Reference:Movements: Difference between revisions

<div class="rp-era"><div class="rp-era-name">Oyster Perpetual automatic</div><div class="rp-chips">[[#cal-1130-rolex-automatic|1130 OP]] [[#cal-1160|1160]] [[#cal-1161|1161]]</div></div>

<div class="rp-era"><div class="rp-era-name">Bubbleback / early automatic</div><div class="rp-chips">[[#cal-520|520]] [[#cal-50|50]] [[#cal-620|620]] [[#cal-630|630]] [[#cal-635|635]] [[#cal-105-hunter|700/710]] [[#cal-600|600]] [[#cal-59|59]] [[#cal-a260|A260]] [[#cal-a296|A296]] [[#cal-a295|A.295]] [[#cal-645|645]] [[#cal-740|740]] [[#cal-745|745]]</div></div>

| 7040-2 || 5442/5 || Everose gold; Rayon Flammé de la Gloire dial

A scanned Oyster case-and-crown table lists ref. [[Reference:2416|2416]] at 10½ lignes in its “calibre size” column. TimeAnagram gives the same figure in a dealer movement field. A Hodinkee photograph of case 32342 shows a manual movement stamped “Rolex 15 rubies”; Bonhams also describes a 2416 movement as a patented Superbalance. The 10½ figure is movement size, and the numbered caliber remains unconfirmed. [https://www.vrfm.io/Scans/OYSTER-CROWNS-GUIDE.pdf Oyster case-and-crown table, ref. 2416 row]; [https://timeanagram.com/en/products/57171 TimeAnagram, ref. 2416 item 57171]; [https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/bring-a-loupe-march-14-2025 Hodinkee, case 32342]; [https://www.bonhams.com/auction/25954/lot/93/ Bonhams, case 37425]

| Automatic

| 17 (registry; 19 in some auction descriptions)

| frequency

| 18,000 vph (2.5 Hz)

| escapement

| Straight-line lever

| balance

Cal. 520 debuted in the original 1933 ref. 1858 with its three-piece Oyster case. Antiquorum describes the 8¾-ligne rhodium-plated movement in a [[Reference:3353|3353]] as automatic, with 19 jewels, 18,000 vph, a straight-line lever escapement, and a Superbalance with Breguet balance spring. Cal. 620 superseded it as the architecture developed through the mid-1930s. No confirmed movement photograph is available; a generic early Bubbleback movement should not be identified as a 520 unless the engraved caliber number is visible.

Cal. 600 sits one size class below the 10&frac12;-ligne 700/710/720 family and carries a patented Super Balance. Sotheby's catalogued the movement in the Mercedes Gleitze Oyster in November 2025 as a rhodium-finished Hunter-architecture base upgraded to Cal. 600. The late-1926 27mm case belongs to the watch Gleitze wore during her 21 October 1927 Channel swim attempt and is engraved "Miss M. Gleitze / The Companion 'Oyster.' Vindication Channel Swim. October 21st. 1927."

Sotheby’s describes the Gleitze watch’s movement as a 9¾-ligne Hunter upgraded to Cal. 600, with 17 jewels and a patented Super Balance. The description records an upgrade; it does not date when that work was done. Master of Time separately describes one Viceroy ref. 1573 as an Extra Prima Cal. 600 with 17 jewels and six adjustments. That is a dealer attribution for one watch, not evidence of reference-wide fitment.

 

The case carries Glasgow import marks for 1926/1927. A mid-1970s Rolex service box accompanies the watch, but Sotheby’s presents its association with a particular service as an assumption. Neither the box nor the case hallmark dates the movement upgrade.

The 10½-ligne FHF 30 was made by Fontainemelon. David Boettcher documents it in Oyster Watch Co. watches and identifies Cal. 59, with a centre-seconds 59SC version, as Tudor designations. That account does not establish a Rolex factory designation for Cal. 59. Auction catalogues use the name for individual watches: four ref. [[Reference:3478|3478]]s, one [[Reference:3121|3121]] Grenfell (case 43,475, 17 jewels), and two ref. [[Reference:3136|3136]]s. The 3121 record's structured year says circa 1938, while its notes call it a 1940s watch and attribute 1938 to the caseback. Heritage calls the FHF 30 in 3136 case 105063 “subsequently renamed Rolex caliber 59”; Waddington's labels case 147396 Cal. 59. Those are attributions in the named lot records, not proof of universal fitment or a factory naming rule. Cal. 700/710 assignments below remain family-level matches rather than photographed or catalogued stamps.

A260 powered the first Submariner references, 6204 and 6205, from 1953 to 1955. "A.260" is Rolex's size-family code for this movement class, comparable to the Prince family's "T.S." code. Its non-butterfly rotor distinguishes it from the butterfly-rotor Cal. 1030. Hodinkee traces A260 to a movement used in earlier Oyster Perpetuals and later Bubblebacks, predating its Submariner fitment. The registry uses 17 jewels; some auction descriptions give 19, so the count should be checked against the individual movement.

Cal. 645 belongs to the Cal. 600 family and shares the A.260 size code with Cal. 635. The distinctions are functional: Cal. 630 has sweep seconds without shock protection, Cal. 635 has small seconds with shock protection, and Cal. 645 combines sweep seconds with shock protection. Cal. 645 powered the semi-Bubbleback Oyster Perpetual refs 6084, 6085, and 6284 around 1948–1953. Auction catalogues give 17 to 20 jewels, consistent with both differing counting conventions and market-specific tariff variants found elsewhere in the family.

Antiquorum also assigns Cal. 740 to manual-wind [[Reference:6094|ref. 6094]], usually with 17 jewels. Its 2008 lot labels the case 6094/6294; the 2010 and 2012 lots identify ref. 6094 alone. The 2018 listing for case 882812 calls the watch self-winding in its headline while the specification field gives Cal. 740. Keep these as lot-level attributions: the records do not establish that the 6094 Cal. 740 is the automatic 26-jewel movement documented here for ref. 4467. [https://catalog.antiquorum.swiss/en/lots/rolex-lot-203-530 Antiquorum, lot 530]; [https://catalog.antiquorum.swiss/en/lots/rolex-lot-242-134 Antiquorum, lot 134]; [https://catalog.antiquorum.swiss/en/lots/rolex-ref-6094-tropical-lot-262-291 Antiquorum, lot 291]; [https://catalog.antiquorum.swiss/en/lots/rolex-ref-6094-oysterdate-precision-lot-313-138 Antiquorum, lot 138].

Documented fitments include refs. 3745, 4560, 6420, 6422, 6426/6427, 6466, 6480, 6482, 6494, 9083 and 9659. Bonhams also records a ref. 6694 with a III.60 caseback date on Cal. 1210.  

Cal. 1220 appears mainly in the oversize ref. 8029, but its dates conflict. Phillips gives 1950, Antiquorum dates case 714105 to about 1951, and Sotheby's dates that same case to about 1961 without naming its caliber. The earlier dates sit awkwardly beside the later-1960s siblings and remain unresolved. Claims that 1220 movements were commonly signed 1225, including those in later ref. 6426 production, are unverified.

Documented fitments include refs. 6426, 6466 and, most often, 6694 from the late 1960s through at least 1979. Comparison of a 1966 ref. 6694 with Cal. 1215 and a 1973 example with 1225 places the changeover around 1967.

Cal. 1030 is a bidirectionally wound automatic used in 1950s Oyster references. Its 5.85mm profile ended the domed Bubbleback caseback, while the cutaway "butterfly" rotor stamped ROLEX PERPETUAL PATENTED is the usual visual identifier. Finishing includes perlage on the rhodium-plated main plate, brushed bridges, polished screw heads and red anodized-aluminium reversing wheels. A conventional index regulates the movement; the visible regulator arm distinguishes it from the later free-sprung 1560 and 1570. Documented fitments include ref. 6098 from 1952, Oyster Perpetual 6502 and 6567, Submariners 6536, 6536-1 and 6538, Explorer 6610 and Air-King 6552. Artcurial, Antiquorum and Sotheby’s catalogue 6502 examples with Cal. 1030; Watch-Wiki independently lists the association. The case 36701 records conflict: the Invaluable archive of Monaco Legend labels it 6502, while Phillips identifies that case as 6603. The competing catalogue attributions leave its reference unresolved. [https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/rolex-oyster-perpetual-ref-6502-honeycomb-dial-166-c-8e042b2aae Invaluable archive of Monaco Legend, lot 166]; [https://www.phillips.com/detail/rolex/134192 Phillips, lot 254] The Field Manual and several auction catalogues identify Cal. 1030 in Oyster Perpetual 6567 examples; Ineichen lists Cal. 1050 for one 6567. Other catalogues assign Cal. 1050 to refs. 6564, 6569 and Submariner 6536/1. These are descriptions of individual watches; the Cal. 1050 entry records the competing attributions.

Antiquorum and Dr. Crott report that a 1960 Rolex catalogue proposed ref. 1020 as a successor to the 6556 and that the model was never produced. Neither source reproduces the catalogue page in the reviewed listing; this remains an attributed historical note. No production caliber or fitment is established for 1020, so it is not indexed as a movement.

The 1530 first entered the Submariner in ref. 5508, followed by 5510; neither was chronometer-rated at launch. It replaced the 10-series in non-chronometer watches, including Precision models, the Air-King, ref. 5504 "Super-Precision" Explorer and the Canadian Explorer-Date with Cal. 1535. Certified models such as the 6542 GMT, 6610 Explorer, Datejust and Day-Date retained 10xx calibers for longer. Strongly documented fitments include refs. 5508, 5510, 5512, 5513, 5500 and 5504. Single-lot support exists for 5501, 5502, 5506 and 5516. Bonhams listings for refs. 1002 and 1003 are internally inconsistent and remain unconfirmed. Bonhams lot 84 lists caliber 1530 in ref. 1003 case 573,835 and notes a chronometer certificate dated 22 December 1960. The catalogue is the evidence for this individual attribution; it does not resolve why common reference tables omit the 1530 for 1003. Antiquorum’s 1996 Milan catalogue assigns Cal. 1530 to a 14ct Eaton’s watch catalogued as ref. 1011 and dated broadly to the 1950s. Loupe This photos show a 1530-stamped movement in a case marked 5590 on the flank and 5590/1011 inside. Antiquorum’s 2007 and Finarte’s 2024 catalogues also use the combined designation for Eaton’s watches. The 1996 and 2023 records may describe one watch; the 2007 and 2024 lots identify different named or case-numbered examples.

Cal. 1560 arrived in 1959 as the chronometer-grade 15xx movement, with a free-sprung balance adjusted to temperature and five positions. Auction catalogues give both 25 and 26 jewels without establishing a pattern. Antiquorum usually describes a Breguet overcoil; its flat-hairspring description for one ref. 1502/1503 is an outlier.

Cal. 1570 is the 19,800-vph revision of the 1560, introduced in 1965. Christie’s identifies Cal. 1570 in ref. 1011 case 692498, dated circa 1962; its lot chronology overlaps the ref. 1011 Cal. 1560 examples and does not establish a changeover. See [[Reference:1011|ref. 1011]]. One Artcurial ref. 1005 lot is catalogued with Cal. 1550, despite a chronometer-dial description; other 1005 catalogues list 1560 or 1570. This single lot does not establish a 1005 movement variant or resolve whether the movement is original. It retains the free-sprung Breguet overcoil and Microstella regulation, with adjustment to temperature and five positions. Family-wide bridge engraving causes date movements such as the 1575 in a ref. 1665 to appear marked 1570; the engraving alone does not identify the exact caliber. Phillips identifies Cal. 1570 in a circa-1985 ref. 1024, while Dorotheum lists it on a circa-1965/70 example; those ref. 1024 dates overlap its Cal. 1560 records. Christie’s, Antiquorum, Phillips, Dorotheum and Bonhams also catalogue Cal. 1570 in ref. 1501 examples; see [[Reference:1501|ref. 1501]]. These lot labels do not establish a 1501 changeover year.

Cal. 1556 succeeded the 1555 around 1965 and powered the mid- and late four-digit Day-Date until 1977 or 1978. A revised gear train raised the frequency, while a jewel at the top of the centre wheel brought the count to 26. Its rhodium-plated movement has perlage finishing, a full balance bridge and a screwed balance with two gold, star-shaped Microstella regulating screws. Hacking was added during production in 1972 without a new caliber designation; earlier examples do not hack.