump Hour]]
* [[Reference:1491|Prince 1491 Jump Hour]]
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See also the [[Reference:prince|Prince family index]], [[Reference:Movements|movement reference]], and [[Reference:Serial-numbers|serial numbers by year]].
See also the [[Reference:prince|Prince family index]], [[Reference:Movements|movement reference]], and [[Reference:Serial-numbers|serial numbers by year]].
<gallery mode="packed" heights="180">
File:Ref 2356 gallery-watch.webp|alt=Full view of Rolex Prince 2356 case 33313 with Chamcraft bracelet|Case 33313 with its listed Chamcraft bracelet.
File:Ref 2356 gallery-caseback.webp|alt=Exterior caseback of Rolex Prince 2356 case 33313 with a Rolex coronet stamp|Exterior caseback with the Rolex coronet.
</gallery>


== Sources ==
== Sources ==


* [https://www.bonhams.com/auction/21664/lot/78/rolex-a-9ct-gold-manual-wind-wristwatch-prince-ref2356-case-no474-circa-1938/ "Rolex. A 9ct gold manual wind wristwatch, Prince, Ref:2356, Case No.474**, Circa 1938", Bonhams, 2014-09-16]
* [https://www.bonhams.com/auction/21664/lot/78/rolex-a-9ct-gold-manual-wind-wristwatch-prince-ref2356-case-no474-circa-1938/ "Bonhams, "Watches and Wristwatches," Lot 78 — Rolex Prince, ref. 2356, 9ct gold, case No. 474**, circa 1938", Bonhams, 2014-09-16]
* [https://www.bonhams.com/auction/22784/lot/79/rolex-a-9ct-gold-manual-wind-watch-head-prince-ref2356-case-no15182-circa-1936/ "Rolex. A 9ct gold manual wind watch head, Prince, Ref:2356, Case No.15182, Circa 1936", Bonhams, 2015-02-24]
* [https://www.bonhams.com/auction/22784/lot/79/rolex-a-9ct-gold-manual-wind-watch-head-prince-ref2356-case-no15182-circa-1936/ "Bonhams, "Watches and Wristwatches," Lot 79 — Rolex Prince, ref. 2356, 9ct gold watch head, case No. 15182, circa 1936", Bonhams, 2015-02-24]
* [https://www.ponteonline.com/files/cataloghi/catalogo_asta_450.pdf "Il Ponte Casa d'Aste, Watches and Pendulum Clocks, sale 450, lot 495, ref. 2356", Il Ponte Casa d'Aste, 2019-05-15]
* [https://www.watch-auctions.co.uk/sale/5/49/Rolex-9ct-rectangular-gentlemans-wristwatch-ref-2356-serial-no-4830x-import-hallmarks-for-Glasgow-1939-silvered-dial-with-Arabic-numerals-and-subsidiary-seconds-dial-15-jewel-movement-leather-strap-20mm-x-37mm "Gardiner Houlgate, ref. 2356, The Watch Auction, lot 49, 26 May 2021", Gardiner Houlgate, 2021-05-26]
* [https://www.wilson55.com/auction/lot/235-a-1930s-9ct-gold-rolex-manual-wind-wristwatch-ref-2356/?au=515&lot=184177&sd=1 "Wilson55, ref. 2356 case 197C5, Fine Jewellery, Watches & Designer, lot 235, 28 November 2024", Wilson55, 2024-11-28]
* [https://coronetwatches.com/watches-for-sale/archive/ "Coronet Watches archive, Rolex Prince Elegant for Bucherer, ref. 2356, case 33313", Coronet Watches]
* [https://www.misterwolftime.com/product-page/rolex-prince-elegant-brancard-ref-2356-signed-bucherers-in-9ct-gold "Mister Wolf Time archive, Rolex Prince ref. 2356, case 33313, Bucherer's dial and Chamcraft bracelet", Mister Wolf Time]
* [https://awadwatches.com/products/1934-rolex-prince-ref-2356-in-9k-gold-bucherer-retailed-ultra-rare-black-dial-original-box "Awad Watches listing, Rolex Prince ref. 2356 with black Bucherer-signed dial", Awad Watches]
* [https://www.1stdibs.com/jewelry/watches/wrist-watches/rolex-extremely-rare-rectangular-solid-gold-watch-1930s/id-j_20374162/ "1stDibs archive, Rolex ref. 2356, case 26351, Antiquités Le Sépia", 1stDibs / Antiquités Le Sépia]
* [https://www.watch-wiki.net/doku.php?id=rolex_prince "Rolex Prince", Watch-Wiki (DE)]


[[Category:Prince]]
[[Category:Prince]]
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