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{{DISPLAYTITLE:Rolex 116000 Oyster Perpetual 36}}
{{DISPLAYTITLE:Rolex Oyster Perpetual 36 116000}}
{{#seo:
{{#seo:
|title=Rolex Oyster Perpetual 36 (116000) — 2007–2020, Cal 3130 | BezelBase
|title=Rolex Oyster Perpetual 36 Reference 116000: Dials, Calibre 3130 and Production
|description=The 116000 was the standard-bearer Oyster Perpetual 36 from 2007 to 2020 — Cal 3130, launched alongside the Air-King 114200 and Oyster Perpetual 31 (177200), refreshed with White Grape, Red Grape and Steel Grey dials around 2014. Replaced by the 126000 in 2020, months before the OP's Stella-dial fame.
|description=Reference guide to the 36 mm Oyster Perpetual 116000, including its 3130 movement, 2014 dial colors, special logo dials and documented auction examples.
|keywords=Rolex, 116000, Oyster Perpetual 36, 116034, Oyster Perpetual, specifications, reference guide
|keywords=Rolex 116000, Oyster Perpetual 36, calibre 3130, Red Grape, White Grape, Steel dial, 116034
|image=Ref 116000 hero.webp
|image=Ref 116000 hero.webp
|image_alt=Rolex Oyster Perpetual 36 116000, black concentric dial on Oyster bracelet
|image_alt=Phillips-catalogued Oyster Perpetual 36 ref. 116000, blue dial, circa 2014
|type=Article
|type=article
|og_type=article
|og_type=article
|robots=index,follow,max-image-preview:large
|robots=index,follow,max-image-preview:large
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}}


<small>[[Reference:oyster-perpetual|Oyster Perpetual]] -&gt; '''116000'''</small>
<small>[[Reference:oyster-perpetual|Oyster Perpetual]] › '''116000'''</small>


The 116000 is the reference most people picture when they picture a plain Rolex: 36mm, steel, no date, a domed bezel, and nothing on the dial to argue about. It ran from 2007 to 2020, the same thirteen-year span as the Air-King 114200 and the Oyster Perpetual 31 (177200), all three sharing the same COSC-certified, engraved-rehaut generation of Rolex's entry-tier Oyster catalogue. Rolex retired it in 2020 for the 126000, a near-identical case carrying the vivid Stella-inspired lacquer dials that turned the Oyster Perpetual from a forgettable Rolex into one of the hardest watches in the catalogue to actually buy. The 116000 is the last chapter of the 36mm Oyster Perpetual before that happened.
<div class="rp-lead">[[File:Ref 116000 hero.webp|thumb|center|640px|alt=Phillips-catalogued Rolex Oyster Perpetual 36 ref. 116000 with a blue dial, circa 2014|Blue-dial 116000 made for the Sultanate of Oman; Phillips, lot 858. This is one documented example, not a standard dial for every watch.]]</div>
 
The 116000 is the 36 mm, steel, no-date Oyster Perpetual fitted with calibre 3130. Rolex's 2014 product material lists Red Grape, White Grape and Steel sunray dials; auction records also show black, blue and silver-blue examples. The reference was in use by 2007 and disappeared from Rolex's catalogue in the 2020 model change.


<span id="core-facts"></span>
<span id="core-facts"></span>
[[File:Ref 116000 hero.webp|thumb|right|250px|alt=Rolex Oyster Perpetual 36 116000, black concentric dial on Oyster bracelet|Rolex Oyster Perpetual 36, ref. 116000, black concentric dial]]
== Core facts ==
== Core facts ==


{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
|-
|-
! detail
! Detail !! Documented information
! value
|-
| reference
| 116000 (white-gold fluted-bezel sibling: 116034)
|-
|-
| family
| Reference || 116000
| Oyster Perpetual
|-
|-
| common name
| Model || Oyster Perpetual 36; hours, minutes and centre seconds, no date
| "Oyster Perpetual 36," "OP36"
|-
|-
| production
| Catalogue period || Documented by circa-2007 auction examples; listed by Rolex in August 2020 and replaced in the September 2020 catalogue refresh
| 2007–2020
|-
|-
| case
| Case || 36 mm Oyster, 904L steel in Rolex's 2014 specification; monobloc middle case, screw-down back and Twinlock crown
| 36mm steel Oyster, monobloc middle case, domed bezel
|-
|-
| crystal
| Bezel and crystal || Smooth domed bezel; scratch-resistant sapphire crystal
| scratch-resistant sapphire
|-
|-
| crown
| Water resistance || 100 metres / 330 feet
| Twinlock screw-down
|-
|-
| water resistance
| Movement || Calibre 3130, automatic, 31 jewels, COSC-certified, 28,800 vph and approximately 48 hours of reserve
| 100m / 330 feet
|-
|-
| movement
| Balance spring || Blue Parachrom balance spring with Breguet overcoil; stop-seconds
| caliber 3130, self-winding, blue Parachrom hairspring, ~48h reserve, COSC certified
|-
|-
| dial (documented)
| Bracelet || Oyster bracelet, reference 70200 in Rolex's 2014 product sheet; three-piece links and folding Oysterclasp
| black, white, metallic blue concentric; White Grape, Red Grape and Steel Grey named in the c.2014 refresh
|-
| bracelet
| Oyster, flat three-piece links, Oysterclasp
|-
| predecessor
| earlier 36mm no-date Oyster Perpetual generations (14000/14000M architecture)
|-
| successor
| 126000, Oyster Perpetual 36 (2020)
|}
|}


Line 69: Line 46:
== Where it sits in the line ==
== Where it sits in the line ==


The 116000 belongs to the 2007 generation of Rolex's entry-tier Oyster catalogue, launched the same year as the Air-King 114200 and running on the same caliber 3130 architecture, COSC certification and engraved rehaut. Ben Hodges, writing up the reference for Fratello's Pre-Owned Picks in 2020, frames the 116000 as the answer to a specific complaint: "one of the consistent complaints against Rolex dials is the extensive lines of text" running the dial "like an instruction manual." The 116000 sidesteps it by moving its full "Oyster Perpetual Superlative Chronometer Officially Certified" wording into a radial inner sector around a plain center — a layout distinct enough, per Hodges, "to get noticed" without abandoning the reference's essential plainness.
This is the 36 mm no-date member of the Oyster Perpetual range. The 176200 and 177200 use the same basic format in smaller cases; the 114200 is a separate 34 mm Air-King with calibre 3130. Rolex's 2014 material lists the 116000 alongside the 31 mm 177200, with separate movement and dial specifications: calibre 3130 for the 116000 and 2231 for the 177200.


36mm was, for decades, the standard proportion for a men's Rolex — the size the vintage Datejust and Explorer were built around — before the 39mm Explorer and 41mm Oyster Perpetual pushed the catalogue larger through the 2010s. The 116000 held that classic proportion through to 2020, the last Oyster Perpetual generation to do so before Rolex split the line across five sizes (28/31/34/36/41mm) in the post-2020 relaunch.
Rolex's August 2020 catalogue still listed the 116000. Its September 2020 refresh showed the 126000 in the 36 mm position, with calibre 3230. These snapshots bracket the catalogue changeover; individual final delivery dates remain undocumented.


<span id="production-outline"></span>
<span id="production-outline"></span>
== Production outline ==
== Production outline ==


The 116000 entered the catalogue in 2007 alongside the Air-King 114200, the Oyster Perpetual 31 (177200) and the Oyster Perpetual 26 (176200) — a single coordinated refresh of Rolex's entry-tier Oyster line onto caliber 3130/2231 architecture with engraved rehauts and COSC certification across the board.
Auction catalogues place examples in circa 2007 and describe watches made in 2008. Christie's lot M919877 carries a circa-2007 date and a Rolex warranty dated December 2009; Antiquorum separately describes a 2008 black-dial watch. These early records establish the reference before its later color dials.


Around 2014 the dial palette was refreshed. Robert-Jan Broer's Fratello review of the newly-launched 114300, written in May 2015, refers back to "beautiful Oyster Perpetual models in 36mm with amazing looking dials (White Grape, Red Grape and Steel Grey)" that Rolex had introduced "last year" — placing that dial refresh in 2014, three years before the 39mm size existed. The reference number did not change; only the dial color range did, the same pattern the 114300 would later repeat with its own 2018 black-and-white addition.
Some Phillips catalogue copy calls the 116000 a new 36 mm model released in 2014. Christie's and Antiquorum had already catalogued 116000 examples from circa 2007 and 2008. Rolex's 2014 press material describes updated Oyster Perpetual versions and lists new dial colors. The evidence places the 2014 change in the dial offering, not the reference's introduction.
 
Rolex discontinued the 116000 in 2020, replacing it with the 126000 on caliber 3230 — visually close to the outgoing reference but eligible for the Stella-inspired lacquer dial range that made the Oyster Perpetual 36 one of the more difficult steel Rolex models to find at retail through the early 2020s. The 116000 never wore those colors.


<span id="movement-notes"></span>
<span id="movement-notes"></span>
== Movement notes ==
== Movement notes ==


Caliber 3130 is the 36mm-scaled sibling of the 3132 fitted to the 114300 and Explorer 214270: bidirectional self-winding via the Perpetual rotor, a blue paramagnetic Parachrom hairspring, roughly 48 hours of power reserve, and COSC chronometer certification on every example. It is the same movement fitted to the contemporary Air-King 114200 and to the no-date Submariner 14060M, differing between references only in regulation and dial-side finishing rather than in architecture.
Rolex's 2014 specification gives calibre 3130, 31 jewels, a frequency of 28,800 beats per hour, an approximately 48-hour reserve and COSC certification. It also lists a blue Parachrom balance spring, Breguet overcoil, variable-inertia balance and stop-seconds. Auction records for watches dated circa 2007, 2008, 2014 and 2015 identify calibre 3130. The cited sources support the reference-level fitment; service history still belongs to the individual watch.


<span id="dial-map"></span>
<span id="dial-map"></span>
== Dial map ==
== Dial map ==


Documented configurations span black, white and a metallic blue with a concentric inner pattern, plus the c.2014-named White Grape, Red Grape and Steel Grey colors — the same "Grape" naming convention Rolex used concurrently on the smaller Oyster Perpetual sizes, though the exact overlap between the named 2014 colors and the black/white/blue configurations documented separately has not been reconciled from a single source.
The dial record includes more than one layout. Antiquorum's circa-2008 black example has luminous Arabic quarters and a minute track. Fratello describes a blue dial with a concentric centre and a radial band carrying the chronometer wording. Sotheby's catalogues a silver-and-blue dial in a circa-2015 watch.


The dial layout common to all colors sets the full "OYSTER PERPETUAL SUPERLATIVE CHRONOMETER OFFICIALLY CERTIFIED" wording in a radial band around a plain or concentric-patterned center, avoiding the flat, text-heavy dial some Rolex references carry. Applied stick or baton hour markers and baton hands with luminous fill are standard across documented examples; no date window or numeral set applies to this no-date reference.
Rolex's 2014 product sheet lists Red Grape, White Grape and Steel, each with a sunray finish. Robert-Jan Broer called the last color Steel Grey in a 2015 Fratello article; the manufacturer sheet says Steel. The dial names in those sources differ slightly.


<span id="case-bezel-crystal-and-crown-notes"></span>
<span id="case-bezel-crystal-and-crown-notes"></span>
== Case, bezel, crystal, and crown ==
== Case, bezel, crystal and crown ==


36mm monobloc-middle Oyster case in Oystersteel with a domed, smooth bezel — the standard-generation profile shared with the 176200/177200 one size down and the 114300 one size up. Sapphire crystal without a Cyclops lens, Twinlock screw-down crown, and 100m water resistance across the run.
Rolex specifies a 36 mm 904L steel case with a domed bezel, sapphire crystal, Twinlock screw-down crown and 100-metre water resistance. Christie's and Sotheby's also measure 116000 examples at 36 mm. Antiquorum's Club Tijuana catalogue gives 37 mm for its individual watch; that entry records a lot measurement, while Rolex's published case specification is 36 mm.


<span id="bracelets-and-clasps"></span>
<span id="bracelets-and-clasps"></span>
== Bracelets, end links, and clasps ==
== Bracelet and clasp ==


Oyster bracelet, flat three-piece links, closed with a folding Oysterclasp — the same bracelet platform fitted across the 2007-generation Oyster Perpetual sizes and the contemporary Air-King 114200.
Rolex identifies the bracelet as Oyster reference 70200. Its 2014 material describes three-piece links, satin-finished steel with polished edges, and a folding Oysterclasp. Auction catalogues document individual bracelets with different lengths and clasp stamps; those details date or describe the bracelet in the lot, not every 116000.


<span id="special-branches"></span>
<span id="special-branches"></span>
== Special branches ==
== Special dial examples and related reference ==
 
=== Logo-dial watches ===
 
Phillips catalogues a circa-2014 blue-dial 116000 made for the Sultanate of Oman. The guarantee card is dated 1 March 2014, and the accompanying packaging carries the Khanjar emblem. Antiquorum records a 116000 with a Club Tijuana logo dial and a caseback engraving reading “13/69 S.H.K. 2010–2011.” Its catalogue dates the watch circa 2008 and describes it as one of 69 pieces for the club's 2011 promotion. The circa-2008 date sits beside a 2010–2011 engraving; Antiquorum leaves the discrepancy unresolved. These logo dials belong to individual orders or promotional contexts; Rolex's standard 2014 color list is separate.
 
=== 116034, fluted white-gold bezel ===


<span id="116034-fluted-white-gold-bezel"></span>
Reference 116034 is a separate 36 mm steel Oyster Perpetual with a fluted white-gold bezel. Dorotheum catalogues one example as circa 2008 with calibre 3130 and measures that watch at about 37 mm. This record describes one 116034; it gives no full production span and should not be used to infer the 116000’s production record.
=== 116034 — fluted white-gold-bezel sibling ===


The 116034 pairs the same 36mm steel case and caliber 3130 with a fluted white-gold bezel set into the case middle, running in parallel across the same 2007–2020 window. It follows the same steel-case-with-precious-metal-bezel pattern as the Air-King 114200's white-gold-bezel sibling, the 114234, and trades at a premium to the plain-steel 116000 for the added bezel material.
<span id="selected-auction-records"></span>
== Selected auction records ==
 
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Sale record !! Watch and catalogue details !! Estimate or result
|-
| Christie's, lot 5878955 || Case M919877, circa 2007; calibre 3130, 31 jewels; black dial with engine-turned centre and white Arabic numerals; 36 mm. Warranty dated 6 December 2009. || Not listed on the public lot page
|-
| Antiquorum, New York, 10 June 2010, lot 200 || Catalogue dates it to 2008; matte black dial with luminous Arabic quarters; calibre 3130, 31 jewels; 36 mm case, 12 mm thick. || Estimate USD 2,000–3,000; sold USD 3,000
|-
| Phillips, Hong Kong Watch Auction XII, lot 858 || Circa 2014; blue dial; case H2Q25557; calibre 3130, 31 jewels; 36 mm; made for the Sultanate of Oman. || Estimate HKD 45,000–85,000; sold HKD 100,800
|-
| Antiquorum, New York, 9 April 2014, lot 83 || Club Tijuana logo dial; case Y4Y37907; catalogue says circa 2008 and records the 2010–2011 caseback engraving. || Estimate USD 5,000–8,000; sold USD 7,500
|-
| Sotheby's, 2022, lot 623 || Circa 2015; silver-and-blue dial; case 59'440'6Q6; calibre 3130, 31 jewels; 36 mm; Oyster bracelet and warranty card. || Estimate CHF 3,000–5,000
|}
 
The selected lots record dated examples, dial layouts and sale-specific measurements. They provide no factory production ledger or complete dial register.


== Related references ==
== Related references ==


* [[Reference:177200|Oyster Perpetual 31 (177200)]] — same 2007 generation, caliber 2231
* [[Reference:176200|Oyster Perpetual 26 (176200)]]
* [[Reference:176200|Oyster Perpetual 26 (176200)]] — same 2007 generation, caliber 2231
* [[Reference:177200|Oyster Perpetual 31 (177200)]]
* [[Reference:114200|Air-King 114200]] — same caliber 3130, same 2007 launch year
* [[Reference:114200|Air-King 114200]]
* [[Reference:114300|Oyster Perpetual 39 (114300)]]
* [[Reference:114300|Oyster Perpetual 39 (114300)]]
* [[Reference:1002|Oyster Perpetual 1002]] — vintage no-date OP lineage the modern line descends from
* [[Reference:oyster-perpetual|Oyster Perpetual family guide]]
 
* [[Reference:Movements|Movements]]
See also the [[Reference:oyster-perpetual|Oyster Perpetual family index]], [[Reference:Movements|movement reference]], [[Reference:Bracelets|bracelet & clasp guide]], and [[Reference:Serial-numbers|serial numbers by year]].
* [[Reference:Bracelets|Bracelets and clasps]]
* [[Reference:Serial-numbers|Serial numbers by year]]


* [https://web.archive.org/web/20131210191936/http://www.rolexforums.com/showthread.php?t=24967 "new mid-size oyster perpetual 177200", Rolex Forums thread, Oct 2007 — period confirmation of the summer 2007 launch]
== Sources ==
== Sources ==


* [https://web.archive.org/web/20181111064728/https://www.rolex.com/watches/oyster-perpetual/m116000-0012.html Rolex Oyster Perpetual 36, ref. 116000 — official specifications, archived] (rolex.com via Wayback Machine, 2019)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20181111064728/https://www.rolex.com/watches/oyster-perpetual/m116000-0012.html Rolex, Oyster Perpetual 36 ref. 116000, archived official product page, 2018]
* [https://www.fratellowatches.com/pre-owned-picks-rolex-oyster-perpetual-watches-with-funky-dials/ Ben Hodges, "Pre-Owned Picks — Rolex Oyster Perpetual Watches With Funky Dials", Fratello, 2020]
* [https://100percentpassion.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/rolex_baselworld-2014_oyster-new_models_en.pdf Rolex, Baselworld 2014 product press material, 116000 specification and updated 31/36 mm dials; copy hosted by 100percentpassion]
* [https://www.fratellowatches.com/the-new-rolex-oyster-perpetual-in-39mm-will-it-make-the-difference/ Robert-Jan Broer, "The New Rolex Oyster Perpetual in 39mm – Will It Make The Difference?", Fratello, 2015]
* [https://www.thewatch.co.il/image/users/190146/ftp/my_files/ROLEX/Presentation_Oyster_English.pdf?id=15612920 Rolex, Oyster Perpetual product specifications, 2014, pp. 29–30; copy hosted by The Watch]
* [https://www.watchguys.com/pages/rolex-oyster-perpetual-guide Robertino Altieri, "Rolex Oyster Perpetual Buyer's Guide: History & Prices", WatchGuys]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20200809001853/https://www.rolex.com/watches/oyster-perpetual.html Rolex, Oyster Perpetual catalogue, 9 August 2020]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20200903185812/https://www.rolex.com/watches/oyster-perpetual.html Rolex, Oyster Perpetual catalogue, 3 September 2020]
* [https://content.rolex.com/dam/new-watches-2020/media/brochures/new-oyster-perpetual/Brochure_Oyster_Perpetual_in.pdf Rolex, 2020 Oyster Perpetual 36 brochure, ref. 126000]
* [https://www.christies.com/lot/lot-5878955 Christie's, ref. 116000, case M919877, circa 2007]
* [https://catalog.antiquorum.swiss/en/lots/rolex-lot-236-200 Antiquorum, ref. 116000, New York, 10 June 2010, lot 200]
* [https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2022/important-watches-online/oyster-perpetual-reference-116000-a-stainless Sotheby's, ref. 116000, lot 623, circa 2015]
* [https://www.phillips.com/detail/rolex/151383 Phillips, ref. 116000, Hong Kong Watch Auction XII, lot 858, circa 2014]
* [https://catalog.antiquorum.swiss/en/lots/rolex-ref-116000-lot-282-83 Antiquorum, Club Tijuana logo-dial ref. 116000, New York, 9 April 2014, lot 83]
* [https://www.fratellowatches.com/pre-owned-picks-rolex-oyster-perpetual-watches-with-funky-dials/ Ben Hodges, Fratello, 2020, blue concentric 116000 dial]
* [https://www.fratellowatches.com/the-new-rolex-oyster-perpetual-in-39mm-will-it-make-the-difference/ Robert-Jan Broer, Fratello, 4 May 2015, 2014 White Grape, Red Grape and Steel Grey dial names]
* [https://www.dorotheum.com/en/l/8944355 Dorotheum, ref. 116034, circa 2008, 14 March 2024]


[[Category:Oyster Perpetual]]
[[Category:Oyster Perpetual]]
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