Reference:971U

Prince → 971 → 971U

Rolex Prince catalogued as 971U, Sotheby’s 2022 lot 619

Christie’s, Antiquorum, Artcurial and Sotheby’s catalogue Prince watches as 971U in silver, platinum, steel and gold configurations. Sotheby’s photograph of one watch shows 971U stamped on its caseback. The suffix’s factory meaning remains unverified, and the catalogued watches carry different movement descriptions.

Core facts

detail	value
designation	971U, as recorded by auction catalogues
family	Prince; rectangular, curved case with flared sides
documented case descriptions	silver, platinum, steel, gold, and two-tone combinations; see individual records
movement descriptions	Prima, Extra Prima or Observatory; jewel counts also vary
date evidence	Christie’s assigns one platinum example to the 1920s; Glasgow import marks date individual cases to 1929 and 1930; Sotheby’s dates one example circa 1939
dimensions	individual catalogues report 24 × 40 mm to 26 × 43 mm in the catalogues cited; measurements are not standardized and may include the lugs
bracelet	no consistent bracelet fitment established; cited examples are shown on straps

Where it sits in the line

Antiquorum, Christie’s, Artcurial and Sotheby’s use 971U for individual watches in the 971 Prince line. The label is well attested in catalogues, while its factory meaning remains unclear. The broader 971 page covers the base reference and other catalogue suffixes.

Production outline

The dated examples include Glasgow import marks from 1929 and 1930, Artcurial’s circa-1935 estimate, and Sotheby’s circa-1939 estimate. These dates belong to individual watches; they do not define a continuous production span.

Antiquorum’s 2006 catalogue groups refs. 971, 971A and 971U into a 1929–1935 production span. Its entry does not cite a Rolex production record, and Sotheby’s circa-1939 estimate falls outside that range. Christie’s dates a platinum 971U to the 1920s, but the case number is indistinct and the catalogue reports no dated hallmark. These catalogue dates conflict; no factory record resolves them.

Movement notes

Catalogues give 971U several movement descriptions. Christie’s records silver examples with six-position Extra Prima movements. Antiquorum calls a 9K-gold example 18-jewel Observatory grade and a silver example Prima grade with 17 jewels. Christie’s 2019 catalogue lists a 14K white-gold watch with an Extra Prima 15-jewel movement; Sotheby’s gives a 15-jewel manual movement without a grade. The records show variation, but no consistent link between the suffix and a caliber or grade.

Dial map

Photographs show the Prince’s two-register layout, with hours and minutes above subsidiary seconds. Artcurial describes a cream dial with painted Arabic numerals and blued hands. Sotheby’s shows a silvered dial in the same layout; other catalogues describe silver-and-gilt and black dials. These records document individual treatments, not their sequence.

Silvered two-register dial, Sotheby’s 2022 lot 619.

Case, bezel, crystal, and crown notes

The cases are rectangular and curved, with flared sides. Catalogues describe silver, platinum, steel, gold, and two-metal examples. Reported dimensions range from 24 × 40 mm at Artcurial to 26 × 43 mm at Christie’s; the catalogues do not standardize measuring points. Christie’s reports 25.5 × 43 mm for its 2019 white-gold example and describes that case with a snap-on back. No reference-wide crystal material or crown construction is documented in the cited records.

Several silver cases carry Glasgow import marks dated 1930. The marks date an assay or import event on those cases, rather than the start or end of 971U production.

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  Crown-side profile of the two-metal case.
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  Opposite case flank, same watch.
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  Caseback and strap; “971U” is stamped below the case number.

Bracelets, end links, clasps, and packaging notes

Sotheby’s shows its example on a leather strap and lists a gold-plated Rolex buckle, without documenting the buckle’s provenance. Antiquorum’s 2024 stainless-steel example is listed with a box and rating certificate. Collector Mike Wood’s WatchProSite account describes the dust cap and papers on his own silver example. These records do not establish original delivery or standard packaging.

Special branches

Antiquorum’s 2005 catalogue describes a silver jump-hour 971U, then says its case was made for an analog dial and the jump-hour movement was a replacement identified as 971 HS. A 2008 listing describes a silver jump-hour watch with movement 75807 but does not establish whether it is a separate example. The records document catalogued or altered watches; they do not establish a factory jump-hour 971U branch.

Auction record

date assigned by catalogue	example	record
1920s, uncertain	platinum case, numbered Observatory movement; case number indistinct	Christie’s, lot 328
1929 import mark	18K gold case 67,940, 26 × 43 mm	Christie’s, ref. 971U
1930 import mark	silver case 02933, black dial, Extra Prima, dust cover	Christie’s, lot 309
1930 import mark	silver case 05828, movement 75081, Extra Prima Observatory	Christie’s, lot 271
1930s	9K white- and yellow-gold, Extra Prima 15 jewels, 25 × 42 mm	Antiquorum, 1998 lot 4
1930s	silver case, Prima 17 jewels, 25 × 42 mm	Antiquorum, 2003 lot 54
1930 import mark	silver case 02506, movement 72704, Extra Prima	Christie’s, lot 154
circa 1935	14K white gold, Extra Prima 15 jewels, case 70,211; certificate dated 5 September 1930, with box	Christie’s, lot 28
circa 1935	stainless steel, cream dial, 24 × 40 mm	Artcurial, lot 3A
circa 1939	stainless steel and 9K yellow gold, manual 15-jewel movement, case 73,276	Sotheby’s, lot 619
not stated	stainless steel, case 74,768, with box and rating certificate	Antiquorum, lot 462

These are auction-house descriptions. Christie’s dates its 14K watch circa 1935 and its rating certificate to 1930. Glasgow marks date assay or import events on individual cases; catalogue estimates such as “circa 1939” are not factory production dates.

Gallery

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  Silvered two-register dial, Sotheby’s 2022 lot 619.
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  Crown-side profile of the two-metal case.
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  Opposite case flank, same watch.
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  Caseback and strap; “971U” is stamped below the case number.

Sources

• "Rolex Prince ref. 971U, case 67,940, Glasgow import mark dated 1929", Christie's
• "Rolex Prince 971U 9ct Gold Observatory", Antiquorum, 1994-10-15
• "Rolex Prince 971U 9K Bicolor Extra Prima", Antiquorum, 1998-04-18
• "Rolex Prince Brancard 971U — silver case, replacement jump-hour movement", Antiquorum, 2005-05-15
• "Rolex Prince Brancard 971U — 18K yellow and white gold, case 71923", Antiquorum, 2006-05-14
• "Rolex Prince Brancard 971U — silver jump-hour catalogue entry, movement 75807", Antiquorum, 2008-06-18
• "Rolex Prince 971U Stainless Steel — Box and Papers", Antiquorum, 2024-11
• "lot 328 — platinum Prince Brancard 971U, catalogued 1920s", Christie's
• "lot 309 — silver Prince Brancard 971U, Glasgow 1930", Christie's
• "lot 271 — silver Prince Brancard 971U, case 05828", Christie's, 1999
• "lot 154 — silver Prince Brancard 971U, case 02506", Christie's, 1998
• "Rolex Prince Brancard 971U — stainless steel, circa 1935", Artcurial, 2011-12-14
• "Rolex Prince ref. 971U, stainless steel and 9K yellow gold, lot 619", Sotheby's, 2022
• "Rolex Prince Brancard 971U — silver case, Prima movement", Antiquorum, 2003-09-24
• "lot 28 — 14K white-gold Prince 971U with certificate and box", Christie's, 2019-05-13
• Mike Wood, "Mike Wood, “It's 1935, life is good, and you deserve a special watch...”", WatchProSite, 2009