Reference:Movements: Difference between revisions

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For [[Reference:1073|ref. 1073]], Antiquorum names a 10½-ligne Extra Prima movement with 15 jewels. David Boettcher reports that Prima movements he has examined are generally 15-jewel, while the Extra Prima and Ultra Prima examples he has examined have 18 jewels. Antiquorum’s description is an exception to that pattern; its catalogue does not explain the mismatch. Christie's describes a 15-jewel Prima, and Bonhams calls another 15-jewel movement Ultra Prima. The lot descriptions give no shared caliber number or reference-wide grade. [https://catalog.antiquorum.swiss/en/lots/rolex-lot-15-258 Antiquorum]; [https://www.christies.com/lot/lot-811717 Christie's]; [https://www.collectorsquare.com/en/watches/rolex/oyster/ref-rolex-1073/lpi Bonhams archive]; [https://vintagewatchstraps.com/blogprima.php David Boettcher, movement-grade survey]

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]

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 describes case 37425 as a patented Superbalance. Christie’s identifies case 36776 with an Ultra Prima movement jewelled to the third. These catalogue descriptions give no numbered caliber for the reference. [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]; [https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-3012418 Christie’s, case 36776, sale 5004 lot 98]

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[https://ineichen.com/upload/iblock/2fe/sy5t0kgrsmh01eycyb7x6dv935lixtef.pdf Ineichen’s Auction 166 catalogue] identifies Cal. 620 in one 1940s ref. [[Reference:4643|4643]], case A60906 (p. 143). Keep that attribution with the auction lot; it does not establish a reference-wide caliber assignment.

Marcus Siems assigns Cal. 620 to ref. [[Reference:3716|3716]] in his Empire study. That conflicts with Antiquorum's Cal. 635 listing for case 156649 and the Cal. 635 entry in Colin A. White's reference table. Catalogues describe several 3716 movements as 9¾ lignes, while the specification above gives Cal. 620 as 11½ lignes. The published records do not reconcile the caliber assignments. [https://goldammer.me/blogs/articles/rolex-empire-oyster-guide Siems, “The Deceptive Oyster”]; [https://catalog.antiquorum.swiss/en/lots/rolex-lot-209-284 Antiquorum, 2008, lot 284].

The rotor is a unidirectional "Perpetual" type that turns through 360 degrees without bumpers or buffers. It is engraved "ROLEX PERPETUAL / CHRONOMETER / SWISS MADE / PATENTED / SUPER-BALANCE," while the three-screw, 18mm cover plate reads "VIS TIRETTE / PATENTED / TRIGGER SCREW." Cal. 620 powered early Bubblebacks. Rolex dates the introduction of its Perpetual rotor to 1931, but that historical account does not name the caliber. Cal. 630 and the related 635 and 645 developed from the same architecture.

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Cal. 635 belongs to the early automatic family related to Cal. 620. General movement references describe a subsidiary-seconds layout, 17 jewels and a larger movement than the 9¾-ligne measurements in two 3130 auction entries. Antiquorum catalogued 3130 cases 54932 and 474617 with Cal. 635, 19 jewels, 9¾ lignes and subsidiary seconds ([lot 256](https://catalog.antiquorum.swiss/en/lots/rolex-lot-108-256); [lot 169](https://catalog.antiquorum.swiss/en/lots/rolex-lot-108-169)). Christie's identified case 443093 as Cal. 635 with 19 jewels but centre seconds ([2007 lot 2858](https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-5008631)). The latter catalogue description conflicts with the usual seconds layout. Without a visible caliber stamp, keep the centre-seconds attribution attached to that lot; do not treat it as a confirmed Cal. 635 variant.

Antiquorum's 2008 catalogue assigns Cal. 635 to ref. [[Reference:3716|3716]], case 156649, and describes a 9¾-ligne, 19-jewel movement. That listing conflicts with the Cal. 620 attribution in Marcus Siems's Empire study; the movement-size description does not by itself establish a numeric caliber. [https://catalog.antiquorum.swiss/en/lots/rolex-lot-209-284 Antiquorum, lot 284].

Ref. [[Reference:1925|1925]] lots name Prima or Ultra Prima grades. Antiquorum describes a 9′′′, 15-jewel Prima; Christie’s names Prima on its 1928 example and Ultra Prima on a 1930s octagonal watch; Sterling Vault records a 15-jewel Ultra Prima. The auction record supplies grade names rather than a numeric caliber assignment. Antiquorum also describes a 1948 ref. [[Reference:2081|2081]] with a 10-ligne, 15-jewel Prima; that lot does not name a caliber. [https://catalog.antiquorum.swiss/en/lots/rolex-lot-203-675 Antiquorum, lot 675]

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 For [[Reference:1073|ref. 1073]], Antiquorum names a 10½-ligne Extra Prima movement with 15 jewels. David Boettcher reports that Prima movements he has examined are generally 15-jewel, while the Extra Prima and Ultra Prima examples he has examined have 18 jewels. Antiquorum’s description is an exception to that pattern; its catalogue does not explain the mismatch. Christie's describes a 15-jewel Prima, and Bonhams calls another 15-jewel movement Ultra Prima. The lot descriptions give no shared caliber number or reference-wide grade. [https://catalog.antiquorum.swiss/en/lots/rolex-lot-15-258 Antiquorum]; [https://www.christies.com/lot/lot-811717 Christie's]; [https://www.collectorsquare.com/en/watches/rolex/oyster/ref-rolex-1073/lpi Bonhams archive]; [https://vintagewatchstraps.com/blogprima.php David Boettcher, movement-grade survey]
-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]
+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 describes case 37425 as a patented Superbalance. Christie’s identifies case 36776 with an Ultra Prima movement jewelled to the third. These catalogue descriptions give no numbered caliber for the reference. [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]; [https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-3012418 Christie’s, case 36776, sale 5004 lot 98]
 <span id="cal-2849-note"></span>
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 [https://ineichen.com/upload/iblock/2fe/sy5t0kgrsmh01eycyb7x6dv935lixtef.pdf Ineichen’s Auction 166 catalogue] identifies Cal. 620 in one 1940s ref. [[Reference:4643|4643]], case A60906 (p. 143). Keep that attribution with the auction lot; it does not establish a reference-wide caliber assignment.
+Marcus Siems assigns Cal. 620 to ref. [[Reference:3716|3716]] in his Empire study. That conflicts with Antiquorum's Cal. 635 listing for case 156649 and the Cal. 635 entry in Colin A. White's reference table. Catalogues describe several 3716 movements as 9¾ lignes, while the specification above gives Cal. 620 as 11½ lignes. The published records do not reconcile the caliber assignments. [https://goldammer.me/blogs/articles/rolex-empire-oyster-guide Siems, “The Deceptive Oyster”]; [https://catalog.antiquorum.swiss/en/lots/rolex-lot-209-284 Antiquorum, 2008, lot 284].
 The rotor is a unidirectional "Perpetual" type that turns through 360 degrees without bumpers or buffers. It is engraved "ROLEX PERPETUAL / CHRONOMETER / SWISS MADE / PATENTED / SUPER-BALANCE," while the three-screw, 18mm cover plate reads "VIS TIRETTE / PATENTED / TRIGGER SCREW." Cal. 620 powered early Bubblebacks. Rolex dates the introduction of its Perpetual rotor to 1931, but that historical account does not name the caliber. Cal. 630 and the related 635 and 645 developed from the same architecture.
@@ Line 487: / Line 489: @@
 Cal. 635 belongs to the early automatic family related to Cal. 620. General movement references describe a subsidiary-seconds layout, 17 jewels and a larger movement than the 9¾-ligne measurements in two 3130 auction entries. Antiquorum catalogued 3130 cases 54932 and 474617 with Cal. 635, 19 jewels, 9¾ lignes and subsidiary seconds ([lot 256](https://catalog.antiquorum.swiss/en/lots/rolex-lot-108-256); [lot 169](https://catalog.antiquorum.swiss/en/lots/rolex-lot-108-169)). Christie's identified case 443093 as Cal. 635 with 19 jewels but centre seconds ([2007 lot 2858](https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-5008631)). The latter catalogue description conflicts with the usual seconds layout. Without a visible caliber stamp, keep the centre-seconds attribution attached to that lot; do not treat it as a confirmed Cal. 635 variant.
+Antiquorum's 2008 catalogue assigns Cal. 635 to ref. [[Reference:3716|3716]], case 156649, and describes a 9¾-ligne, 19-jewel movement. That listing conflicts with the Cal. 620 attribution in Marcus Siems's Empire study; the movement-size description does not by itself establish a numeric caliber. [https://catalog.antiquorum.swiss/en/lots/rolex-lot-209-284 Antiquorum, lot 284].
 Ref. [[Reference:1925|1925]] lots name Prima or Ultra Prima grades. Antiquorum describes a 9′′′, 15-jewel Prima; Christie’s names Prima on its 1928 example and Ultra Prima on a 1930s octagonal watch; Sterling Vault records a 15-jewel Ultra Prima. The auction record supplies grade names rather than a numeric caliber assignment. Antiquorum also describes a 1948 ref. [[Reference:2081|2081]] with a 10-ligne, 15-jewel Prima; that lot does not name a caliber. [https://catalog.antiquorum.swiss/en/lots/rolex-lot-203-675 Antiquorum, lot 675]